For the sake of us and our cats, make clean indoor air a legal right

In the UK, leading doctors have called for clean indoor air quality to be covered by the law.

Going through Parliament at the moment is a bill and the Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have urged Michael Gove, the environment secretary, to include indoor air quality in this bill.

They said:

“Pollutants generated indoors gain access to the indoor spaces of our homes, schools and workplaces where we spend greater than 85% of our time.”

Fiona MacRae, writing in The Times of Thursday, June 13, 2019, says that:

“Toxic chemicals can leak out of furniture, carpets and paints, and air fresheners and cleaning products may release others. The compounds have been linked to asthma, allergies, heart and lung problems, cancer and reduced fertility.”

Fiona MacRae

These are the hidden problems inside our homes that humans face. My concern, more so than about myself, is the effect that these compounds have upon domestic cats and indeed domestic dogs. Do they affect the thyroid gland causing hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism? Do they affect the endocrine system generally? What about allergies and dermatitis? There are many mysterious allergies that cats suffer from. Allergies are very hard to diagnose and eliminate and perhaps one reason for this is this invisible but ever present air pollution in homes. I think it is very reasonable to raise these issue because cats are mammals and their anatomy is very similar to ours. And millions of cats in the US live their entire lives indoors.

The Times newspaper is campaigning for a new Clean Air Act to give everyone (including their companion animals) in Britain the right to unpolluted air.

“If people have the right to breathe clean air outside, they have a right to clean air in their homes, schools and hospitals too.”

Geraint Davies chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on air pollution