Air Pollution – A Global Health Concern

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Air pollution was the 4th leading risk factor for early death worldwide in 2019, surpassed only by high blood pressure, tobacco use, and poor diet.

Air Pollution – A Global Health Concern

Air pollution is responsible for more deaths than many better-known risk factors such as malnutrition, alcohol use, and physical inactivity
  • According to the annual (State of Global Air) SOGA 2020 report, In 2019, air pollution ranked fourth among all mortality risk factors globally surpassed only by the high blood pressure, tobacco use, and malnutrition accounting for nearly 6.67 million premature deaths.
  • Ambient PM2.5 accounted for 4.14 million deaths, while indoor / household air pollution accounted for 2.31 million deaths.
  • The global death rate attributable to air pollution exposure is 86 deaths per 100,000 people.
  • In 2019, air pollution was the major reason for nearly 500,000 deaths among infants in their first month of life. Air pollution accounts for 20% of newborn deaths worldwide.
  • In 2019, more than 90% of the world’s population experienced annual average PM2.5 concentrations that exceeded the WHO Air Quality Guideline of 10 μg/m3. The highest annual average exposures were seen in Asia (India), Africa, and the Middle East. The table below shows top 10 countries with the highest population- weighted annual average PM2.5 exposures in 2019
  • The global average reductions in the percentage of populations exposed to indoor / household air pollution from 2010 to 2019 shows important variances between individual countries. The impact on the numbers of people affected is dominated by countries in South and East Asia, mostly in India and China, where there have been campaigns encouraging a switch to cleaner fuels. China reduced the percentage of its population exposed to household air pollution from 54% to 36%, while India reduced its percentage from 73% to 61% over the decade.

Summary

Air pollution consisting of ambient (outdoor) PM2.5, Ozone and Indoor / household air pollution — is an increasingly important risk factor contributing to death and disability worldwide. The fact is that despite the ever increase in research that have brought great focus on air pollution, little or no progress has been made toward reducing air pollution and its associated health burden in many regions of the world.
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Know Your Home Air

Gas heating systems, leaking chimneys, fire places emits carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and other harmful pollutants. Plastics and common household cleaners, paints, paint thinner often placed under the kitchen sink, release Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), when used and stored. Overheating of non-stick cookware releases toxic fumes. Pesticides we use in and around the home also release various chemical and semi-volatile compounds.

Kitchen

Harmful effects
Carbon monoxide causes headache, dizziness and fatigue. These often cause eye, nose, and throat irritation, nausea, and can also damage the liver, kidney, and central nervous system. Fine particles are produced during all kinds of combustion which lead to acute and chronic effects to respiratory and cardiovascular systems.

Pet dander and hair, carpet, rugs, upholstery furniture are main source of dust mites, fungus, and bacteria. A dirty filter of air conditioners acts as a reservoir for dirt, dust and other airborne contaminants that are continuously circulated back into your breathing air. Secondhand smoke from cigarettes, other tobacco products and mosquito coil emits VOC’s and formaldehyde and various particulate matters. CO2 released from our lungs is exhaled in the air which pollutes the air if the place is too crowded or there is less ventilation.

Livingroom

Harmful effects
All these can trigger coughing, nosebleeds, shortness of breath, dry mouth, vomiting,
digestive tract problems, depression, allergy and asthma attacks, and other respiratory illness.

Shower, faucets and other water sources are main cause of humidity and mold. Bathroom cleaners and personal care products like toothpaste, soaps, facial tissues, detergent, fabric softeners, air fresheners, deodorizers, hair sprays, disinfectants, are full of VOC’s and chemicals which emits harmful pollutants.

Bathroom

Harmful effects
Mold can cause allergic reactions, asthma and other respiratory ailments. VOC’s and toxic chemicals released in the bathroom can causes eye, nose, and throat irritation, nausea and respiratory problems. All these products release harmful pollutants while they are used also when they are stored.

A bedroom contains many sources of indoor air pollution. Mattress, pillow and blankets, soft toys, are the reservoirs of dust mites, fungi and bacteria. Furniture, carpets, paints and beauty product like hairspray, nail polishes, perfumes, deodorants etc off gas VOC, formaldehyde and toxic gases into the air.

Bedroom

Harmful effects
These pollutants make the air unhealthy which leads to allergy, asthma attacks, dizziness, headache, fatigue and other respiratory ailments.

Second-hand smoke
Second hand Smoke is a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning of tobacco products, such as cigarettes, cigars or pipes and the smoke exhaled by smokers. Secondhand smoke is also called environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Passive smoking can lead to coughing, excess phlegm, and chest discomfort. NCI (National Cancer Institute) also notes that spontaneous abortion (miscarriage), cervical cancer, sudden infant death syndrome, low birth weight, nasal sinus cancer, decreased lung function, exacerbation of cystic fibrosis, and negative cognitive and behavioral effects in children have been linked to ETS. Secondhand smoke exposure commonly occurs indoors, particularly in homes and cars. Secondhand smoke can move between rooms of a home and between apartment units.

Guest Bathroom

Central heating and cooling systems and humidification devices
The air filter in your HVAC system is the front line of defense against poor indoor air quality. A typical central heating and cooling system circulates over 1,000 cubic feet per minute of air through the filter. This means the entire air volume in your house passes through the filter multiple times every day. A dirty filter, however, can actually make indoor air quality worse by acting as a reservoir for dirt, dust and other airborne contaminants that are continuously circulated back into your breathing air. In addition to driving up your utility bill, a clogged air filter will allow all that dust and debris that should be filtered out to be re-circulated back into your home. This can cause chronic allergies and especially be dangerous for people with asthma or other respiratory conditions.

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