Indoor Hazards Research Articles

Visualizing indoor ozone exposures via o-dianisidine based colorimetric passive sampler

In this study, we developed a colorimetric ozone passive sampler (OPS) incorporating o-dianisidine, a redox dye, into a polydimethylsiloxane sheet. The reaction between ozone (O3) and o-dianisidine result in a visible yellowish color change. Unlike previous passive methods that rely on nitrate extraction or the color disappearance of indigotrisulfonate, the OPS offered improved recognition of average O3 exposure. To optimize OPS based on time-weighted average (TWA), we extracted and quantified the amount of reacted o-dianisidine after exposing OPS to O3 by varying concentrations (0–200 ppb) within 8 h. Colorimetric changes of OPS were further analyzed by capturing images, and the effective absorbance of blue scale showed the best fit (EAB, R2 =0.997). OPS validation on visual detection assessed by six parameters: limit of detection, limit of quantification, reproducibility, sampling rate, selectivity to interfering gases, and sensitivity to environmental factors. To enhance visibility, the OPS was assembled with coloration exposure guidelines, and a smartphone app was developed to quantify average O3 exposures. We further conducted field tests that showed the significant disparity between O3 concentrations and personal O3 exposures, which is considered more crucial for assessing health risks. The OPS was optimized to monitor O3 exposure levels and raise awareness among workers and occupants regarding invisible indoor hazards.

Social Determinants of Housing Quality for U.S. Immigrants: Intersections of Nativity, Race, and Socioeconomic Status

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Indoor hazards can cause poor health with disproportionate burdens among racial/ethnic minorities and low socioeconomic status (SES) households. Little research has examined residential environmental exposures by nativity status, despite immigrants being a rapidly growing U.S. population. We investigated residential characteristics and housing quality by nativity and their intersections with race and SES in the national 2015 American Housing Survey (AHS). METHODS: We generated risk scores for 11 poor-housing quality domains from 54 AHS variables: electricity, thermal discomfort, indoor and outdoor structures, lead-paint risk, bathroom and kitchen facilities, pests, mold, combustion sources, and crowding. We examined clustering of demographic and socio-contextual factors using polyserial correlations. We ran negative binomial regressions to evaluate risk scores by nativity, race, SES, and their interactions and adjusted for socio-contextual factors. RESULTS:Socio-contextual factors correlated with poor-housing quality included being a single-parent, older building age, and poor neighborhood quality and were more prevalent among non-white and low SES households. Adjustment for these factors explained some but not all observed demographic disparities in poor-housing quality. Notably, immigrants had higher risks for crowding, combustion sources, pests, thermal discomfort, and mold than U.S.-natives (exp[ß-hat]:1.08-3.15). Black households had higher risks for the most poor-housing quality domains than other race groups (1.07-1.77). Households at 0-100% federal poverty-level had higher risks for almost all domains compared to higher-income households (1.06-4.08). At the intersections of race and nativity, Latinx and Asian immigrants had higher risks of lead-paint exposure and combustion sources, respectively, than their U.S.-native counterparts. In contrast, Black U.S.-natives fared worse for outdoor structure and combustion sources than Black immigrants. CONCLUSIONS:In the U.S., we found significant disparities in housing quality, with non-white immigrant, Black U.S.-native, and low SES households experiencing worse housing conditions. Our findings underscore the importance of an intersectional framework to identify residential environmental exposure disparities and their socio-contextual drivers. KEYWORDS: Exposures, Environmental disparities, Socio-economic factors, Built environment, Housing quality

Indoor hazards management using digital technology

Management of indoor hazards constitutes a great challenge for buildings design, construction and operating. The question is how to reduce both buildings vulnerability to indoor hazards and the impact of the latter on occupants and buildings integrity. Indoor hazards could result from different source such as fire, air pollution, water and gas leak, domestic accidents, appliances hazards, intrusion and break-out. Standards are already established for safety buildings design. However, in the operating phase, both occupants and buildings managers are subjected to serious indoor hazards, which could lead to significant human and material damages. The development of the digital technology such as Internet of Things (IoT), communication technology, indoor smart monitoring and Building Information Modeling (BIM) offers a great opportunity to improve indoor safety. This paper presents the indoor hazards and how the smart technology could help in improving the indoor hazard management.

Toward effective design and adoption of catalyst-based filter for indoor hazards: Formaldehyde abatement under realistic conditions

Catalytic oxidation at ambient temperature has drawn wide attention as a new promising method of air cleaning, converting hazardous materials into non-hazardous ones. However, limited information is available regarding catalytic filter performance/characteristics under real operating conditions, especially on service efficiency and byproducts. Also, no practical scale-up method/evidence for filter performance evaluation is currently available to scale-up laboratory results to real application conditions. These limitations and knowledge gaps prevent building owners/designers from adopting this new promising technique in their commercial/industrial applications. The present study conducted experiments from small-scale to full-scale chamber tests which challenged a developed catalytic filter under realistic conditions. Formaldehyde was selected for approach demonstration due to its indoor ubiquitousness and criticality for human health even at low-levels. Results showed that the competition level for reaction sites in filter media had a crucial role in the performance for formaldehyde abatement, a high initial (77%; under no competing pollutants) to a typical stable level (23–32%), depending on the coexistence of other pollutants and moisture in the air, that the employment of this type of filter might generate byproducts (opposite to previous literature reports), and that small-scale column tests represented a good indication for large-scale filter performance as a practical screening method.

