Dinesh Kamath's Editorial (Beware of pollution indoors) that was published in Newsband

Beware of pollution indoors

We only talk about the outdoor pollution. Have we ever thought about pollution that occurs indoor? Indoor pollution caused by cooking and heating with solid fuels, including biomass such as wood, dung, farm residue and coal, continues across the globe. Inefficient burning on an open fire or traditional stove creates a mix of pollutants, primarily carbon monoxide and total suspended particulates.

A survey said that the number of deaths caused by this peril is quite high. The worst-hit are the poor — especially stay-at-home women and children. Women who are struck by this indoor pollution tend to suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Such kinds of dangers are usually detected in Asia and Africa.

What can stop such type of dangers? It is necessary to use cleaner fuels, stoves that are more thermal efficient, and have better ventilation for cooking areas.

The cleaner options include LPG, kerosene, and biogas. Biogas might or might not pose dangers. LPG is too expensive and the rise in its price over the years is actually driving people back to traditional fuels.

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a term which refers to the air quality within and around buildings and structures, especially as it relates to the health and comfort of building occupants. IAQ can be affected by gases (including carbon monoxide, radon, volatile organic compounds), particulates, microbial contaminants (mould, bacteria) or any mass or energy stressor that can induce adverse health conditions. Source control, filtration and the use of ventilation to dilute contaminants are the primary methods for improving indoor air quality in most buildings.

Determination of IAQ involves the collection of air samples, monitoring human exposure to pollutants, collection of samples on building surfaces and computer modelling of air flow inside buildings.

Second-hand smoke is tobacco smoke which affects other people other than the 'active' smoker. Second-hand tobacco smoke includes both a gaseous and a particulate phase, with particular hazards arising from levels of carbon monoxide and very small particulates which get past the lung's natural defences. The only certain method to improve indoor air quality as regards second-hand smoke is the implementation of comprehensive smoke-free laws.

One of the most acutely toxic indoor air contaminants is carbon monoxide (CO), a colourless, odourless gas that is a byproduct of incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. Common sources of carbon monoxide are tobacco smoke, space heaters using fossil fuels, defective central heating furnaces and automobile exhaust. Improvements in indoor levels of CO are systematically improving from increasing implementation of smoke-free laws. By depriving the brain of oxygen, high levels of carbon monoxide can lead to nausea, unconsciousness and death.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a surrogate for indoor pollutants emitted by humans and correlates with human metabolic activity. Carbon dioxide at levels that are unusually high indoors may cause occupants to grow drowsy, get headaches, or function at lower activity levels. Humans are the main indoor source of carbon dioxide. Indoor levels are an indicator of the adequacy of outdoor air ventilation relative to indoor occupant density and metabolic activity.

Modern builders should make note of these points and construct modern homes in a way so as to keep the inhabitants of those homes away from indoor pollutions.