[Pil-pc-oceania] indoor plants clean pollutants fro the air

[petra.kahle at haztech.com.au]

PLANTS CLEAN POLLUTANTS FROM THE AIR

MAKE SICK BUILDINGS HEALTHY

Some plants clean better than others.
NASA tests prove that many frequently used indoor plants reduce certain
toxic chemicals in the air dramatically
 by 80 and even 90%. Some of the
most effective are the Peace Lily, Gerbera Daisy, Chinese Evergreen,
Marginata and  Janet Craig.

“One plant per 100 feet should be effective in removing pollutants from
the air, producing clean air. Two plants should do the same cleaning job
in an average small office” Dr. B. Wolverton said
.

INDOOR PLANTS
WINNING THE BATTLE FOR CLEAN AIR.

The indoor plant does its bit for cleaner air.
Those plants in your office or home are not only decorative but scientists
are finding them to be surprisingly useful in absorbing potentially
harmful gases and cleaning the air inside modern buildings.
Tightly sealed offices with their beautiful furnishings are proving
hostile environments.
All sorts of dangers lurk inside – formaldehyde and benzene fumes released
from building materials, furniture and carpeting; ozone from copying
machines; fumes from cleaning solvents; radon and second-hand smoke.

NASA research focuses on living plants.
We all may be breathing a lot easier thanks to promising NASA research on
a most sophisticated pollution-absorbing device: the common office and
house plant.
The Interior Plantscape Division of the Associated Landscape Contractors
of America has joined with NASA in a 2 year program to study the
effectiveness of popular office plants in cleaning indoor air.
NASA research on indoor plants has found that living plants are so
efficient at absorbing contaminants in the air that some will be launched
into space as part of the biological  life support system aboard future
orbiting space stations.
Dr. Bill Wolverton, a NASA research scientist, believes that their
findings have some applications in cleaning dirty indoor air. He estimates
that 15 to 20 Golden Pothos and Spider Plants can clean and refresh the
air in the average 1800-square-foot home.

Indoor plants for better breathing.
Formaldehyde, a toxic chemical with the greatest exposure on humans, was
introduced into a sealed, plexiglass chamber with plants. Within 24 hours,
the plants – Philodendron, Spider Plant and Golden Pothos – removed 80% of
the formaldehyde molecules from the chamber.
The most effective pollution fighters are plants such as Gerbera Daisy and
Chrysanthemum., they are extremely potent in purifying interior air. Other
good performers are Draceana massangeana, Spathiphyllum, and Golden
Pathos.
You can use plants to improve the quality of indoor air to make it a more
pleasant place to work – and where people feel and perform better.

Article retold from Foliage For Clean Air Council, USA.


Other names for some plants:
Chinese Evergreen- Aglaonemas
Marginata and  Janet Craig – 2 types of dracaena, look like cordylines
"Devils Ivy" or "Golden Pothos"-  Scindapsus aures - synonym Epipremnum
aureum
spider plant -Chlorophytum comosum
Draceana massangeana- not sure about the “massangeana” bit but dracaena
are cordylines
Spathiphyllum- Peace Lily

I also heard that it’s the little critters in the soil that do the actual
cleaning.
Petra kahle 5/6/2007