INDOOR MICROBIAL CONTAMINATION AND ITS RELATION TO PHYSICAL INDOOR AIR QUALITY (IAQ) CHARACTERISTICS AT DIFFERENT LABORATORY CONDITIONS

Laboratory usually refers to a room or building equipped with chemicals and biological agents for scientific experimentation and research. Due to its own indoor hazards and its cause of health implications, it is an urge to assess and to understand the physical indoor air quality (IAQ) characteristics in the laboratory and the variables affecting the degree of exposure to occupants. The main objectives of this study was aimed to assess and to compare the physical IAQ characteristics and airborne pollutants including particulate matters (PM) and gaseous pollutants between laboratories, to identify microbial contaminants via bacterial counts as well as scientific bacterial-kits species identification and to correlate the relationship of physical IAQ characteristics, airborne pollutants and microbial contaminants between different laboratory settings within the same building which are Natural Product (NP) laboratory, Plant Tissue Culture (PTC) laboratory, and Microbiology laboratory. The physical IAQ characteristics and airborne PM was measured using VelociCalc multi-function ventilation meter 9565 and DustMate environmental dust detector respectively. Surface Air System Indoor Air Quality (SAS IAQ) was used to capture the microbial contaminants and after that bacterial counting and identification were done. The scientific method protocol and standard reference limits were compared based on Industrial Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality (ICOP) (2010) regulated by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). The temperature of PTC laboratory, velocity of NP laboratory and Microbiology laboratory, the respirable particulate matter (PM) of all three laboratories and Colony Forming Unit (CFU) count of PTC and NP laboratory exceeded the standard limit regulated by DOSH. This study demonstrated that Gemella morbillorum is the common bacterial species available in the environment with poor IAQ and there is a significant relationship between physical characteristics, airborne pollutants and microbial contaminants between the different types of laboratory settings. In conclusion, priority should be given to NP laboratory as it is exposed to poor IAQ conditions and immediate action should be taken to eliminate the problems.

Evaluation of the health-risk reduction potential of countermeasures to urban heat islands

Traditional assessment of heat-related health risks neglects the influence of the building physics as outdoor conditions are used as predictor variables. Data on heat-related mortality from Berlin, Germany and from the US are evaluated with a risk concept which differentiates between outdoor and indoor hazards. Such, the influence of non-linear building physics on heat-related risks can be considered and the impact of adaptation strategies can be examined.The number of heat-related deaths in the age-group 65+ for Berlin is expected to double with each 1K increase in ambient temperature. It can be reduced by 50% with a mean ambient air-temperature reduction of 0.8K. Countermeasures to urban heat islands are evaluated according to their reduction potential on hazards, both indoors and outdoors. The analysis shows that classic UHI countermeasures, which are effective in reducing air-temperatures outdoors, do not necessarily reduce the indoor hazard. Regarding indoor heat-related hazards, trees, façade and roof greening, cool roofs and cool pavements have a low impact only. Measures at the building level, namely cool roofs and façade greening perform best, however, passive cooling and air-conditioning are most effective. To reduce the number of excess deaths in a changing climate, combined measures are necessary.

高齢者の転倒予防

Causes of falling are multi-factorial. Although it is not easy to identify specific causes of falling, it is necessary to detect the significant causes of falling in each individual. In particular, use of medications and indoor hazards are important factors. We need to give instructions to families who live together with older persons how to avoid dangers of falling. Exercise has been proven to provide beneficial effects to prevent falling, however it is necessary to consider exactly what and how much exercise one should prescribe to elderly individual who are at high risk of falling. In other words, it is important to give best approach to prevent falling after considering the status of the elderly.

United Nations shelves action on indoor hazards

United Nations shelves action on indoor hazards

Incorporating health outcomes into environmental justice research: The case of children's asthma and air pollution in Phoenix, Arizona

Asthma is a health condition that is also an environmental justice issue. Using an environmental justice frame, this paper explores socio-demographic, indoor hazard, and air quality factors that contribute to disparities in asthma hospitalizations. Multivariate Poisson regression models predicting asthma hospitalizations at the zip code level are employed to examine the case of metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona (AZ). Controlling for socio-demographics, indoor hazards, and toxic releases from industry, ozone was the strongest predictor of asthma hospitalizations. This paper contributes to the project of inserting health measures into quantitative environmental justice studies.

Air pollution in homes

The dangers of air pollution are a regular topic of discussion in the lay press, much of it ill informed. For example, the increasing prevalence of asthma in Britain and elsewhere is widely attributed to the rise in pollutants from motor vehicles, although the balance of scientific evidence suggests that any influence of traffic pollutants on the initiation of asthma is small.1 Traffic pollutants, especially fine particulates, do seem to cause illness, but their impact on public health is probably less than that of smoking, diet, and poor housing. To date, attention has focused mainly on pollutants in outdoor air, for which it is easy to blame others rather than ourselves. Indoor hazards that have attracted publicity have also tended to be those caused by someone else—such as asbestos in schools and council flats or …