INDOOR AIR POLLUTION

1. INDOOR AIR POLLUTION Manish Taywade

2. History • Death from exposure ambient air pollution were first recognized in the Meuse Valley of Belgium during a thermal inversion in December 1930 in city of London. Sixty people died • A 1953 episode in New York City underscored this twentieth century plague. Repeated in Tokyo, Yokohama, New Orleans, and Los Angeles they led to investigation of the health effects of environmental air pollution in the 1960s and early 1970s • In December 1952, a particularly vicious episode in London produced excessive deaths in infants, young children, and elderly persons with cardio-respiratory disease. High particle loads were 4.5 mg/m3 for smoke and 3.75 mg/m3 for sulfur dioxide. • A 1984 episode of Bhopal gas leak (methyl isocyanate) killed thousands of peoples.

3. Introduction • Clean air : basic requirement of human health and well-being • Air pollution continues to pose a significant threat to health worldwide • WHO assessment of the burden of disease due to air pollution, more than 2 million premature deaths each year can be attributed to the effects of urban outdoor air pollution and indoor air pollution (caused by the burning of solid fuels). • Globally, indoor air pollution from solid fuel use is responsible for 1.6 million deaths due to pneumonia, chronic respiratory disease and lung cancer, with the overall disease burden

4. Introduction • Indoor air pollution (IAP) caused by solid fuel use and/or traditional cooking stoves is a global health threat, particularly for women and young children. • More than half of this disease burden is borne by the populations of developing countries. • Revealed indoor air pollution as the 8th most important risk factor • IAP is responsible for 2.7% of the loss of disability adjusted life years (DALYs) worldwide • 3.7% in high-mortality developing countries. making it the most lethal killer after malnutrition, unsafe sex and lack of safe water and sanitation

5. Disproportionate impact on children and women • more than two-thirds of indoor smoke deaths from acute lower respiratory infections in children occur in WHO's African and South East Asian Regions • Over 50% of the COPD deaths due to indoor air pollution occur in the Western Pacific region • women are in charge of cooking and - depending on the demands of the local cuisine - they spend between three and seven hours per day near the stove, preparing food.

6. Disproportionate impact on children and women • 59% of all indoor air pollution-attributable deaths thus fall on females • Young children are often carried on their mother's back or kept close to the warm earth • Consequently, infants spend many hours breathing indoor smoke during their first year of life when their developing airways make them particularly vulnerable to hazardous pollutants • As a result, 56% of all indoor air pollution-attributable deaths occur in children under five years of age

7. The Health Impact: A major killer • Exposure to indoor air pollution increases the risk of pneumonia among children under five years, and chronic respiratory disease and lung cancer (in relation to coal use) among adults over 30 years old • The evidence for a link with lung cancer from exposure to biomass smoke, and for a link with asthma, cataracts and tuberculosis was considered moderate • On the basis of the limited available studies, there is tentative evidence for an association between indoor air pollution and adverse pregnancy outcomes, in particular low birth weight, or ischaemic heart disease and nasopharyngeal and laryngeal cancers

8. Precise mechanism of how exposure causes disease • Still unclear • It is known that small particles and several of the other pollutants contained in indoor smoke cause inflammation of the airways and lungs and impair the immune response • Carbon monoxide also results in systemic effects by reducing the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood

9. Pneumonia and other acute lower respiratory infections • Globally, pneumonia and other acute lower respiratory infections represent the single most important cause of death in children under five years • Exposure to indoor air pollution more than doubles the risk of pneumonia and is thus responsible for more than 900,000 of the 2 million annual deaths from pneumonia

10. Lung cancer • Coal use is widespread in China and cooking on open fires or simple stoves can cause lung cancer in women • Exposure to smoke from coal fires doubles the risk of lung cancer, in particular among women who tend to smoke less than men in most developing countries • Every year, more than one million people die from lung cancer globally, and indoor air pollution is responsible for approximately 1.5% of these deaths

