A Focus On Indoor Air Pollution

The air quality, in general, involves various health risks for people and pets; but according to scientific studies, the indoor air inside buildings can be worse than the outside air.

Being indoors -sometimes known as the solution to outdoor pollution- can bring greater health complications than being outside in the city. This type of pollution depends on several factors such as the chemical products used in the home, the type of kitchen and cooking, outside air inlet, the odors inside the house, routine activities, among others.

Indoor air refers to the air in and around buildings and structures since the surroundings near the building usually reflect the internal conditions. The idea of shutting the people up inside buildings to avoid exposure to outside pollution has been widely discussed, but the levels of people exposed to diseases caused by indoor air pollution are several million around the world; so in your case, locking yourself inside your home may not be the best option. 

Some people may think that outdoor air in the cities does not have of good quality, but indoor air is usually worse due to the mixture of both indoor and outdoor pollutants. Image 1 shows a fire case, revealing what happens to the air indoors and how chemicals are trapped inside; the anti-gas equipment of the firefighters demonstrates the high toxicity of this type of pollution

Image 1: A firefighter does his job during a fire inside a house.

What are the sources of indoor air pollution?

Be aware that if you don't have an air-insulating system inside your home, pollutants from outside will enter inside through windows, doors, and gaps; indoor pollutants are primarily related to food preparation, personal care, and home cleaning. Scientists have found that in some cases, indoor pollution could produce higher levels of PM2.5 than those found on the streets of Delhi, one of the most polluted cities in the world. A study on pollutants in the kitchens of Bangladesh, Chile, China, Colombia, India, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, showed that 75% of the kitchens in rural communities that use traditional fuels, had concentrations of fine particles that exceeded the limit allowed by WHO (World Health Organization). Gas and electric stoves had 50% lower levels of PM2.5 than households that cooked with firewood and agricultural waste.

On the other hand, gas stoves also emit many potentially toxic gases, such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide due to combustion reactions; there are also volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by household cleaning and maintenance products, odors, personal care products such as shower gels, fragrances, inks, air fresheners, among others. Other forms of combustion involve the burning of fuels and products such as tobacco inside the home, which further increases the number of air pollutants and their lethality.

In the case of remodeling or construction inside the home, building materials and furniture such as asbestos, newly installed floors, upholstery and carpets, cabinets or furniture made from certain hardboard products, drilling, and also some hobbies such as oil painting can involve strong odors and pollutants. Unventilated, malfunctioning, shorted, or misused products can release higher and sometimes dangerous levels of indoor pollutants; putting household members at risk, including the people who live around the home. Cooking activities (Image 2) and other routine activities lead to the release of smoke and other toxic vapors with the ability to accumulate inside a poorly ventilated building.

Image 2: Polluting smoke emitted into indoor air when cooking.

What are the complications?

Not all people are exposed to outdoor pollution in their homes. To achieve this, initially, it is necessary to have good air insulation, this will not allow outside air to enter; if outside air gets inside, together with indoor air pollutants, can build up to dangerous levels, causing health and comfort problems.

Traditionally, buildings have been built or adapted in their structure with ventilation, filtration, and air cleaning technologies; they are designed and built to minimize the amount of outside air that can "filtrate" inside, avoiding the accumulation of more pollutants in the air.

Heating systems, central cooling, humidification, can cause the emission of pollutants by the use-state and nature of the operation. At the same time, they can favor microbiological pollution by contributing excess humidity and ideal temperature conditions for microorganisms.

What are the health effects?

For many, the shift from insulating their homes to purchasing an air purification system has been a better one. There may be even more serious effects in the short and long term, on vulnerable populations (see Image 3). Scientific studies identified an increase in eye, nose, and throat irritation, headaches, dizziness, and fatigue. other long-term effects suggest some respiratory diseases, heart disease, and cancer, they can be very debilitating or fatal. Still, other concerns include significant impacts to the immune system due to excessive pollution harassment. 

What's more, reports and studies indicate that medical special care populations can be disproportionately affected by air pollutants, this includes the elderly, children, and pregnant women. It is unavoidable that they do not have contact with pollution, with the aggravating circumstance that their defense system is usually in development or in poor condition.

Image 3: Health effects of indoor air pollutants.

Even so, to reduce exposure to indoor air pollutants, it is recommended to maintain an adequate cleaning inside the homes, clean the garbage every day to avoid the accumulation of pollutants, clean the dust so that it does not accumulate; at the same time, be careful when cooking, open the windows, put ventilation and if you use a wood stove, try to cook in open spaces and with protection against smoke.

This implies that the economic investment to improve the capacity of the health sector must take place with the participation in policies that enhance, evaluate and monitor the efficiency of these methods. This approach can support the promotion of measures that are beneficial for indoor and outdoor pollution, to simultaneously protect the health of people and the environment; in turn, it would avoid excessive current and future economic costs, which would open more doors to innovative solutions, allowing adequate investment in health and sustainable development.

But in many places, this implementation is sought by influencing other sectors of the economy, although it must be included within the basic functions of the health sector. Air pollution should be assessed according to its localized risks and emergency prevention/response plans; investments in the productive and economic sector must be supported by universal health coverage of the environment and the people to achieve a healthy supply of energy, water, and sanitation

References

• Mondal D, Paul P. Effects of indoor pollution on acute respiratory infections among under-five children in India: Evidence from a nationally representative population-based study. PLoS One. 2020;15(8):e0237611. Published 2020 Aug 14. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0237611

• Tran, Vinh Van et al. “Indoor Air Pollution, Related Human Diseases, and Recent Trends in the Control and Improvement of Indoor Air Quality.” International journal of environmental research and public health vol. 17,8 2927. 23 Apr. 2020, doi:10.3390/ijerph17082927

• Matthew Shupler. Air pollution: over three billion people breathe harmful air inside their own homes. THe Conversation. January 20, 2021 8.10am EST.

• Abouleish MYZ. Indoor air quality and COVID-19. Public Health. 2021;191:1-2. doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2020.04.047

• Neira M., Ramanathan V. (2020) Climate Change, Air Pollution, and the Environment: The Health Argument. In: Al-Delaimy W., Ramanathan V., Sánchez Sorondo M. (eds) Health of People, Health of Planet and Our Responsibility. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31125-4_8