[Feature] What indoor Plants Can do for Us?by Rosa Domingos | 21-06-2019 18:30 |
|---|
 Ventilation systems such as air conditioners readily revitalise buildings with air from the out side. This is normally done though a filtration process that filters out the bigger particles (such as pollen) from the air. But what we do not realise is that once it is inside, this relatively homogeneous air is mixed with the polluted indoor air of the office (Fraser, 2019). The major compounds that 'decreases' the quality of air indoors are:
Volatile organic compounds are petrochemical vapours. The are constantly freed from building materials such a paint walls, equipment, appliances, furnishings and plastics. When they are highly concentrated, they tend to become carcinogenic and have acute toxicity. Moreover, in some cases, it may even disturb the endocrine systems of animals. Over a total of 890+ different compounds have been detected in some buildings. The most commonly found ones include benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, and xylene. Although there is a low concentration of volatile organic compounds in modern buildings, the augmentation of these vapours are seen evident in the continued chronic exposure to even low levels of these chemicals. This exposure may lead result in the condition known as sick building syndrome (Fraser, 2019). Those who have been diagnosed with this syndrome experience acute or sub-acute discomfort and health effects that appear to be linked to the time-frame spent in a building. Classic symptoms range from:
Drawing to this, it has been shown that the severity of these symptoms can greatly diminish a person¡¯s ability to work effectively. The shocking outcome is that that the sufferer may not know what is causing the discomfort, but feels relieved as soon as they leave the building (Fraser, 2019). As I mentioned, the second major indoor pollutant is carbon dioxide (CO2). Produced by human respiration, CO2 in high levels (above 800 to 1,000 parts per million) can cause rooms to feel ¡°stuffy.¡± But sick building syndrome-like symptoms can occur at much lower concentrations than this. When 1,000 ppm, building occupants can become quite ill. But this level is uncommon in modern buildings thanks to efficient mechanical ventilation systems. The Solution you say...Natural Air Cleaners. Plants Plants have been proven to improve the quality of air that we breath. The ability of plants to improve indoor air quality was recognized in the 1980s, when NASA researched growing plants on space stations. Results had shown that the surprising removal of previously high volatile organic compound concentrations in their model spacecraft. In the year 2000, Australian researchers determined that virtually all of the volatile organic compound-removing ability of potted plants resided in the pot. It was the normal bacteria of the potting mix that took up the volatile organic compounds (Fraser, 2019). But the plants are not superfluous (or unnecessary): experiments where the plants were removed leaving only the potting mix showed a gradual loss of performance over a few weeks. The plants supply the soil bacteria with key nutrients that sustain their viability and health. More recent experimentation has monitored the background concentrations of volatile organic compounds in offices with and without plants over some weeks. These findings indicate that even three potted plants in an average-sized office will reduce airborne volatile organic compounds to an extremely low level (Fraser, 2019). CO2-removing plants have been given less atteninon, mainly because CO2 can be properly removed with ventilation systems. The question now is whether we should be using air conditioning for ventilation purposes at all when indoor plants can do the work for us at a greatly reduced cost. I believe that the latter should be greatly invested on. especially now that urban spaces are moving into a more sustainable filed. Thus, having an indoor plant in the office can improve your emotional state, reduced negative mood states, reduced distraction, increased creativity, improved task-performance, and not just the air quality. So the next time you pass by a flower/plant shop...do yourself a big favour and buy some plants, for you home, room, res-dorn or office. Your body will thank you for it! Source: Fraser,. T. 2019. Indoor Plants Are Meaningful for 2 Life-Changing Reasons: It's the little things that matter. [Online] Available: https://www.inverse.com/article/56885-buy-more-indoor-plants-for-your-mental-and-physical-health. June 19, 2019. (& Cover photo) |
