Abstract

Indoor exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is a prominent health concern. However, few studies have examined the effectiveness of long-term use of indoor air filters for reduction of PM2.5 exposure and associated decrease in adverse health impacts in urban India. We conducted 20 simulations of yearlong personal exposure to PM2.5 in urban Delhi using the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s CONTAM program (NIST, Gaithersburg, MD, USA). Simulation scenarios were developed to examine different air filter efficiencies, use schedules, and the influence of a smoker at home. We quantified associated mortality reductions with Household Air Pollution Intervention Tool (HAPIT, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA). Without an air filter, we estimated an annual mean PM2.5 personal exposure of 103 µg/m3 (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 93, 112) and 137 µg/m3 (95% CI: 125, 149) for households without and with a smoker, respectively. All day use of a high-efficiency particle air (HEPA) filter would reduce personal PM2.5 exposure to 29 µg/m3 and 30 µg/m3, respectively. The reduced personal PM2.5 exposure from air filter use is associated with 8–37% reduction in mortality attributable to PM2.5 pollution in Delhi. The findings of this study indicate that air filter may provide significant improvements in indoor air quality and result in health benefits.

Highlights

  • Air pollution has been linked to increased risk of numerous diseases, including respiratory tract infections [1], exacerbations of inflammatory lung conditions [2,3], cardiac events [3], cancer [4], and low birth weight [5], and is regarded as one of the largest global health risk factors [6,7]

  • The findings of this study indicate that air filter may provide significant improvements in indoor air quality and result in health benefits

  • The air filter we modeled has a clean air delivery rate (CADR) of 200 cubic feet per minute, corresponding to 5.66 m3 /min

Read more

Summary

Introduction

Air pollution has been linked to increased risk of numerous diseases, including respiratory tract infections [1], exacerbations of inflammatory lung conditions [2,3], cardiac events [3], cancer [4], and low birth weight [5], and is regarded as one of the largest global health risk factors [6,7]. In India, 1.24 million (95% CI: 1.09–1.39) deaths in 2017 were attributable to air pollution, which was 12.5%. Studies of fine particulate matter (PM2.5 ) predominate air pollution research, mainly due to the detrimental health effects and high concentrations of PM2.5 in both indoor and outdoor environments [9,10,11]. While solid fuel combustion emits high levels of HAP in rural households [12,13], the combination of HAP generated from both local and regional sources plus the AAP generated from industrial activities, the power sector, and transportation elevates the risk in urban settings [14,15] HAPIT output: Mortality averted per million people. Flowchart of of the the study study procedure procedure and and model model input/output.

Methods
Results
Conclusion
Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call