The environmental tobacco smoke is the one that comes from the cigarettes, pipes or cigars which are consumed as the one that is exhaled by the smoker. This smoke contains particles and many dangerous substances. The exposure of non smokers to the environmental tobacco smoke is called the second hand smoke.

The tobacco smoke irritates the eyes, the nose and the throat of the people who are exposed to them. The infants and the children whose parents smoke are more frequently prone to the infections of the bronchi, the nose, the throat and the ears.

The children exposed to the second hand smoke have more risks to develop respiratory problems while growing. The women who are highly exposed during their pregnancy tend to have less large babies at the birth.

The tobacco smoke is hurtful to the people having respiratory problems like asthma in particular. A higher risk of lung cancer was highlighted among non smokers exposed to the environmental tobacco smoke.

• Avoid smoking inside the closed places
• Respect the zones non smokers
• Increase the renewal of air if the device allows it, with the need by opening windows

The moulds are microscopic mushrooms able to colonize supports of nature varied (wood, paper, tissues, foodstuffs...) for little that they find there a positive dampness and enough nutritive products. They can release spores in great quantity and/or odorous substances (musty smell) even toxic (mycotoxins, volatile composed organic) in the air.

Among the sensitized people, the moulds can cause allergic manifestations and irritations of the mucous membranes. The pulmonary infection (invasive aspergillosis) appears primarily among the people with lowered immunizing defenses.

Within the framework of occupations (agriculture, cheese dairy), the moulds can cause pneumopathia of over-sensitiveness when a massive quantity of spores is inhaled.

The moulds are of environmental origin. Their spores are introduced into the buildings by the openings, the up and down of the occupants and their clothing, the dust and of the materials/matters contaminated.

Although there are species of moulds adapted to the dryness, dampness generally favours the growth of the majority of them. Wet parts (bathroom....) badly ventilated, bottom of the badly insulated walls or with defects of sealing, is places favourable to the development of the moulds. Their growth on the contaminated supports results in spots of sizes and colors varied (green, gray, black...).

• Ventilate after the activities which produce much moisture (bath, shower, cooking...) in order to avoid permanent condensations on the supports.
• Drain any damage of water as soon as possible and to replace if necessary damaged materials and carpets. Avoid the chronic leakages of water (roof, joined...) and seal them as soon as one is informed of it.
• Take care of the good system maintenance of ventilation so that their effectiveness is maintained in time.

An allergen is a foreign substance (or antigen) able to start an allergic reaction when it is in contact with our immune system.

Among patients allergic to the cat and dog, the symptoms can be: rhinitis (runs nose, sneeze), conjunctivitis (spade red eyes), asthma (respiratory gene, whistling, cough).

Saliva, the skin, the anal glands of the domestic animals (cat, dog...) are tanks of allergens.

In the event of symptom, the animal withdrew remains obviously the most effective treatment. Separation being able to be worse than the remedy, if you do not want to separate you from your animal, takes measures necessary :

• Frequently wash your animal with an adapted shampoo
• Brush him regularly outside your housing
• Pass the vacuum cleaner 2 times by week
• Forbid the access of the animal in the rooms

When you do the housework, think of :

• Open the window when you pass the hoover
• If you are asthmatic, you can use vacuum cleaners equipped with HEPA filters.

It is a compound set belonging to various chemical families. The COV are largely used in the manufacture of many products and materials (painting, varnished, glues, fitted carpet, tiling, cleaner, cigarette smoke, new fabrics...).

Their common point is to evaporate more or less quickly at the ambient temperature and thus to find themselves in the air. The COV are often greater numbers and more concentrated inside than outside considering the multiplicity of the interior sources.

They are generally badly known but we award to them according to compounds' of the skin irritations, the mucous membranes and the pulmonary system, of nauseas, headaches and vomiting.

Some compounds, such as for example benzene or monomeric chloride vinyl, are associated to leukaemias or cancers (in the case of professional exposure). Others are suspect of reproduction attacks (for example glycol ethers [2 éthoxyéthanol, 2-butoxyéthanol, 1-méthoxy-2-propanol]).

23 COV were measured during the pilot compaign. According to the scientific literature, the potential sources are :

• Reduce their use while using, if possible, products with weak emission of COV
• Respect the operating instructions of the products ("not to use in a closed room", "not to inhale the vapours"...)
• Air clothing after a dry cleaning
• Largely air the rooms after use of new products

The Nitrogen monoxide (NO) results from the freak of nature of combustion at high temperature by oxidation of nitrogen of the air.

The nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is, as for him, a polluting says secondary coming from the reaction between NO and oxygen.

Although the experimental studies on the animal and the human being show a real toxicity of nitrogen dioxide, the results of the epidemiologic studies are not also convincing. Indeed, the pulmonary consequences of exposures controlled to strong nitrogen dioxide concentrations are known in the human being and the animal, but the medical impact of the weak concentrations is shown much less through the epidemiologic studies.

However, the asthmatic ones set up a group sensitive to nitrogen dioxide: the exposure to the NO2 involves a deterioration of their pulmonary function and an increase in the sensitivity of the air routes to the bronchoconstricteurs.

Their presence in the buildings is due to external sources (industries, automobile traffic) or interns such as the equipment working to gas (cookers and water-heater) and to a lesser extent, the gasoline or wood stoves and the cigarette smoke.

• Air and ventilate, in particular rooms holding equipment running on gas
• Use and look after a hood kitchen to the top of the gas cooker