Abstract
Infants spend most of their indoor time at home; however, residential air quality is poorly understood. We investigated the air quality of infants’ homes in the New England area of the U.S. Participants (N = 53) were parents of infants (0–6 months) who completed telephone surveys to identify potential pollutant sources in their residence. Carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤0.5 µm (PM0.5), and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) were measured in 10 homes over 4–7 days, and levels were compared with health-based guidelines. Pollutant levels varied substantially across homes and within homes with overall levels for some homes up to 20 times higher than for other homes. Average levels were 0.85 ppm, 663.2 ppm, 18.7 µg/m3, and 1626 µg/m3 for CO, CO2, PM0.5, and TVOCs, respectively. CO2, TVOCs, and PM0.5 levels exceeded health-based indoor air quality guidelines. Survey results suggest that nursery renovations and related potential pollutant sources may be associated with differences in urbanicity, income, and presence of older children with respiratory ailments, which could potentially confound health studies. While there are no standards for indoor residential air quality, our findings suggest that additional research is needed to assess indoor pollution exposure for infants, which may be a vulnerable population.
Highlights
Residential indoor air quality is not regulated, and the levels of indoor pollution are not widely known
Some sources of indoor air pollution in homes are solvents used in cleaning, building materials, paint, radon, allergens, cooking, smoking, plastics, carpets, and biomass burning for fuel or cooking [1,2,3,4,5]
Monitoring for indoor air quality was conducted in the room in which the infant spends the most time for 10 homes
Summary
Residential indoor air quality is not regulated, and the levels of indoor pollution are not widely known. Some sources of indoor air pollution in homes are solvents used in cleaning, building materials, paint, radon, allergens, cooking, smoking, plastics, carpets, and biomass burning for fuel or cooking [1,2,3,4,5]. Levels are affected by trends in building design and construction practices, such as reduced ventilation rates, more tightly sealed buildings, and synthetic building materials and furnishings. Solvents involved in renovations and painting in homes have been associated with increased risk of general respiratory symptoms for children under 5 years [1]. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are found in sources such as paints, furnishings, carpets, and household cleaning products. Many can be respiratory and sensory irritants, carcinogens, developmental toxins, neurotoxins, hepatotoxins, and immunosuppressants, and may cause symptoms that manifest as sick building syndrome [6]
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