Pollution
by Fabio Bertrand Elsa
Indoor pollution
Indoor pollution is defined as "the presence of physical, chemical or biological contaminants in the air of confined environments, which are not naturally present in high quantities in the external air of the ecological systems." (Italian ministry for the Environment, 1991)
In the last thirty years much attention has been paid to reducing the outdoor pollution, but only recently has the international scientific community worried about reducing the contamination of the air of closed environments. If we consider the amount of time a person spends in a closed environment (90%) we will understand that the issue of indoor pollution is of primary importance.
The atmospheric composition inside an edifice is fundamentally the same we find outside, but the amounts and types of contaminants differ. To the pollutants present outside one must add all the polluting agents generated within the edifices.
The main sources of indoor pollutants are:
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construction materials
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heating, air-conditioning devices, and cooking apparatuses etc.
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furniture
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coatings (wall paint, varnish, floors etc.)
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maintenance and cleaning products (detergents, pesticides etc.)
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use of space and activities done within it
The study of the effects of air pollution on the human health are complex for the symptoms are not specific and many pollutants can be responsible for the same disease. Furthermore there are also the effects caused by stress and climatic discomfort. The fact that different people ract differently to the same conditions, must be considered as well.
The main observed effects are:
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respiratory
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dermal and mucosa irritation
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effects on the nervous system
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cardiovascular
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effects on the gastrointestinal apparatus
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effects on the reproductive system
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infections and intoxication
Spotting the first causes of alarm is extremely hard and unrealistic, for there never is a single exposition to a pollutant, the danger changes according to the time of exposition and the combination with other pollutants.
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