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At 01:27 AM 11/8/95 -0500, you wrote: >Since there's a good bit of research going on into possible environmental >THE POISONING OF AMERICA Do you have dry or runny eyes or throat, dry skin, headaches, lethargy, nausea, respiratory problems? These and many other symptoms are caused by toxic indoor air. Some of the sicknesses caused by contaminated indoor air are Sick Building Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, (Yuppie Disease), Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), mental retardation, brain cancer, lung cancer. These sicknesses some times result in permanent disabilities and death. Often the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is much worse than the air outside the buildings. The health, safety, and lives of great many people are in jeopardy because clean air is not being supplied to them at their homes, their schools, their work. Unhealthy indoor air is a leading cause of sickness in the United States today and it is preventable. In the 1970s the large increase in energy costs resulted in a dedication to energy conservation and the building of "tight buildings." Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems usually are designed and controlled for energy conservation, not for healthy air. In order to save energy, contaminated air is recirculated in buildings again and again, some times for months at a time, so that the air would not have to be heated or cooled. Little or no fresh outside air is brought into the building. This action also results in the progressively increased pollution, this at the expense of the health, and comfort of the building occupants. Contaminated unhealthy air also results in additional costs because employees will have lowered efficiency and increased sick leave time. Much research has been done by private and government organizations to confirm these facts. It does not take scientific research to understand that if people breathe air that is short of oxygen and full of contaminants for 40 hours a week, it will make them sick.. It would make extremely good sense to prevent sickness rather than trying to endure the discomfort and expense of trying to correct sickness. Prevention also is the best way to reduce health care costs. increase productivity, and enjoy a higher quality of life. The public has a right to know when they are working in a hazardous environment; but usually they are not informed. It takes public awareness and strong enforceable laws to make changes that assure the public of Healthy Indoor Air to breathe; Clean healthy Indoor Air certainly is our right. Building occupants have no organization or union to represent them to get unhealthy air problems corrected and they are therefore at the mercy of the building management. We must exert more control over the air we breathe with a demand for governmental and industrial responsibility. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------- Robert Lossman <[log in to unmask]> >