Also discussed here: Focus on exposure to air pollution and related health impacts (2 page pdf, Otto Hänninen, Sotiris Vardoulakis, Dimosthenis A. Sarigiannis, Selahattin Incecik and Ranjeet S. Sokhi, Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, Feb 25, 2011)
The focus for today’s review are WHO guidelines to regulate the acceptable or safe levels of indoor pollutants. Such guidelines has lagged those for outdoor pollution, even though most of us spend most of our time breathing indoor air- and some spend all their time there.
Key Quotes:
“WHO guidelines for the protection of public health from risks due to a number of chemicals commonly present in indoor air..i.e. benzene, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, naphthalene, nitrogen dioxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (especially benzo[a]pyrene), radon, trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene.. provide a scientific basis for legally enforceable standards”
“Hazardous substances emitted from buildings, construction materials and indoor equipment or due to human activities indoors, such as combustion of fuels for cooking or heating, lead to a broad range of health problems and may even be fatal”
“Human beings need a regular supply of food and water and an essentially continuous supply of air. The requirements for air and water are relatively constant (10–20 m3 and 1–2 litres per day, respectively).”
“In residences, day-care centres, retirement homes and other special environments, indoor air pollution affects population groups that are particularly vulnerable owing to their health status or age”
“Benzene is present in both outdoor and indoor air. However, indoor concentrations are generally higher than those in outdoor air owing to the infiltration of benzene present in outdoor air and to the existence of many other indoor sources”
“Exposure to carbon monoxide reduces maximum exercise ability in healthy young individuals and reduces the time to angina and, in some cases, the time to ST-segment depression in people with cardiovascular disease”
“The principal health concerns of exposure to naphthalene are respiratory tract lesions, including tumours in the upper respiratory tract”
“The health evaluation data suggest that lung cancer is the most serious health risk from exposure to PAHs in indoor air. B[a]P is one of the most potent carcinogens among the known PAHs”
“WHO proposes a Reference Level of 100 Bq/m3 to minimize health hazards due to indoor radon exposure”
Related articles
- Investigate Your Indoor Air Quality (everydayhealth.com)
- Identifying Indoor Air Quality Problems (everydayhealth.com)
- Indoor Air Quality: The Trouble With Carpeting (everydayhealth.com)
- Simple steps to improve indoor air quality in the workplace (electrocorpairpurification.wordpress.com)
- New tool debuts for measuring indoor air pollutants (physorg.com)
- Reducing Indoor Air Pollution Can Help Manage COPD (everydayhealth.com)
- Burning issues: tackling indoor air pollution (iapnews.wordpress.com)
- Seasonal Tips for Clean, Safe Air (everydayhealth.com)
- Poor air quality could be affecting students' academic performance (digitalnewsgathering.wordpress.com)
- 5 Ways to Improve Workplace Indoor Air Quality, Reduce Harmful Effects (prnewswire.com)
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