It is biomedical waste incinerator and is situated about 500 m from my home. It is producing toxic fumes in the night for about 3 hours . Will installing an airconditioner in my room flter the air I breath from the toxic fumes(dioxin, smoke etc.) The whole air around my house is filled by this poison gas from 3am in the morning to 5am.
2006-09-02 02:55:11 · 9 answers · asked by Gopala G 1 in Health ➔ General Health Care ➔ Other - General Health Care
To my understanding an air conditioner does not have the air filters that would be necessary to properly filter the air. But there are a couple of things you need to keep in mind: firstly, medical waste has to be burned at a high enough temperature to denature all of the active ingredients (or at least they are suppose to be), secondly, is this a recent change? or has it been going on for awhile?, thirdly, if you are being inundated with toxic chemcials from outside, make sure to do something about all the toxic chemicals inside your home to decrease the toxic build up. Things like bleach, laundry soap, even your window cleaner give off toxic chemicals. A couple of site I found helpful were cyf.healthyhometour.com and cyf.toxinchecklist.com .
I would speak to the owner of the incinerator and get an emission report and check with your city or county to see if these emissions are within acceptable parameters. The only problem is that long term exposure to even small amounts of toxins can have devastating effects- birth defects, cancer, and some reports indicate correlation to alzheimers. The only truly safe option you may have is to move, but do what you can to get rid of the other toxic chemicals in your life too.
2006-09-02 03:06:56 · answer #1 · answered by Monica M 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
An ordinary air conditioner offers no protection. The air filtration system in an ordinary a/c is designed to catch large particles like dust and hair.
An ordinary air conditioner with an upgraded filtration system *might* offer some protection.
Virtually no a/c unit in a home installation brings in and cools outdoor air. Cooling down the hot air outside would be a tremendous waste of energy. Even window and in-wall a/c units recirculate the indoor air.
If the fumes are such that they smell strongly, I like the idea of contacting the government and insisting that tests be conducted. If the situation is truly unsafe (not just stinky but truly unsafe), there are all sorts of options you will be presented with.
In sum, if the incenerator is endangering your health, you have much bigger problems than any air conditioner or air purifier can solve.
2006-09-02 12:07:26 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
A room air conditioner that sits in the window cycles air from outside to inside so would not help you at all. You can buy a Hepa filter for around $200.00 and keep windows and doors closed. These trap allergens and pollutants and are very effective. You can also put special filters on all of your intake vents and furnace filter. Make sure each floor or wall vent has one of these filters and also make sure to change them once per month. The recommendation is once every three, but I would do this every month.
It is unlikely that the waste contains dioxin since this is a pesticide derivative. The main concern is the smoke itself. All biological organisms are destroyed in the incineration process so the chief risk to you is just the irritant factor and smell from this process. While unpleasant, the extra filtration should help improve the quality of your air in your home greatly.
2006-09-02 11:54:00 · answer #3 · answered by petlover 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
An ordinary air conditioning unit will not offer adequate protection. You need heavy-duty air purifiers with hepa filters.
If I were you I'd get the city to test the air to find out EXACTLY what's in it and the concentrations of the toxins present. I would then ask the waste facility to defray the costs of a premium air filtration system.
You have just as much right to clean air as anyone else and if the waste facility is making the air quality less than the established norms, then let them pay to at least ensure that you aren't running any health risks by breathing in their excretions.
2006-09-02 10:09:17 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
First you should go to your department of environment or local government office and find out just how toxic are the fumes being emitted and whether it is in the legal limit.
You should also take a full medical check up each year to record whether you these fumes are having an effect on your health
Air conditioners draw in some air from outside to circulate within, you will need to check how much air it draws in
Have you ever thought of moving - I don't think you are living in a healthy environment.
2006-09-02 09:59:25 · answer #5 · answered by Ya-sai 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would install air purifiers in every room. Sharper image sells some good ones. They are not the cheapest, but where your health is concerned they are worth it. An air conditioner will has to suck in the air you already breath to cool it off, even a great filter wIth a high merv rating will not completely clean your air. (consider a move)
2006-09-02 09:59:15 · answer #6 · answered by mixemup 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That would depend on what they are incinerating. The levels of toxins in the air are strictly controlled by the EPA. You should be okay. but if you are concerned with it. Upgrade the airfilter in your central AC system. It could help. I dont think a window unit would help
2006-09-02 09:59:42 · answer #7 · answered by Dave D 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
NO. They don't filter much, if anything, from the air.
2006-09-02 10:01:30 · answer #8 · answered by hmmm... 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no
2006-09-02 09:57:10 · answer #9 · answered by jaynemynx 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