European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 10, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Houseplants help clean the air. By Connie Koenenn los Angeles times next time you water the split Leaf Philodendron that you plunked Down in the Corner two years ago give it a Little Pat of encouragement a it s doing More than you think. It is in fact steadily cleaning your air absorbing indoor pollutants through its leaves and soil and purifying them in an exquisite Root fitter recycling system. Quot it is natures perfect balance Quot says . Wolverton of Picayune miss., an environmental Engineer who studied the interaction of plants and air for almost 20 years As a research scientist for the National aeronautics and space administration in the course of developing life support systems for space stations Wolverton 58, has produced a spinoff body of research with immediate  he says Are veritable air purification machines that effectively attack not just Carbon dioxide but the indoor pollutants that cause Quot sick building  the split Leaf Philodendron works Day and night As do the. Spider Plant Golden pothos Bamboo English Ivy ficus and other familiar potted plants. And Wolverton says they demonstrate preferred appetites a the spider Plant and Golden pothos prefer formaldehyde which is released from insulation plywood and carpeting. A English Ivy among others has a taste for benzene a Carcinogen that is released by tobacco smoke gasoline inks paints and plastics. A flow erring plants such As the peace Lily gerbera Daisy and chrysanthemum have proved effective in removing trichloroethylene from such everyday sources As dry cleaning varnishes lacquers and adhesives. Wolverton and his Nasa colleagues first reported on the Plant air relationship in 1984 after Speer Plantin Titi was Superior at removing Carbon monoxide from air in closed Chambers. Philodendron removes Penene and Carbon monoxide from air and absorbs Large quantities of formaldehyde. Gerbera Daisy shown Here and chrysanthemum were found to be especially effective in removing benzene from air. Not experiments showed the leaves of Ordinary potted houseplants removed formaldehyde from contaminated air. Galvanized by an environmental Protection Agency report identifying More than 900 volatile organic chemicals inside modern sealed buildings Wolverton has since expanded his research. He now studies the entire Plant system of roots soil and Micro organisms. Quot every potted Plant is a regular Little. Ecosystem Quot he says. So far he has tested groups of potted plants in sealed Chambers for their consumption of formaldehyde benzene and trichloroethylene. In the process he has attracted a Host of disciples with his appealing i sign of Green plants As Quot clean air  Ingold of Vancouver British Columbia whose Casino tropical plants Ltd. Includes several greenhouse complexes and an outdoor Nursery is a third generation Horticulturist who was attracted by Wolverton s first study. Quot i be been involved in this business All my life Quot he says. A people who work with plants instinctively know they Are Good for the air. Now we have scientific  Wolverton s Early findings prompted the associated landscape contractors of America to jointly fund a two year study with Nasa for further research and to create the foliage for clean air Council in Falls Church a. The Council publicizes ongoing research. Quot we think the work is crucial Quot says managing director Jan Roy Quot the information is relatively new and we want to get the word out. A Quot we sealed up our buildings to be Energy efficient and in the process we sealed in hundreds of indoor air pollutants. They cause headaches and Eye irritation and respiratory sickness and lots of other health problems Quot Roy said. Quot people need to know that plants can be a Low tech Low Cost method for reducing indoor  readers action Linen co wants answer on promotion question it a i need your help. As usual aur modern army will not listen nor will they bother to answer questions which an no could have. I believe that were i an officer i would not have these problems. This is not the Way to treat a Good no. I was not selected Lor e-7 last year and so i began to question Why. I found a number of errors and wished to Lake action on them. Through research and thousands of questions i found there is a Way to try and request a promotion reconsideration through Stab standby advisory Board. This procedure allows cos to raise questions about possible errors which May have prevented promotion. I worked very hard and was Able to get a packet out on time Lor a reconsideration. Alter a reasonable length of time without a reply i again sent a letter asking to confirm if my paperwork was Ever received months later i still have not received one reply to my questions. Staff sgt. Harold w. Goodman Gie Belstadt Germany sgt. 1st class Ralph e. Mullins promotions Section Field services division personnel services support directorate he Usa eur replies we appreciate the Opportunity to clarify policy regarding the enlisted standby advisory Board stabs Well As the status of your request for consideration. Lets begin with your request. The . Army enlisted records and evaluation Center notified our office that your Case had been received and reviewed at the promotions Brach of per com personnel com your request was denied and returned with the reason for denial to the 177th pc personnel service Center on feb. 15. Our office contacted the 177th pc and it was confirmed Turat this office had received the reply from per com. The reply was forwarded through the commander hic 1st brigade to notify you of the reason for denial. Next chapter 7-44 of army regulation 600-200, lists the requirements that must be met to be eligible for the Stab. The Stab will Only consider soldiers who were not selected from the primary zone of a promotion selection Board. A few of the reasons that a Soldier May be eligible for a Stab Are. A when an article 15 or court martial for another Soldier is misfiled in your official military personnel file Impf. Also if an article 15 that is directed for filing in your restricted Fiche is misfiled in your performance Fiche a when an Adverse noncommissioned officer evaluation report no or was reviewed by the promotion Board and then later the report was declared invalid. A when an award for valor or a meritorious service a medal or higher for meritorious service is not present on the Impf or a form 2-1. All requests for consideration by the Stab should go through your Chain of command and the servicing military personnel office. Requests should be returned without action to the Soldier it the Case does not meet the eligibility requirements. However if any doubt exists the Case should be forwarded to per com for a decision converter for 220-Volt appliances of a i live on the Economy and have purchased Many new appliances with 220-Volt, either because of convenience or non availability of 110-Volt or dual voltage appliances that i have needed. I do use transformers on about 10 or 20 appliances i already had but i Don t want to buy any More transformers. My question is can i take my 220-Volt appliances Back to the states and use them with a converter if such a thing exists where can i Purchase them i m going to lose a lot of Money if i have to resell my 220-Volt appliances at the Thrift store and rebut All new 110-Volt appliances when i return to the United states Mary l. Reta Hohenfels Germany be master sgt. Daylon p. Strickland customer relations he cafes Europe replies we tried but can t find anyone who converts 220-Volt appliances to 110. I m sorry. A to write us _ readers action line is the readers a court of last resort striving to answer some of the questions about life overseas in a military environment or questions about policies and guidelines when other avenues for answers Are not readily available. If you have a question and Don t know where to turn for the answer write to readers action line co the stars and stripes apo09211-4211. At letters must be signed and preference will be Given to those seeking information of general interest to our readers. Page 16 the stars and stripes wednesday. July 10, 1991