Public inquiries about indoor air quality in California

Our plain-English summary of Public inquiries about indoor air quality in California, by J.M. Macher, S.B. Hayward (Environmental Health Perspectives, 1991).

The study

• Authors: J.M. Macher, S.B. Hayward
• Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives
• Published: 1991;92:175-80
• Cited by: 3 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

To identify the indoor air quality issues about which Californians most often sought advice from a health department or a public information agency and to evaluate how well these agencies met the public's needs, members of the California Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Indoor Air Quality kept records of inquiries they received over a 30-month period from mid-1985 through 1987. Members of the IWG answered calls from residents of a least 49 of California's 58 counties. IWG members received more public inquiries about residences than about offices, educational institutions, commercial buildings, or medical facilities. However, each call about a residence probably represented fewer people at risk of exposure to a real or a potential problem than did calls about other types of buildings. Homeowners themselves asked the majority of the questions about residences, whereas a large number of the inquiries about office buildings were made, not by affected office workers, but by building managers, contractors, consultants, or company health and safety officers. The leading topics of concern in the residences were asbestos, chemical and biological contamination, and radon. In offices, chemical contamination, the ventilation system, biological contamination, asbestos, and tobacco smoke were the most frequently mentioned sources of problems. Callers often reported experiencing headaches, allergy symptoms, nose or throat irritation, and respiratory tract problems in connection with their complaints. IWG members directed a third of the calls elsewhere, of which half were referred to consultants or testing laboratories. The IWG's experience in the State of California could help other health departments prepare to face the public's increasing concern about indoor air pollution.

In plain English

This article reported a survey of telephone inquiries about indoor air quality made to California public agencies. Forty-three members of the California Interagency Working Group on Indoor Air Quality, from 12 agencies, kept standard records of calls received from mid-1985 through 1987. Calls came from all but 9 of California's 58 counties. After weighting for how long each agency took part, over half of the estimated annual calls were about asbestos: 793 of an estimated 1491 per year. Callers worried about asbestos more often in homes than in other buildings. Symptoms were mentioned in 16 of the 361 asbestos inquiries. Agency staff mainly gave information by phone or by mail, and they referred a third of all calls elsewhere. Half of those referrals went to consultants or testing laboratories. The authors stated that the call counts underestimated the true level of concern, partly because not all agencies or staff took part. The authors concluded that public concern was very strong and that agencies would need a coordinated effort to meet it.

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: Descriptive survey of records of public telephone inquiries kept by agency staff
• Who was studied: Members of the public and others who telephoned California agencies about indoor air quality from mid-1985 through 1987, giving 1374 reports. Calls came from all but 9 of California's 58 counties.
• Exposure: Indoor air quality concerns in residences and nonindustrial buildings, grouped into nine topic categories. Asbestos was one category; the others were dusts and fibers other than asbestos, tobacco smoke, chemical contamination, radon, ventilation, biological contamination, general information and other.
• Main results:
  • Over half of the weighted annual number of calls were about asbestos (estimated 793 of 1491 calls per year).
  • Callers were concerned about radon or asbestos much more often in residences than in other types of buildings.
  • Symptoms were mentioned in 16 of the 361 inquiries about asbestos. The authors noted that very few callers asking about asbestos or radon mentioned any symptoms.
  • Written information was mailed to callers mainly on radon and asbestos. Staff also often recommended consultants or testing laboratories to callers asking about asbestos.
  • Across all topics, staff referred a third of the calls elsewhere, and half of those referrals were to consultants or testing laboratories.
  • Among callers who mentioned symptoms, about one-third reported headaches and one-quarter reported allergy symptoms. Asbestosis was listed among the symptoms placed in the 'other' category.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that public concern about air quality in homes and nonindustrial workplaces was very strong, and that public assistance agencies would need a coordinated effort to meet the public's need for information and advice.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors stated that the call counts underestimated the true extent of concern. Agencies outside the working group were not included in the survey.
  • Not all working-group agencies or staff took part, and some staff did not record every inquiry.
  • Staff recorded only what callers volunteered, so not every item of information was collected for every call.

Related studies

• Indoor air quality differences between urban and rural preschools in Korea — C. Yoon, K. Lee, et al. (2011)
• A pilot study of indoor air quality in screen golf courses — S.J. Goung, J. Yang, et al. (2015)
• Asbestos in the air of public buildings: a public health risk? — J. Whysner, V.T. Covello, et al. (1994)
• Comparison of risks from outdoor and indoor exposure to toxic chemicals — L.A. Wallace (1991)
• Emerging indoor pollutants — T. Salthammer (2020)
• Indoor air pollutants. A literature review — T.F. Cooke (1991)

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