The Impacts of Indoor Air Pollution Exposure on Health

Providing air that is safe to breathe is as vital as the delivery of drinking water or food. Around the world, women and children in the poorest developing countries, are forced to respire air that is heavily contaminated with biomass emission particles. Indoor air pollution in many people¿s minds is related to issues of industrialization and urbanization. The WHO system that monitors Air quality has shown that the worst air exposures reported today are found in the towns of low-income countries. Most studies of indoor air quality have been done in developed-countries. The greatest indoor concentrations of significant pollutants are found in both rural and urban households in low-income countries. Although ventilation rates are relatively high, emission factors for such fuels are excessive that indoor concentrations and exposures can still be significant. Compared with gas stoves, stoves using one of the cleaner bio-fuels wood typically release 50 times more particulate matter, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons in cooking a meal. Exposure to biomass smoke is a important cause of respiratory health problems. Globally about 2.5 million deaths each year result from indoor exposure.