11. Indicators of air pollution • The WH O Air quality guidelines are designed to offer global guidance on reducing the health impacts of air pollution • They recommend measurement of selected air pollutants, viz., particulate matter (PM) , ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2), applicable across all WHO regions • In addition, “smoke (soiling) index” and “coefficient of haze” are also commonly used indicators. In India, the Central Pollution Control Board through its National Air Quality Monitoring Programme monitors air quality in all major cities

12. Particular matter • Consists of a complex mixture of solid and liquid particles of organic and inorganic substances suspended in the air. • The particles are identified according to their aerodynamic diameter, as either P M10 (particles with an aerodynamic diameter smaller than 10 μm) or P M 2.5 (aerodynamic diameter smaller than 2.5 μm). • P M 2.5 more dangerous since, when inhaled, they may reach the peripheral regions of the bronchioles, and interfere with gas exchange inside the lungs. • The guideline values (upper acceptable limits) are: • P M2.5 10 μg/m3 annual mean; 25 μg/m3 24- hour mean • P M10 20 μg/m3 annual mean; 50 μg/m3 24- hour mean

13. Ozone (3) • formed by the reaction with sunlight (photochemical reaction) of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) from vehicle and industry emissions and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by vehicles, solvents and industry. • highest levels of ozone pollution occur during periods of sunny weather. Excessive ozone in the air can have a marked effect on human health. It can cause breathing problems, trigger asthma, reduce lung function and cause lung diseases. Guidelines values for upper limits are: 100 μg/m3 (8-hour mean)

14. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) • As an air pollutant, NO2 has several correlated activities: - • (a) At short - term concentrations exceeding 2 0 0 μg/m3, it is a toxic gas which causes significant inflammation of the airways. • (b) NO2 is the main source of nitrate aerosols, which form an important fraction of P M 2.5 and, in the presence of ultraviolet light, of ozone. • The major sources of anthropogenic emissions of NO2 are combustion processes (heating, power generation, and engines in vehicles and ships). Epidemiological studies have shown that symptoms of bronchitis in asthmatic children increase in association with long-term exposure to NO2. • Reduced lung function growth is also linked to NO2. The upper limits of guideline values are: 4 0 μg/m3 (annual mean) and 2 0 0 μg/m3 (1-hour mean).

15. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) • SO2 is a colourless gas with a sharp odour. • It is produced from the burning of fossil fuels (coal and oil) and the smelting of mineral ores that contain sulfur. • The main anthropogenic source of SO2 is the burning of sulfur-containing fossil fuels for domestic heating, power generation and motor vehicles. • The upper limit of acceptable values are 20 μg/m3 (24- hour mean) and 5 0 0 μg/m3 (10 - minute mean).

16. Carbon monoxide(CO) • Carbon monoxide is a tasteless, odorless, colorless, and nonirritating gas produced by incomplete combustion of organic material and is the leading cause of poisoning. • Main health effect of CO is a result of its ability to impair the oxygen binding capacity of hemoglobin, which can cause headaches, nausea, dizziness, breathlessness, and fatigue, and with high exposures can lead to coma and death

17. VOCs • buildings include office furniture, cabinetry, carpet tile, vinyl wall coverings, paints, and adhesives. • Adverse health responses attributed but not proven to be caused by VOCs in nonindustrial indoor environments include (1) irritant effects resulting from mucous membrane irritation, (2) systemic effects such as fatigue and difficulty concentrating, and (3) toxic effects such as carcinogenicity. The strongest association has been with VOCs causing mucous membrane irritation. • Formaldehyde is the VOC most familiar to the general public that has been associated with indoor air pollution

18. Greenhouse gases • Greenhouse gases naturally blanket the Earth and keep it about 33°C warmer than it would be without these gases in the atmosphere. This is called the Greenhouse Effect. • Over the past century, the Earth has increased in temperature by about 0.5°C and many scientists believe this is because of an increase in concentration of the main greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (76%), methane (13%), nitrous oxide (6%), and fluorocarbons (5%). • The “ green house effect is the heating of the Earth due to the presence of greenhouse gases • Shorter-wavelength solar radiation from the sun passes through Earth’s atmosphere, and then is absorbed by the surface of the Earth, causing it to warm.

