Health effects of indoor pollutants

Our plain-English summary of Health effects of indoor pollutants, by M.D. Lebowitz (Annual Review of Public Health, 1983).

The study

• Author: M.D. Lebowitz
• Journal: Annual Review of Public Health
• Published: 1983;4:203-21
• Cited by: 38 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 004716).

Summary of the article

This review analysed the sources, concentrations, health risks and public health concerns of indoor pollutants. It was prompted partly by energy-saving "tightening" of buildings and by the fact that most people spend 75 to 90% of their time indoors. Drawing largely on published studies and National Research Council reports, the author covered radon progeny, asbestos and synthetic fibers, consumer products, airborne biological agents, formaldehyde, indoor combustion products and passive smoking, and discussed total personal exposure. Occupational asbestos exposure was described as a known cause of lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis. Indoor asbestos release was described as mostly activity-related, episodic and local. Data were limited, applied mostly to schools and office buildings, and indicated that general public exposure there was apparently exceedingly low. Control by fixatives was judged probably better than removal. Synthetic fibers were described as much less important than asbestos for lung fibrosis and mesothelioma. Formaldehyde was presented as a presumed human carcinogen and as an irritant and sensitizer; an estimated 10-20% of the US population might develop symptoms at levels below 0.05 ppm. Findings on gas stoves and passive smoking were contradictory. The author concluded that indoor pollution had been almost totally ignored as a public health issue and that further epidemiological studies were needed. He also concluded that priority should go to common pollutants with known health effects.

PubMed has no abstract for this study, and the article doesn't print one. We wrote this summary from the full article with the help of AI. It is not the authors' wording.

In plain English

This 1983 article was a review, not a new study. The author surveyed published research and agency reports on the sources, indoor concentrations and health effects of pollutants in homes, schools, offices and other buildings. The pollutants covered were radon, asbestos and synthetic fibers, consumer products, airborne biological agents, formaldehyde, combustion products and passive smoking. Asbestos had one short section. The author described occupational asbestos exposure as a known hazard that can cause lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis. The author wrote that indoor release depends on how cohesive the material is and how strongly it is disturbed, and that most contamination is activity-related, episodic and local. Data were described as limited and mostly from schools and office buildings, where general public exposure appeared exceedingly low. A table listed fireproofing as the indoor asbestos source, with an illustrative concentration of under 1 fiber per cc. Synthetic fibers such as fiber glass and rock wool were described as much less important than asbestos for lung fibrosis and mesothelioma. The author called for a systematic survey of indoor fiber contamination and judged fixatives probably a better control than removal.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: narrative review of published literature and agency reports on indoor pollutants
• Who was studied: No study population of its own. The review covered indoor environments (homes, schools, offices, public buildings) and the general public. For asbestos, the data discussed came mostly from schools and office buildings.
• Exposure: Indoor pollutants generally. For asbestos, the indoor source listed was fireproofing, alongside synthetic fibers such as fiber glass and rock wool. No specific asbestos fiber types were named.
• Main results:
  • The author described occupational asbestos exposure as a known hazard that can cause lung cancer and mesothelioma, as well as asbestosis.
  • The amount of asbestos released indoors was described as related to the cohesiveness of the material and the intensity of disturbing forces, and most contamination as activity-related, episodic and local.
  • General public exposure to asbestos fibers in schools and office buildings was described as apparently exceedingly low.
  • A table, adapted from a cited source, gave an illustrative possible indoor asbestos concentration of less than 1 fiber per cc. A footnote says the listed concentrations are only illustrative and that both higher and lower concentrations have been measured.
  • Synthetic fibers (e.g. fiber glass, rock wool) were described as shown to be much less important than asbestos with regard to lung fibrosis and mesothelioma.
  • Because removal requires a complex method that must be carefully applied, the author considered control by fixatives probably a better means of avoiding asbestos contamination.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that a systematic, comprehensive survey of indoor fiber contamination is necessary, and more broadly that the potential health effects of indoor pollutants require further epidemiological studies.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The author stated that data on indoor asbestos were limited and applied mostly to schools and office buildings.
  • The author stated that interactions of indoor asbestos or synthetic fiber contamination with peri-occupational exposures and cigarette smoke had not been determined.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Radon Progeny, Asbestos Exposure, Lung Cancer, Mesothelioma, Fibrosis.

Related studies

• Indoor air pollution: a public health perspective — J.D. Spengler, K. Sexton (1983)
• Emerging indoor pollutants — T. Salthammer (2020)
• Indoor air pollutants. A literature review — T.F. Cooke (1991)
• Occurrence, spatial distribution, seasonal variations, potential sources, and inhalation-based health risk assessment of organic/inorganic pollutants in ambient air of Tehran — M. Kermani, Z. Asadgol, et al. (2021)
• Airway wall remodeling induced by occupational mineral dusts and air pollutant particles — A. Churg, J.L. Wright (2002)
• Indoor air quality differences between urban and rural preschools in Korea — C. Yoon, K. Lee, et al. (2011)

Browse more research in Annual Review of Public Health, or return to medical research.