Indoor Air Quality & Health Outcomes: 10-2

Question 1

WHO Guidelines for Household Air Quality

Answer 1

~ In 2014, WHO guidelines for fuel combustion emission rate indoor (households)

Unvented stoves: PM2.5 0.23 mg/min
CO 0.16g/min

Vented stoves: PM2.5 0.80mg/min
CO 0.59g/min

Question 2

Urban Households

Answer 2

~Households in urban centers from developed & developing countries have increased levels of indoor air pollutants generated by a variety of sources.
~Indoor environment, in many cases, becomes an imminent threat to human health.

Question 3

Indoor Air Pollution Sources

FIRST 5

Answer 3

1) Mold & Bacteria
2) Carbon Monoxide fumes from attached garage
3) Chemicals released from building & furnishing materials
4) Tobacco Smoke
5) Gases including radon seeping through foundation.

Question 4

Indoor Air Pollution Sources
LAST 9

Answer 4

6) Dust mites
7) Cockroaches
8) Dander of furred or feathered animals
9) Fungi
10) Fuel Combustion by products
11) Chemicals used for cleaning & disinfecting
12) Cooking with bio-aerosols
13) Beauty products
14) Plants

Question 5

Chemical Analysis of Air Pollutants

Answer 5

-Determination of indoor PM elemental composition is very important as people spend most of their time indoors.
-Composition of indoor PM has not been fully determined. It has been limited to elemental analysis only.
-Organic analysis is equally important to study & to understand health risk associated with indoor air pollutants.

Question 6

PM Mineral Composition:
INDOOR & OUTDOOR

Answer 6

-Indoor PM has some metal & metal salts including platinum chloride, tungsten carbide, beryllium, cobalt, nickel, chromium, & iron.
-Metals trigger inflammation after reaching the respiratory tract.

Question 7

Carbon Nanotubes

Answer 7

~Carbon nanotubes have been found in indoor PM generated from domestic gas & propane stoves.
~Common domestic clean-burning gas sources may be major contributors to both indoor & outdoor carbon nanotubes in PM.
~Some studies showed cytotoxic effects of carbon nanoparticles on murine lung macrophage cultures.

Question 8

Indoor Metals & VOCs

Answer 8

~Some metal & metal salts including platinum chloride, tungsten carbide (carbon), beryllium, nickel, chromium, cobalt, iron, & aluminum in PM have been reported as a possible cause of asthma.
~There may be other transition metals that may cause asthma exacerbations.
~Metal particles are known to re-enter from the soil to air & back again, making current characterization of soil pollution levels important to understand the association between metal pollutants & asthma.

Question 9

Health Effects of Indoor Air Pollutants : In human systems

Answer 9

-Respiratory
-Cardiovascular (CVS)
-Central Nervous system
-Reproductive
-Cancer

Question 10

VOCs & air pollutants

Answer 10

~There is a direct link between indoor volatile organic compounds (VOCs) & nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations to increase asthmatic episodes & lower respiratory symptoms in both adults & children (*particularly among young children of low socioeconomic status).
{young, old, and those with chronic diseases}

Question 11

Personal Exposure to UFP
(Ultra Fine Particles)

Answer 11

~Because of its nano size, chemical complexity, & penetration power, UFPs should be considered a public health threat.

EXPOSURE: human exposure to UFP occur while performing daily activities; cooking, cleaning, driving, or commuting.

Question 12

How do UFP’s travel through the body?

Answer 12

If inhaled, UFP’s can easily reach the alveoli & from there translocate into the circulatory system.
{Then, toxic effects of UFP become systemic}
\Systemic, relating to a system, especially as opposed to a particular part/

Question 13

Indoor Air Pollution: Energy Matters

Answer 13

1. Amount of energy used is related to population growth & economic development.
2. Community wellbeing required more energy use.
3. Household access to energy is associated with health.
4. Household “Energy Security”; a family has enough energy to cook food, have heat, & AC.
5. Energy-household; availability, affordability, & capacity.
6. “Energy Poverty”; financially unable to pay for energy basic needs/has poor health consequences.

Question 14

What is the difference between “Energy Poverty” & “Household Energy Security” ?

Answer 14

Energy Poverty:
Financially unable to pay for energy basic needs / has poor health consequences.

Household Energy Security:
A family has enough energy to cook food, have heat & AC.

Question 15

Indoor Air Quality: Rural

Answer 15

50% worldwide & 90% rural areas use biomass: cooking & heating.
Burn biomass: 90% China, India & sub-Saharan Africa.
30-70% Latin America.
low % of Germany, Finland, & Canada.

Question 16

Households & PM

Answer 16

Households using solid fuels are exposed to PM2.5 10-50 times above WHO air quality guidelines.

Question 17

How many people are exposed to biomass smoke.

Answer 17

~2.8 billion people are exposed to biomass smoke.
~Women & children spend ~60,000 hours cooking & inhaling ~25 million liters.

Question 18

Indoor Air Quality : Rural

Answer 18

1. Low-income, geographical, geographical isolation, no access to a clean energy source.
2. Solid fuels: Lumbar, coal, charcoal, dung, crop residue.
3. Stoves have low combustion efficiency (80%).
4. Indoor air pollutants: PM, NO2, SO2, CO, PAH, formaldehyde, & dioxins.
5. Cooking exposure: PM2.5 110-27,000ug/m3, CO 9-10,769mg/m3.
6. Solid Fuel (affects human and environment health, pollutes the environment, causes environmental degradation).

Question 19

Health effects of Indoor Use of Biomass Fuels

Answer 19

~Indoor air pollution causes death.
WHO estimates mortality data from 2012;
-Causes ~3.5 million deaths/year
-Stroke 34%
-Ischemic Heart Disease 26%
-COPD 22%
-Acute Lower Respiratory infections in children 12%
-Lung cancer 6%

Question 20

What is The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves?(GACC)

Answer 20

-GACC was created in September of 2010

*The goals was to develop 100 million clean & efficient cookstoves by 2020.

-GACC is funded by public, private & non-profit organization.

Question 21

Fossil Fuels & Global Climate

Answer 21

Global warming has occurred in the distant past as a result of natural influences, often referring to the warming predicted to occur as a result of greenhouse gas emissions.
*Earth has warmed 1F over the past 140 years.