19. Green House effect • Part of the absorbed energy is then re-radiated back to the atmosphere as long-wave infrared radiation. • Little of this long-wave radiation escapes back into space; the radiation cannot pass through the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. • The greenhouse gases selectively transmit the infrared waves, trapping some and allowing some to pass through into space. The greenhouse gases absorb these waves and re-emits the waves downward, causing the lower atmosphere to warm.

20. Prevention and Control • Public health recognizes air pollution as an important determinant of health, especially in developing countries. • The major modes of prevention are: • (a) Containment • (i) Dust collection systems • (ii) Scrubber systems • (b) Replacement or modernisation of equipment/process: • (c) Zoning • (d) Regulatory Measures • House hold :chimney stove

21. Concomitant • This prevents pollutants from entering the atmosphere. This can be carried out by engineering methods like enclosure, ventilation or air scrubbing & arresting of pollutants. The following dust control devices are generally used in industry : •  (i) Dust collection systems: These are designed to handle heavy dust loads; a dust collector consists of a blower, dust filter, a filter-cleaning system, and a dust receptacle or dust removal system, such as Cyclones, Electrostatic precipitators, and, Baghouses. • (ii) Scrubber systems : These are a diverse group of air pollution control devices that can be used to remove particulates and/or gases from industrial exhaust streams, such as Baffle spray scrubber, Cyclonic spray scrubber, Ejector venturi scrubber, Mechanically aided scrubber, Spray tower, and, Wet scrubber.

22. Regulatory Measures : Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. • to provide for the preventive, control and abatement of air pollution, for the establishment, with a view to carrying out the aforesaid purpose of Boards, for conferring on and assigning to such Boards, Powers and functions relating thereto and for matters there connected therewith • Act is an outcome of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm in June 1972.

23. Act defines following terms: • Air Pollution: means any solid, liquid and gaseous substance (including noise) Present in the atmosphere in such concentration as may be or tend to be injurious to human beings or other living creatures or plants or the property or environment. • Control equipment means any apparatus, device, equipment or system to control the quality and manner of emission of any air pollutant and includes any device used for securing the efficient operation of any industrial plant. • Emission: means any solid or liquid or gaseous substance coming out of any chimney, duct or flue or any other outlets.

24. AIR Acts • 1948- Factories Act and Amendment in 1987 was the first to express concern for the working environment of the workers. The amendment of 1987 has sharpend its environment focus and expanded its application to hazards processes. • 1981- Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act provides for the control and abatement of air pollution. It entrusts the power of enforcing this act to the Central Pollution Control Board. • 1982- Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Rules define the procedures of the meetings of the boards and the powers entrusted on them

25. AIR Acts • 1987- Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Act empowers the central and state pollution boards to meet with grave emergencies of air pollution • 1988- Motor vehicle Act states that all hazardous waste is to be properly packaged, labeled and transported

26. Millennium Development Goals • Tackling indoor air pollution in the context of household energy is linked to achieving the M DG in particular • to reducing child mortality (Goal 4 ) • to promoting gender equality and empowering women (Goal 3) • to opening up opportunities for income generation and eradicating extreme poverty (Goal 1) • to ensuring environmental sustainability (Goal 7)

27. Millennium Development Goals • Measures to reduce indoor air pollution and associated health effects range from switching to cleaner alternatives, such as gas, electricity or solar energy, to improved stoves or hoods that vent health-damaging pollutants to the outside, to behavioural changes. • There is an urgent need to investigate which interventions work and how they can be implemented in a successful, sustainable and financially viable way.

28. References • http://mpcb.gov.in/envtdata/envtair.php • http://cpcb.gov.in/envtdata/envtair.php • Park K: Environment Health. In Park’s text book of Preventive and Social M edicine. 21th ed. BanarsidasBhanot, 20 0 9 7 0 8-723. • RajvirBhalwar.Text book of public health and community medicine. 1st edition.Department of community medicine AFMC pune. • Roger Detels, James M cEwen, Robert Beaglehole, Heizo Tanaka.Oxford Textbook of Public Health.21 M arch 2 0 0 2 4th Edition. By Oxford University Press • Maxcy –Rosenau-Last. Text book of Public health and preventive medicine.15 theditionM ac Graw Hill medical.