Download or read book Health Risks of Indoor Exposure to Particulate Matter written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2016-10-26 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines PM as a mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets comprising a number of components, including "acids (such as nitrates and sulfates), organic chemicals, metals, soil or dust particles, and allergens (such as fragments of pollen and mold spores)". The health effects of outdoor exposure to particulate matter (PM) are the subject of both research attention and regulatory action. Although much less studied to date, indoor exposure to PM is gaining attention as a potential source of adverse health effects. Indoor PM can originate from outdoor particles and also from various indoor sources, including heating, cooking, and smoking. Levels of indoor PM have the potential to exceed outdoor PM levels. Understanding the major features and subtleties of indoor exposures to particles of outdoor origin can improve our understanding of the exposureâ€"response relationship on which ambient air pollutant standards are based. The EPA's Indoor Environments Division commissioned the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to hold a workshop examining the issue of indoor exposure to PM more comprehensively and considering both the health risks and possible intervention strategies. Participants discussed the ailments that are most affected by particulate matter and the attributes of the exposures that are of greatest concern, exposure modifiers, vulnerable populations, exposure assessment, risk management, and gaps in the science. This report summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.
Download or read book The Inside Story written by and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book WHO Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality written by World Health Organization and published by World Health Organization. This book was released on 2014 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Built on existing WHO indoor air quality guidelines for specific pollutants, these guidelines bring together the most recent evidence on fuel use, emission and exposure levels, health risks, intervention impacts and policy considerations, to provide practical recommendations to reduce this health burden.
Download or read book Microbiomes of the Built Environment written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2017-10-06 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: People's desire to understand the environments in which they live is a natural one. People spend most of their time in spaces and structures designed, built, and managed by humans, and it is estimated that people in developed countries now spend 90 percent of their lives indoors. As people move from homes to workplaces, traveling in cars and on transit systems, microorganisms are continually with and around them. The human-associated microbes that are shed, along with the human behaviors that affect their transport and removal, make significant contributions to the diversity of the indoor microbiome. The characteristics of "healthy" indoor environments cannot yet be defined, nor do microbial, clinical, and building researchers yet understand how to modify features of indoor environmentsâ€"such as building ventilation systems and the chemistry of building materialsâ€"in ways that would have predictable impacts on microbial communities to promote health and prevent disease. The factors that affect the environments within buildings, the ways in which building characteristics influence the composition and function of indoor microbial communities, and the ways in which these microbial communities relate to human health and well-being are extraordinarily complex and can be explored only as a dynamic, interconnected ecosystem by engaging the fields of microbial biology and ecology, chemistry, building science, and human physiology. This report reviews what is known about the intersection of these disciplines, and how new tools may facilitate advances in understanding the ecosystem of built environments, indoor microbiomes, and effects on human health and well-being. It offers a research agenda to generate the information needed so that stakeholders with an interest in understanding the impacts of built environments will be able to make more informed decisions.
Download or read book Exposure Science in the 21st Century written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2012-10-28 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the use of personal products to our consumption of food, water, and air, people are exposed to a wide array of agents each day-many with the potential to affect health. Exposure Science in the 21st Century: A Vision and A Strategy investigates the contact of humans or other organisms with those agents (that is, chemical, physical, and biologic stressors) and their fate in living systems. The concept of exposure science has been instrumental in helping us understand how stressors affect human and ecosystem health, and in efforts to prevent or reduce contact with harmful stressors. In this way exposure science has played an integral role in many areas of environmental health, and can help meet growing needs in environmental regulation, urban and ecosystem planning, and disaster management. Exposure Science in the 21st Century: A Vision and A Strategy explains that there are increasing demands for exposure science information, for example to meet needs for data on the thousands of chemicals introduced into the market each year, and to better understand the health effects of prolonged low-level exposure to stressors. Recent advances in tools and technologies-including sensor systems, analytic methods, molecular technologies, computational tools, and bioinformatics-have provided the potential for more accurate and comprehensive exposure science data than ever before. This report also provides a roadmap to take advantage of the technologic innovations and strategic collaborations to move exposure science into the future.
