Download Indoor Air Pollution: Common Pollutants, Health Effects, and Control Measures and more Slides Biology in PDF only on Docsity!
Indoor Air Pollution
Contents
• Introduction
• Sources and impacts of common indoor air
pollutants
• Sick Building Syndrome (SBS)
• Legionnaires’ disease
• Control measures
Common indoor air pollutants [1]
- Biological contaminants
- Carbon dioxide
- Carbon monoxide
- Nitrogen oxides
- Environmental tobacco smoke
- Formaldehyde
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
- Ozone
- Radon
Common indoor air pollutants [2]
- Biological contaminants
- Bacteria, fungi and viruses
- Breed in humid environment
- Spread through ventilation systems
- Sources:
- Naturally exist in air, humid and poor ventilated area
- Effects:
- Vary with types
- e.g. Sick Building Syndrome, Legionnaires’ disease, Colds and Influenza
Common indoor air pollutants [4]
- Carbon monoxide
- No color, smell and taste
- Inhibits oxygen transport in blood
- Irreversibly binds to hemoglobin
- Very toxic
- Sources:
- Effects:
- Low concentration:
- Flu-like symptoms, such as nausea, fatigue, rapid breathing, chest tightness and impaired judgement, cardiovascular diseases
- High concentration:
Carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide are released during combustion. (Sources: http://hkcg.com)
Common indoor air pollutants [5]
• Nitrogen oxides
- e.g. NO and NO 2
- Gas generated from combustions
- Sources:
- Burning of cigarette
- Vehicles exhaust fumes
- Effects:
- Irritate eye and respiratory tract
Common indoor air pollutants [7]
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
- A range of organic compounds
- Examples: benzene, chloroform and xylene
- Evaporate at room temperature
- Some are carcinogens, e.g. benzene and formaldehyde
- Sources:
- Solvents, cleaning agents, wood, paints, plastic, dyes, office machines (fax machines,computers, printers, etc), insecticides, and etc.
- Effects:
- eye, nose, throat and respiratory tract irritation, headaches, poor concentration, dizziness and tiredness
- damages of central nervous system, liver and kidney
Common indoor air pollutants [8]
Cleaning agents are also a source of indoor VOCs. (Sources: http://www.wellcome.hk.com)
Some home appliance such as personal computer can release VOCs too. (Sources: http://www.fortress.com.hk)
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (con’t)
Common indoor air pollutants [10]
- Ozone
- Odorless and colorless
- Highly reactive
- Sources:
- photocopier, laser printers and ionisers
- Effects:
- Damage lung seriously
- Irritate eye and respiratory tract
Photocopiers also release ozone. (Sources: http://www.fortress.com)Docsity.com
Common indoor air pollutants [11]
- Radon
- No color, smell and taste
- radioactive.
- Sources:
- Release from granite in the concrete building.
- Effects:
- Prolonged intake:
- increase the incidence of lung cancer
- The mixture of radon and tobacco smoke is much more harmful to human
- Smokers have high probability of having lung cancers than non- smokers under the same level of radon.
Legionnaires’ disease
- Caused by bacteria, Legionnella pneumophila
- Symptoms:
- Pneumonia, high-fever, chills, headache and muscle pain
Control measures
- Eliminate the sources of pollutant
- Increase ventilation
- Keep the ventilation system clean
Upgrade, clean and sterilize the air conditioner is one way to keep the indoor air in good quality. (Sources: http://www.fortress.com.hk)
Covering the wall with wallpaper can eliminate the release of radon from concrete. (Sources: http://www.corbis.com)
Relevant Websites
- Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health
(http://www.info.gov.hk/hkcosh/)
- Indoor Air Quality Association (http://www.iaqa.org)
- Indoor Air Quality Information Centre
(http://www.iaq.gov.hk/)
- World Health Organisation (WHO)
(http://www.who.int/home-page/)
- Environmental Protection Department
(http://www.info.gov.hk/epd/index.htm)