Is the Air in Your Home Affecting your Family’s Health?

When you hear the phrase “air pollution” what do you think of? Before I became involved at 4CORE, I often thought of cities filled with smog from car exhaust, power plants and manufacturing. You can guess my surprise when I learned that the air inside our  homes, schools and businesses can be two to five times more polluted than the air outside. When the average American spends 90% of their time indoors and 50% of their time inside their homes, indoor air pollution becomes a much larger public health problem than most people imagine.

The most common indoor air pollutants include mold and moisture, combustion sources and secondhand smoke, building materials and furniture, household cleaning products and paints, and outdoor sources such as radon and pesticides. In the short-term, people may experience asthma and allergies symptoms, eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches and dizziness. In the long-term, exposure to indoor air pollution can cause lung and heart disease and cancer.

4CORE (myself included) became concerned about the issue of healthy homes while managing the low-income Weatherization program. Eighty percent of homes we weatherized in Southwest Colorado had health and safety problems, which could have been prevented with proper education on cleaning, maintenance, and ventilation. In 2013 as the Weatherization Client Services Coordinator I attended a conference discussing the overlap of Healthy Homes and Weatherization. I was shocked to learn the numbers of low income children who developed asthma from the homes they lived in, which in some cases was made worse by tightening up their homes for energy efficiency. I learned that we don't have to choose and that good air quality and energy efficiency can go together.

In August 2013, wereceived an Environmental Justice Small grant from the EPA to educate low income families about indoor air quality in La Plata County. In the past year I was able to lead 19 educational workshops across the county and reached 352 participants.

Healthy Homes workshop participants improved the health of their homes by using the free carbon monoxide detectors, radon test kits, Healthy Homes Pledges, resources and information. One participant reported, "Our neighbors, who have a young baby, almost got carbon monoxide poisoning from a dryer venting problem - I loaned them the carbon monoxide detector that we received from the workshop and when they were able to see their dangerously high CO level they moved out of the house since the landlord wouldn't fix the problem."

4CORE also partnered with CSU Extension on a radon education program, sponsored by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to hand out short term radon test kits to workshop participants and perform 25 continuous radon tests. One workshop participant said, "The radon test has prompted me to take action. I plan to retest and contact a radon mitigation contractor."

On August 19th 4CORE and CSU Extension will be hosting a community celebration of healthy homes and radon awareness from 11 am - 1:30 pm at the La Plata County Fairgrounds. I invite you to attend this free event which will showcase successes of the programs, discuss current resources and next steps towards improving indoor air quality in La Plata County with local leaders and staff from the EPA and CDPHE. Lunch and carbon monoxide detectors will be provided. I'd love to have you join us!

Please RSVP 

For me personally it has been a wonderful experience working at 4CORE for the past three and a half years in the Weatherization, HomeRx, Radon and Healthy Homes programs. I will be sad to leave when our Healthy Homes EPA grant concludes at the end of the month. I have learned so much about healthy housing, energy efficiency, and alternative technologies in our community to say nothing of the nonprofit skills I've gained. The most meaningful part of my work has been the relationships built with clients and families and the feeling that despite everything else happening in their lives I may be able to help, just a bit, in making their homes warmer, healthier or more affordable.

I hope you join me on August 19th to celebrate the conclusion of the Healthy Homes program. See you there!

About the Author

Sandhya Tillotson is Executive Director of The Garden Project of Southwest Colorado, as well as the Healthy Homes Program Specialist at 4CORE. Originally from California, Sandhya earned her Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science from The Colorado College in Colorado Springs. After moving to Durango in 2010, Sandhya is thrilled to be working for a local environmental non-profit and spending her free time volunteering, running, biking, climbing and exploring the vast wilderness that makes up Durango's backyard.