Download or read book Damp Indoor Spaces and Health written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2004-10-01 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Almost all homes, apartments, and commercial buildings will experience leaks, flooding, or other forms of excessive indoor dampness at some point. Not only is excessive dampness a health problem by itself, it also contributes to several other potentially problematic types of situations. Molds and other microbial agents favor damp indoor environments, and excess moisture may initiate the release of chemical emissions from damaged building materials and furnishings. This new book from the Institute of Medicine examines the health impact of exposures resulting from damp indoor environments and offers recommendations for public health interventions. Damp Indoor Spaces and Health covers a broad range of topics. The book not only examines the relationship between damp or moldy indoor environments and adverse health outcomes but also discusses how and where buildings get wet, how dampness influences microbial growth and chemical emissions, ways to prevent and remediate dampness, and elements of a public health response to the issues. A comprehensive literature review finds sufficient evidence of an association between damp indoor environments and some upper respiratory tract symptoms, coughing, wheezing, and asthma symptoms in sensitized persons. This important book will be of interest to a wide-ranging audience of science, health, engineering, and building professionals, government officials, and members of the public.
Download or read book Clearing the Air written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2000-05-24 with total page 457 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since about 1980, asthma prevalence and asthma-related hospitalizations and deaths have increased substantially, especially among children. Of particular concern is the high mortality rate among African Americans with asthma. Recent studies have suggested that indoor exposuresâ€"to dust mites, cockroaches, mold, pet dander, tobacco smoke, and other biological and chemical pollutantsâ€"may influence the disease course of asthma. To ensure an appropriate response, public health and education officials have sought a science-based assessment of asthma and its relationship to indoor air exposures. Clearing the Air meets this need. This book examines how indoor pollutants contribute to asthmaâ€"its causation, prevalence, triggering, and severity. The committee discusses asthma among the general population and in sensitive subpopulations including children, low-income individuals, and urban residents. Based on the most current findings, the book also evaluates the scientific basis for mitigating the effects of indoor air pollutants implicated in asthma. The committee identifies priorities for public health policy, public education outreach, preventive intervention, and further research.
Download or read book WHO global air quality guidelines written by Weltgesundheitsorganisation and published by World Health Organization. This book was released on 2021-09-07 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The main objective of these updated global guidelines is to offer health-based air quality guideline levels, expressed as long-term or short-term concentrations for six key air pollutants: PM2.5, PM10, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide. In addition, the guidelines provide interim targets to guide reduction efforts of these pollutants, as well as good practice statements for the management of certain types of PM (i.e., black carbon/elemental carbon, ultrafine particles, particles originating from sand and duststorms). These guidelines are not legally binding standards; however, they provide WHO Member States with an evidence-informed tool, which they can use to inform legislation and policy. Ultimately, the goal of these guidelines is to help reduce levels of air pollutants in order to decrease the enormous health burden resulting from the exposure to air pollution worldwide.
Download or read book Outdoor Air Pollution written by IARC Working Group on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans and published by IARC Monographs on the Evaluat. This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This publication represents the views and expert opinions of an IARC Working Group on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risk to Humans, which met in Lyon, 8-15 October 2013."
Download or read book Health Risks of Indoor Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter and Practical Mitigation Solutions written by National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine and published by . This book was released on 2024-02-19 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Schools, workplaces, businesses, and even homes are places where someone could be subjected to particulate matter (PM) ? a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. PM is a ubiquitous pollutant comprising a complex and ever-changing combination of chemicals, dust, and biologic materials such as allergens. Of special concern is fine particulate matter (PM2.5), PM with a diameter of 2.5 microns ( Health Risks of Indoor Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter and Practical Mitigation Solutions explores the state-of the-science on the health risks of exposure to fine particulate matter indoors along with engineering solutions and interventions to reduce risks of exposure to it, including practical mitigation strategies. This report offers recommendations to reduce population exposure to PM2.5, to reduce health impacts on susceptible populations including the elderly, young children, and those with pre-existing conditions, and to address important knowledge gaps.
