Whether in a home, office building, shopping mall or restaurant, more than 90 percent of an American’s life is spent indoors. Poor indoor air quality can decrease worker productivity and your overall quality of life. Adding interior plants is a cost-effective way to improve indoor air quality while contributing to sustainable, green building designs.

• Plants are cheaper to use than powerful air filter systems.

• Plants are environmentally friendly.

• Plants offer aesthetic stimulants to the people in a room.

• Placed strategically, plants help reduce noise levels.

• Plants do not interfere with ventilation systems that are already installed.

• Plants increase productivity by decreasing paid sick leave.

• Plants support good motivation by creating a balanced working environment.

• Introducing plants requires no change to the structure of a building.

• Plants improve indoor air quality by reducing harmful VOCs.

• Plants help eliminate (SBS) “Sick Building Syndrome”.

Research shows plant-filled rooms contain 50-60 percent fewer airborne molds and bacteria than rooms without plants. For almost 20 years, Dr. Billy C. Wolverton and his aides in the Environmental Research Laboratory of the John C. Stennis Space Center (Picayune, Miss.) have been conducting innovative research employing natural biological processes for air purification. "We've found that plants can suck these chemicals out of the air," he said. "After some study, we've unraveled the mystery of how plants can act as the lungs and kidneys of these buildings."

Excerpt from February 2005 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.
Article by Pamela Nelly [Click here to read article in its entirety]