The pollution inside homes can have dangerous effects on human health, according to a recent study. The researchers, who carried out the study, have advised that initiatives must be taken to ensure closer monitoring of air quality. Led by the University of Surrey, researchers from Europe, Australia and UK, studied the harmful effects of indoor pollution. Following the study, they also recommended the best ways to monitor and negate these outcomes.
According to reserchers, new smart cities can help combat the issues related to air quality. When we think about the term air pollution we think about the pollution caused from vehicle exhausts and factory smoke, Prashant Kumar from University of Surrey said. But, various sources of pollution negatively effect the air quality and many of these are found inside our homes and offices, he added.
“From cooking residue to paints, varnishes and fungal spores the air we breathe indoors is often more polluted than that outside,” he said.
In 2012, 4.3 million deaths globally were linked to indoor air pollution, while 3.7 million were due to outdoor air pollution. Urban dwellers remain indoors 90 per cent of the time and this has been linked to Sick Building Syndrome. They have several ill health affects related to breathing indoor air.
In another paper that was published earlier this month in the journal Environmental Pollution, Dr Kumar and PhD student Anju Goel found that the places where buildings were located at traffic intersections, the level of outdoor air pollution was high. This study appears in the journal Science of the Total Environment.
PTI