Download or read book Indoor Pollutants written by National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Indoor Pollutants and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1981 with total page 552 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discusses pollution from tobacco smoke, radon and radon progeny, asbestos and other fibers, formaldehyde, indoor combustion, aeropathogens and allergens, consumer products, moisture, microwave radiation, ultraviolet radiation, odors, radioactivity, and dirt and discusses means of controlling or eliminating them.
Download or read book WHO Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality written by and published by World Health Organization. This book was released on 2010 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents WHO guidelines for the protection of public health from risks due to a number of chemicals commonly present in indoor air. The substances considered in this review, i.e. benzene, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, naphthalene, nitrogen dioxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (especially benzo[a]pyrene), radon, trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene, have indoor sources, are known in respect of their hazardousness to health and are often found indoors in concentrations of health concern. The guidelines are targeted at public health professionals involved in preventing health risks of environmental exposures, as well as specialists and authorities involved in the design and use of buildings, indoor materials and products. They provide a scientific basis for legally enforceable standards.
Download or read book Communities in Action written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2017-04-27 with total page 583 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.
Download or read book Natural Ventilation for Infection Control in Health care Settings written by Y. Chartier and published by World Health Organization. This book was released on 2009 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This guideline defines ventilation and then natural ventilation. It explores the design requirements for natural ventilation in the context of infection control, describing the basic principles of design, construction, operation and maintenance for an effective natural ventilation system to control infection in health-care settings.
Download or read book Ambient Combustion Ultrafine Particles and Health written by Doug Brugge and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This edited and peer reviewed volume contains a collection of articles from many disciplines that address the emerging issue of ambient ultrafine particles derived from combustion sources and their health effects. The authors are published experts with respect to ultrafine particles. They write about diverse aspects of the problem including epidemiology, environmental engineering, toxicology, policy, architecture and medicine. Each chapter provides a thoroughly referenced review of the respective subject matter. Written for researchers and scientists, this work is an excellent introduction for those early in their research into ultrafine particles as well as those that are well-versed and seeking to expand into new approaches to ultrafine particles. Chapters may be read singly or in combination with other chapters, depending on the reader's interest. As a whole, the book is a broad reference source about combustion ultrafine particles and health"--
Download or read book Indoor Environment written by Lidia Morawska and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2006-12-13 with total page 467 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covering the fundamentals of air-borne particles and settled dust in the indoor environment, this handy reference investigates: * relevant definitions and terminology, * characteristics, * sources, * sampling techniques and instrumentation, * exposure assessment, * monitoring methods. The result is a useful and comprehensive overview for chemists, physicists and biologists, postgraduate students, medical practitioners, occupational health professionals, building owners and managers, building, construction and air-conditioning engineers, architects, environmental lawyers, government and regulatory professionals.
Download or read book Traffic Related Air Pollution written by Haneen Khreis and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2020-08-20 with total page 650 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traffic-Related Air Pollution synthesizes and maps TRAP and its impact on human health at the individual and population level. The book analyzes mitigating standards and regulations with a focus on cities. It provides the methods and tools for assessing and quantifying the associated road traffic emissions, air pollution, exposure and population-based health impacts, while also illuminating the mechanisms underlying health impacts through clinical and toxicological research. Real-world implications are set alongside policy options, emerging technologies and best practices. Finally, the book recommends ways to influence discourse and policy to better account for the health impacts of TRAP and its societal costs. - Overviews existing and emerging tools to assess TRAP's public health impacts - Examines TRAP's health effects at the population level - Explores the latest technologies and policies--alongside their potential effectiveness and adverse consequences--for mitigating TRAP - Guides on how methods and tools can leverage teaching, practice and policymaking to ameliorate TRAP and its effects
