A three-year study of Alexandria’s environmental health provided some surprising results: a large population of asthma sufferers and disconnect between what people think is unhealthy and what is.

Two recent studies by the Virginia Department of Health and the American Lung Society vary largely on the estimated number of adult asthma sufferers in Alexandria: 4,876 and 9,468, respectively.

But regardless which is more accurate, the message is clear.

“That’s a huge number of people,” said Bob Custard, environmental health manager for the Alexandria Health Department. “Asthma is increasingly a problem everywhere.”

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Custard says he and the other members of the 27-person assessment team were surprised, until they compared the numbers with state and national data. Since the 1980s, the number of asthma sufferers nationwide has about doubled, Custard said. National trends show that children and blacks are most likely to have asthma, though no one’s quite sure why, Custard said.

The city’s study included a survey of 574 residents. Their top concerns were water quality, outdoor air quality and food safety. Yet in the study presented at a City Council meeting Tuesday, water quality actually is the smallest risk to public health, while indoor air quality is the highest risk to public health.

“Air is colorless and odorless, so we don’t associate it with contaminants,” Custard said.

Contaminant levels of indoor air are often 10 times that of outdoor air, Custard told the council members. He noted that newer buildings are more airtight, which reduces airflow, and often have fewer windows that can be opened. Poorly maintained ventilation systems, mold and carpeting are other factors that can contribute to poor indoor air quality, Custard said.

In addition to presenting the data, Custard’s group said it hopes to create programs to address the problems. One idea is to adopt an Environmental Protection Agency program that studies and corrects air quality inside schools. The top reason for absenteeism from school for children is asthma attacks, Custard said.

To learn more about indoor air quality and how it can impact your health, visit www.alexhealth.org/rhie/.

mhegstad@dcexaminer.com