5,000 YEARS IN AIR QUALITY HISTORY

Not long ago, when I chatted with a friend about my job, they asked me, “Travis, how long has indoor air quality been a problem?”

I think my friend expected me to point back to the Air Pollution Control Act of 1955 or maybe even the formation of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) in 1894. But those would have been bad answers. Instead, I went WAY back. “Oh,” I said, “only since about 800 B.C.!”

My friend couldn’t believe it, but it’s true. People have been suffering from poor air for at least 5,000 years. Next time you need a fun fact for a cocktail party, this quick and wild ride through indoor air quality (IAQ) history will have you covered.

5,000 Years Ago: The Ancient Egyptians Get Lung Disease

In ancient times, people burned wood and animal dung to heat their homes and cook their meals. Often, the fire burned inside the same cave or shelter where they ate and slept. So, they constantly breathed polluted air! It’s no wonder archaeologists have found blackened lungs in mummies from Ancient Egypt and preserved bodies from Peru and Great Britain. No doubt Ancient Egyptians had asthma — and worse.

1,200 Years Ago: Roman Emperor Declares ‘Air for Everyone’

Did you know that the Romans had under-floor heating? Like other ancient peoples, they burned a lot of wood, which exposed them to high levels of particles and dust. Then, they started smelting copper and lead. This led to a high level of airborne metal, which infiltrated Roman lungs. The air in Rome became so polluted that in 535 A.D. Emperor Justinian I began investigating ways to clean it up. He even proclaimed clean air a Roman birthright! However, he failed to eliminate smelting, so health problems continued for the Romans.

700 Years Ago: Castle Architects Invent the Chimney

Architects discovered the very first chimneys in Medieval castles about 700 years ago. They were tall, narrow windows placed beside big fireplaces. At the time, castle dwellers believed smoke from the fireplace would find its way to the ceiling, drift out the top of the window, and leak out of the castle. Unfortunately, this didn’t work particularly well, because combustion in the fireplace also pulled smoky air into the castle through that same darn window. It took another 200 years for people around the world to adopt a more modern version of the chimney.

400 Years Ago: London Misses the Memo

You’d think the world would have learned from past air quality mistakes — but no. In the 1600s, smoke from London’s coal-powered industrial plants and homes became so thick that it actually damaged the city’s architecture and seeped into homes. (This was partly due to poor urban planning. The city should have been designed with industrial buildings on one end and living spaces on the other.) Imagine the effect breathing a substance that can alter stone would have on your health.

132 Years Ago: IAQ Is Officially Born

As near as I can tell, IAQ as we know it today wasn’t important to industrial hygiene until the 1890s. At that point, large cities began to take notice. Architects and engineers voiced their concerns about comfort, odors, and CO2 accumulation. In 1894, ASHRAE formed and quickly recommended an indoor ventilation rate of 15 liters of air per second. Physicians supported the measure because it mitigated the spread of airborne disease like smallpox and the flu.

Today, we’ve come a long way since the 1890s, but IAQ is still focused on protecting people’s health, eliminating odors, and making buildings more comfortable. Of course, not everyone is lucky enough to have reached 21st century standards. Open this newsletter to read a bit more about folks still stuck with IAQ from 5,000 years ago.