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Health Effects Due to Indoor Air Pollution

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Survival and Sustainability

Part of the book series: Environmental Earth Sciences ((EESCI))

Abstract

The indoor environment can be very polluted with pollution levels indoors higher than those outdoors, particularly so when there are combustion processes associated with cooking heating or smoking and poor ventilation. About half the world’s population have to rely for cooking; and associated space heating on simple household stoves using unprocessed solid fuels that have high emission factors, with the consequence that they are exposed to high levels of health-damaging air pollutants. Cooking may produce very high concentrations of particulate matter particularly when biomass is used as fuel. Tobacco smoke may add to the pollution and these together cause considerable human ill health world-wide. Many pollutants directly affect the respiratory and cardiovascular systems and the severity varies according to the intensity and the duration of exposure. The health status of the population exposed varies with some people at greater risk than others. Several chemicals found in the indoor environment are classed as carcinogens although at the levels found the probability that they will cause cancer is extremely low. This is not to lessen the problem. In a 1987 study, the US Environmental Protection Agency ranked indoor air pollution fourth in cancer risk among the 13 top environmental problems analysed.

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  1. Grey Cross, Haslemere, Surrey, GU27 2 JH, UK

    John A. Hoskins

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  1. John A. Hoskins
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Correspondence to John A. Hoskins .

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  1. Dept. Civil Engineering, Near East University, Nicosia, Mersin 10, Turkey

    Hüseyin Gökçekus

  2. Dept. Civil Engineering, Near East University, Nicosia, Mersin 10, Turkey

    Umut Türker

  3. P.E.LaMoreaux and Associates, University Blvd. 2612, Tuscaloosa, 35403, Alabama, USA

    James W. LaMoreaux

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Hoskins, J.A. (2010). Health Effects Due to Indoor Air Pollution. In: Gökçekus, H., Türker, U., LaMoreaux, J. (eds) Survival and Sustainability. Environmental Earth Sciences. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-95991-5_61

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