Carbon dioxide at levels normally found indoors is usually considered benign, especially compared with carbon monoxide. But a study finds that even modestly elevated CO2 can impair decision-making. (click below to read more)
Outdoor CO2 levels are usually around 380 parts per million. In the study, researchers tested decision-making in 22 people at a base line of 600 parts per million (the level in a well-ventilated room) and then at 1,000 and 2,500 ppm. The researchers measured nine factors that would play a role in decision-making and found that performance in six of these measures decreased moderately at 1,000 ppm relative to the base line of 600 ppm, and then decreased substantially at 2,500 ppm.
Given the emphasis on energy-efficient buildings, which are often more airtight, the study suggests that carbon dioxide might be an indoor pollutant to worry about—especially in conference rooms, where important decisions are hashed out.
"Is CO2 an Indoor Pollutant? Direct Effects of Low-to-Moderate CO2 Concentrations on Human Decision-Making Performance," Usha Satish, Mark J. Mendell, Krishnamurthy Shekhar, Toshifumi Hotchi, Douglas Sullivan, Siegfried Streufert and William J. Fisk, Environmental Health Perspectives
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