Indoor air pollutants. A literature review

Our plain-English summary of Indoor air pollutants. A literature review, by T.F. Cooke (Reviews on Environmental Health, 1991).

The study

• Author: T.F. Cooke
• Journal: Reviews on Environmental Health
• Published: 1991;9(3):137-60
• Type of article: Review
• Cited by: 25 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

The literature on the important indoor air pollutants, their sources, their effect on human welfare, and methods for controlling their presence is reviewed. The review is chiefly concerned with the air in homes, offices, schools, and public buildings, rather than in industrial facilities.

In plain English

This article was a literature review, not an original study. The author summarized published information on indoor air pollutants in homes, offices, schools and public buildings, covering their sources, health effects and control. Topics included radon, formaldehyde, combustion products, tobacco smoke, volatile organic compounds, pesticides and respirable particles, including asbestos. In its short asbestos section, the review stated that asbestos causes cancer of the lung and gastrointestinal tract and causes asbestosis. It also stated that the cancer rate is greatly increased in asbestos workers who smoke, and that why asbestos causes cancer is unknown. It noted that asbestos insulation in buildings may get into indoor air if disturbed. It described removing or coating the asbestos as ways to reduce this, with removal only by trained experts. Using a figure from another author (Nero), the review showed radon as a greater risk of premature death than volatile organic compounds and passive smoking, which in turn were shown as greater risks than asbestos. The author concluded that research is needed to determine how large the health effects of indoor air pollution are.

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: Literature review
• Who was studied: No study population. The review covered air in homes, offices, schools and public buildings rather than industrial facilities, mainly drawing on U.S. sources such as EPA reports.
• Exposure: A range of indoor air pollutants, including asbestos from insulation in homes, schools and other buildings. No specific asbestos fiber types were named.
• Main results:
  • The review stated, without a specific citation, that asbestos causes cancer of the lung and gastrointestinal tract, and causes lung fibrosis (asbestosis).
  • The review stated that the cause of asbestos-related cancer is unknown and that the cancer rate is greatly increased in asbestos workers who smoke.
  • Citing Timbrell, the review reported that most fibers found in the human lung are shorter than 5 micrometres and less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter, though some thin fibers up to 200 micrometres long have been found.
  • The review described removing asbestos or coating it with a film as ways to reduce indoor asbestos fiber levels.
  • The review stated that removal should be done only by experts trained to handle asbestos.
  • Using a figure taken from Nero, the review showed radon as a greater lifetime risk of premature death than volatile organic compounds and passive smoking, which were in turn shown as greater risks than asbestos.
  • The review stated that fibers other than asbestos are generally not a health problem in indoor air, but that questions had been raised about glass wool insulation fibers.
  • Citing a National Research Council report, the review gave an estimate of 13,000 lung cancer deaths per year in the U.S.A. from radon exposure.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that research is needed to determine how large the health effects of indoor air pollution are.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The review covered only the pollutants the author considered most harmful, not all indoor air pollutants.
  • The author cautioned that the radon lung cancer death estimates are not based on data from homes.

Related studies

• A pilot study of indoor air quality in screen golf courses — S.J. Goung, J. Yang, et al. (2015)
• Emerging indoor pollutants — T. Salthammer (2020)
• Indoor air pollution: a public health perspective — J.D. Spengler, K. Sexton (1983)
• Comparison of risks from outdoor and indoor exposure to toxic chemicals — L.A. Wallace (1991)
• Indoor air quality differences between urban and rural preschools in Korea — C. Yoon, K. Lee, et al. (2011)
• Indoor radon levels in urban Hyderabad area, Andhra Pradesh, India — M. Sreenath Reddy, P. Yadagiri Reddy, et al. (2008)

Browse more research in Reviews on Environmental Health, or return to medical research.