Air pollution due to «Do-it-yourself» activities at home

Summary

Do-it-yourself work as a leisure activity contributes to air pollution in homes. The products or materials handled while working may be dispersed in the air, in the form of gas, vapors or particles which, by penetrating the organism, may represent a genuine risk of intoxication.

This air pollution source is of importance for two reasons: the number of amateurs of do-it-yourself work at home is steadily increasing and the products or materials and techniques formerly reserved to professionals are now available to anybody. The most frequently used health hazard products are the solvents, which are present in paints, varnishes, glues, protective wood coatings and paint strippers. Techniques such as the stripping of paint by means of heat and autogenous or electrical welding produce metal fumes, the noxiousness of which is well-known by all specialists in occupational toxicology.

The hazards of acute intoxication affecting persons exposed to a high concentration of polluting agents in the air, during a short period of time, are those occuring most frequently during craftwork at home. Nevertheless, certain particular jobs may be carried out over periods long enough to generate risks of chronic intoxication. In comparison with the intoxication hazards in the professional field, those due to craftwork at home seem to be subject to three aggravation factors: the lack of knowledge of users, insufficient technical prevention and the absence of medical or toxicological control.

The prevention of toxicological hazards due to do-it-yourself jobs effectuated at home is achieved through the information of the general public and that of the general practitioners. The knowledge about the risks incurred would lead the craftsmen to take efficient preventive measures. The doctors should draw the attention of their patients to the incompatibility existing between certain pathologic conditions and the fact of handling chemical products. They should also take account of possible toxic etiologies at the moment of diagnosing.