Ninety percent of homes in Shanghai are suffering from an
increasing amount of indoor air pollution caused by house
refurbishing and decorations, a latest survey said on Tuesday.
The Shanghai Association for Environmental Protection said it
randomly inspected 95 local homes and found concentrations of
formaldehyde exceeded national standards in 85 of them. The worst
example is that one of these homes suffers 1.88 milligrams of
formaldehyde in every cubic meter, marking 20 times over the
national standard limit.
Concentrations of other harmful pollutants like TVOC, known as
"total volatile organic compounds" were also found in 79 of these
houses, the publicly released report added.
Li Wei, vice Secretary of the Shanghai Association for
Environmental Protection, said TVOC, although often colorless,
odorless and tasteless and are ignored by residents, are
detrimental to people's ganglia, liver, kidney and blood system.
Formaldehyde, which, however, has a very pungent odor, can cause
severe health problems such as respiratory difficulties and skin
irritation.
These harmful compounds, according to experts, are commonly
found in building materials, paints, detergents and carpets,
ranging from both famous brand names and lesser known products.
Li Wei strongly urged people to be very cautious when choosing
companies for home renovations. For those who have already had
their homes heavily renovated, the expert advices them to keep
their windows and doors often open so that the harmful elements can
easily get volatile.
(CRIENGLISH.com July 11, 2007)