POTTED PLANTS REALLY DO CLEAN INDOOR AIR
RESEARCH SUMMARY, JUNE, 2007
Prof.
Margaret Burchett, Dr Jane Tarran, Dr Fraser Torpy
Plants and Indoor Environmental Quality Group
Faculty of Science, UTS
Email: Margaret.
Burchett@uts.
edu.
au (Mob: 0405 499 350)...
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POTTED PLANTS REALLY DO CLEAN INDOOR AIR
RESEARCH SUMMARY, JUNE, 2007
Prof.
Margaret Burchett, Dr Jane Tarran, Dr Fraser Torpy
Plants and Indoor Environmental Quality Group
Faculty of Science, UTS
Email: Margaret.
Burchett@uts.
edu.
au (Mob: 0405 499 350)
Why worry about urban air pollution?
Urban air pollution (mainly from fossil fuel combustion) is an international health problem.
In Sydney alone, air
pollution causes an estimated 2,400 deaths p.
a.
1
.
In addition, urban dwellers spend an amazing 90% of our time
indoors, so that’s where we meet all the air pollution2,3
- and here air pollution is even higher than outdoors3,4
.
Why? Because the outdoor-derived load (of nitrogen, sulfur and carbon oxides, organics, particulates etc.
)
diffuses indoors and is augmented by indoor-derived contaminants.
The main class of these is volatile organic
compounds (VOCs), outgassing from other petroleum-based products, such as ‘synthetics’ in furnishings,
detergents, paints, printers, ‘air f
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