Released August 5, 2008

URBANA, Ill. - Identifying and preventing indoor air quality problems is the focus of a new University of Illinois Extension website. "Healthy Indoor Air" (http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/healthyair/index.cfm) addresses a number of indoor air problems.

"How can the air inside our homes be so bad for us? Over the years, buildings have been made more airtight to conserve energy," explained Debra Bartman, an Extension consumer and family economics educator who developed the website with colleagues Patricia A. Hildebrand and Lois E. Smith.

"Unfortunately, when air is trapped inside the home, so are the pollutants."

U.S. EPA studies have found that pollutant levels inside the home can be two to five times higher than outdoors.

"After some activities, indoor air pollution levels can be 100 times higher than outdoors," Bartman added.

Many indoor pollutants cannot be detected by our senses and the symptoms they produce can be vague and sometimes similar to other illnesses, making it hard to attribute them to a specific cause.

The website offers information to help determine if the air in your home is healthy as well as several solutions to help you reduce your risks.

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http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/news/stories/news4470.html

Contacts: Debra Bartman (309) 792-2602

Bob Sampson, (217) 244-0225, rsampson@uiuc.edu