Decades of scientific research have linked nitrogen dioxide (NO2) to respiratory diseases. With asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Children and the elderly are especially affected. A new study showed how far this gas travels in the home and how long it stays there.
It turns out that nitrogen dioxide exposure levels in many homes can exceed the World Health Organization hourly exposure limit for several hours. Moreover, this gas can be detected even in the bedroom.
Concentrations of this gas were dangerous in bedrooms, with levels remaining high for several hours. The results of this study were published in the journal Science Advances.
Experts participating in the study collected data on NO2 concentrations before, during, and for several hours after use of gas and propane furnaces in homes and apartments in California, Colorado, Texas, New York State, and Washington, DC. Scientists tested levels of this gas in the bedroom, the room furthest from the kitchen, in six homes.
In all six homes, bedroom NO2 concentrations rapidly exceeded the WHO chronic exposure guideline (five parts per billion by volume). Levels of the gas in all three homes exceeded EPA and WHO guidelines for one-hour exposure.
Exposure to gas and propane furnaces may be responsible for 200,000 current cases of childhood asthma, of which only 50,000 are related to NO2, scientists say.
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Source: Ferra
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