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The Importance of Indoor Air Pollution

Although we tend to think of air pollution as a phenomenon for crowded city streets, levels of indoor air pollution in many homes exceed outside toxicity readings. Contaminants tend to accumulate in closed spaces like homes, particularly when the home adds its own pollutants, such as fumes from cleaning products and gas stoves, to the polluted air coming from outside. As a result, indoor air pollution is an important risk factor for public health.

  1. Exposure Times

    • One of the most troubling health factors regarding poor indoor air quality is the extremely long exposure times experienced by occupants of a building. Simply adding up the number of hours spent at home or inside an office for most of us on a daily basis will reveal the danger of having even small amounts of dangerous contaminants in the air at those locations. Poor air quality on the street, on the other hand, can lead to limited and interrupted exposures in most cases.

    Vulnerability

    • While the victims of outdoor air pollution tend to be individuals in sufficiently good health who venture outside, the habit of protecting the young, sick and elderly by keeping them indoors actually can put these highly vulnerable individuals at an increased risk of health problems related to poor indoor air quality. As a result, chronic exposure to indoor air contaminants falls on the individuals most vulnerable to the effects, a factor that is particularly noticeable in the developing world where poor indoor air quality from cooking stoves has led to an epidemic of childhood respiratory diseases.

    Immediate Effects

    • The immediate effects of poor indoor air quality depend on the nature of the contaminants present, but tend to be mild and comparable to the symptoms of allergies and colds. These can include irritation of the eyes, nose and throat accompanied by coughing or sneezing. Over time, nervous system and circulatory symptoms can also develop, including headaches, dizziness and fatigue. In the case of individuals who already have respiratory conditions, such as asthma, poor indoor air quality can trigger or intensify the symptoms of these conditions.

    Long-Term Effects

    • As with immediate impacts, the exact long-term health impacts of poor indoor air quality depend largely on the chemicals present, but sustained or acute exposure to poor-quality indoor air is a significant risk factor and can result in several serious chronic or terminal conditions. Particularly in the case of children and individuals with debilitated immune systems or developmental disorders, poor-quality indoor air can lead to chronic respiratory conditions such as asthma. Even in the case of adults, exposure to poor-quality indoor air can also increase the risk of heart disease and cancer.

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