4-H Clean Air Project - Cleaning Indoor Air with Plants

8/8/2019 4-H Clean Air Project - Cleaning Indoor Air with Plants

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Plants add beauty to indoor settings in ourhomes, offices, and classrooms. Most peo-ple would agree that having plants nearbywhile working or studying makes the

experience more pleasant and the sur-roundings more enjoyable. However,NASA research scientists have found thatplants do more than just look good. Theycan actually clean indoor air, making ourinterior breathing spaces healthier.

NASA researchers working on theSKYLAB project in 1973 discovered 107volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in thespace laboratory air. The VOCs were atlevels harmful to humans. Some of thechemicals they found included acetone,toluene, xylene, benzene, ethyl acetate,and naphthalene. Following these find-ings, the U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency discovered 900 VOCs contaminat-ing the air of offices, hospitals, nursinghomes, and schools. Some of these 900included benzene, formaldehyde, and pes-ticides. These studies raised our under-standing of indoor air pollution.

In 1997, retired NASA research scien-tist Dr. B.C. Wolverton wrote a book calledHow to Grow Fresh Air to share hisclean-air discoveries. In his book,

Wolverton listed common sources ofVOCs that cause indoor air pollution(Table 1).

Table 1. Common Sources of

Chemical Emissions

Adhesives FabricsBioeffluents Gas stovesCarpeting Paints, stains, varnishesCeiling tiles Permanent press clothingCleaning products Plywood or particle boardCosmetics Tobacco smokeDraperies UpholsteryElectronic devices Wall coverings

Wolverton, B.C. How to Grow Fresh Air, Penguin, New

York, 1997

Perhaps one of the most surprisingsources of indoor air pollution is electronicdevices. Personal computers, computermonitors, and televisions emit many of the

same chemicals that were found in SKY-LAB, including benzene, dodecane, andmany other enes and anes, along withsubstances like formaldehyde.

Once these volatile organic chemicalswere found in our breathing spaces, scien-tists in the medical field conducted addi-tional studies to determine if there wererelated human health issues. Numerousstudies demonstrated that many commonillnesses and diseases could be linked toindoor air pollution (Table 2).

Table 2. Health Problems Associated

with Indoor Air Pollution

Allergies Eye, nose, and throat irritationsAsthma Sinus congestionFatigue Nervous system disordersHeadache Respiratory congestionCancer Parkinsons disease

Resolving the problem of indoor airpollution is a subject of much interest toNASA scientists and health professionals.Some might say, Just open the windows

and get some fresh air! Ventilation mightwork in a country home, but never inouter space! Often, its not possible toopen the windows where we work andlearn or even at home, especially duringinclement weather. Neither can commonair filters do an adequate job of removingsources of indoor air pollution.

NASA research scientists eventuallyobtained excellent results by using plantsto remove harmful volatile chemicals fromindoor air. In his book, Wolverton names50 plants that were found to remove

harmful chemicals. Table 3 lists some ofthose plants.

4-H Clean Air Project


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ReferencesBuckley, J.D., et al. Indoor pesticide use increasedchild cancer rates. Cancer 89: 11, 2000.

Burkhard, C. Chemical emissions from office equip-ment, IVF Research Publication 99826, 1999.

Corsi, R. and J. Gabbs. VOC emissions from pack-aged and active computers, Poster, Annual Meetingof the International Society for Exposure Analysis2000, Monterey, CA, 2000.

Daniels, J.L., et al. Neuroblastoma linked to homestreated with pesticides. Epidemiology 12(1): 20-26,

January 2001.

Pezzoli, G. Hydrocarbon exposure and Parkinsonsdisease. Neurology, Vol. 55: 667-673, Sept. 2000.

Rumchev, K., et al. Association of domestic exposureto volatile organic compounds with asthma in youngchildren, Thorax, 2004, 59:746-751.

Steffen, C. Benzene linked to childhood leukemia.Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Vol. 61:773-778, 2004.

Weisel, C.P. Assessing exposure to air toxics relativeto asthma. Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol.110, No. 4, Aug. 2002.

Wensing, M. Determination of organic chemical emis-sions from electronic devices. Raw, G., Aizlewood, C.,and Warren, O. (Eds). Proceedings of the 8th Intl.Conf. on Indoor Air and Climate, Edinburg, U.K., Vol.5, pp. 87-92, 1999.


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Copyright 2010 by Mississippi State University. All rights reserved. This publication may be copied and distributedwithout alteration for nonprofit educational purposes provided that credit is given to the Mississippi State UniversityExtension Service.

Revised by Dr. Lelia Kelly, Associate Extension Professor, North Mississippi Research and Extension Center,from an earlier edition by Dr. Kerry Johnson, retired Area Horticulture Extension Agent.

Discrimination based upon race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or veterans status is a violation of fed-eral and state law and MSU policy and will not be tolerated. Discrimination based upon sexual orientation or group affilia-tion is a violation of MSU policy and will not be tolerated.

Publication 2527Extension Service of Mississippi State University, cooperating with U.S. Department of Agriculture. Published infurtherance of Acts of Congress, May 8 and June 30, 1914. JOE E. STREET, Interim Director (POD-11-10)

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4-H Clean Air Project - Cleaning Indoor Air with Plants