Use Plants to Remove Toxins
Coughs, colds, sniffles, lethargy, allergies, headaches - perhaps your workplace is giving you sick building syndrome.
The CSIRO estimates that the cost of poor indoor air quality in Australia may be as high as $12 billion per year (Brown, 1998). In recent years, comparative risk studies performed by the US EPA and its Science Advisory Board have consistently ranked indoor air pollution among the top five environmental risks to public health (US EPA, 1993).
The indoor pollutants that affect health include formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds (benzene and trichloroethylene or TCE), airborne biological pollutants, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, pesticides and disinfectants (phenols) and radon. These pollutants contribute to sick building syndrome, which causes symptoms ranging from allergies, headaches and fatigue through to nervous-system disorders, cancer and death.
Fortunately, the boffins at NASA have found that certain plants and the microbes at their roots can, through their normal photosynthetic processes, absorb these pollutants and provide the fresh air and humidity that makes us healthier. Their research identified a collection of easy-to-grow indoor plants that can remedy 'sick building syndrome' and make your workplace a palace of respiratory health.
How to do it now!
Pollutants are emitted from furnishings, office equipment and some building materials. Deck your workplace out with a collection of the following plants and breathe easy.
Top ten plants for removing formaldehyde, benzene, and carbon monoxide from the air:
- Areca Palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens) - semi-sun
- Lady Palm (Rhapis excelsa) - semi-sun
- Bamboo Palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii) - semi-sun
- Rubber Plant (Ficus robusta) - semi-sun to semi-shade
- Dracaena 'Janet Craig' (Dracaena deremensis 'Janet Craig') - semi-shade
- Philodendron (Philodendron sp) - semi-shade
- Dwarf Date Palm (Phoenix roebelenii) - semi-sun
- Ficus Alii (Ficus macleilandii 'Alii') - full sun to semi-sun
- Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata 'Bostoniensis) - semi-sun
- Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum "Mauna Loa ") - semi-shade
The above list of plants has been shown to remove chemicals from the air, avoiding the toxic build-up of chemicals that contribute to sick building syndrome. Even NASA agrees!
Additional resources
For more information on indoor air quality try the following links:
Why this action is important?
This action will improve your health and the health of your work colleagues (it might even help out your boss!). The table below provides an overview of some of the relevant toxins and health concerns.
Chemical |
Source |
Health |
Formaldehyde
|
Pressed wood products (hardwood, plywood wall panelling, particleboard, fibreboard) and furniture made with these pressed wood products; urea-formaldehyde foam insulation (UFFI); combustion sources and environmental tobacco smoke; durable press drapes and other textiles; glues |
Eye, nose, and throat irritation; wheezing and coughing; fatigue; skin rash; asthma; severe allergic reactions. May cause cancer |
Benzene |
Paints, paint strippers, and other solvents; wood preservatives; aerosol sprays; cleansers and disinfectants; moth repellents; air fresheners |
Repeated skin contact with benzene will cause drying, inflammation, blistering and dermatitis. Acute inhalation of high levels of benzene has been reported to cause dizziness, weakness, euphoria, headache, nausea, blurred vision, respiratory diseases, tremors, irregular heartbeat, liver and kidney damage, paralysis and unconsciousness. |
Trichloroethylene (TCE) |
Metal degreasers; dry cleaners; printing inks; paints; lacquers; varnishes; adhesives |
Eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches, loss of coordination, nausea; damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous system. Believed to cause liver cancer in humans. |
Airborne biological pollutants |
Mould; dust mites; pet dander (skin flakes); droppings and body parts from cockroaches, rodents and other pests or insects; viruses; bacteria |
Some biological contaminants trigger allergic reactions, including hypersensitivity pneumonitis, allergic rhinitis, and some types of asthma. Infectious illnesses such as influenza, measles, and chicken pox are transmitted through the air. Moulds and mildews release disease-causing toxins. Symptoms of health problems caused by biological pollutants include sneezing, watery eyes, coughing, shortness of breath, dizziness, lethargy, fever, and digestive problems. |
Carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide |
Unvented kerosene and gas space heaters; leaking chimneys and furnaces; back-drafting from furnaces, gas water heaters, wood stoves, and fireplaces; gas stoves; generators and other gasoline powered equipment; automobile exhaust from attached garages; tobacco smoke |
At low concentrations, carbon monoxide causes fatigue in healthy people and chest pain in people with heart disease. At higher concentrations, it causes impaired vision and coordination; headaches; dizziness; confusion and nausea. Nitrogen Dioxide causes eye, nose, and throat irritation. It may cause impaired lung function and increased respiratory infections in young children. |
Pesticides |
Products used to kill household pests (insecticides, termiticides, and disinfectants); products used on lawns and gardens that drift or are tracked inside the house |
Irritation to eye, nose, and throat; damage to central nervous system and kidney; increased risk of cancer. |
Disinfectants
(phenols, which include biphenyl, phenolics and the preservative pentachloraphenol) |
Disinfectants; antiseptics; perfumes; mouthwashes; glues; air fresheners |
Skin, eyes, and mucous membrane irritation. At lethal doses it causes irregular breathing, muscle weakness and tremors, loss of coordination, convulsions, coma, and respiratory arrest. |
Environment
Nature is helping to protect us from environmental toxins all the time. By working with nature to clean up our increasingly toxic working spaces, we realise the service we receive in our wider environment every day.
Wellbeing
The health and wellbeing benefits from reducing your daily exposure to the chemicals associated with 'sick building syndrome' will be measured in fewer respiratory ailments, and may prevent the onset of more serious conditions. As an added bonus, these plants are beautiful adornments to any room.
© 2009 Natural Strategies Group Pty Ltd. All rights reserved.
We and our content providers (‘we’) have tried to make the information on these web pages as accurate as possible, but it is provided ‘as is’ and we accept no responsibility for any loss, injury or inconvenience sustained by anyone resulting from this information. You should verify the information with the relevant authorities and consider how it applies to your own personal circumstances. |
