tailieunhanh - Respiratory health effects of indoor air pollution

More than half of the world's population relies on solid fuels, including biomass fuels (wood, charcoal, dung, agricultural residues) and coal, to meet their basic energy needs. Cooking and heating with solid fuels on open fires or traditional stoves results in high levels of indoor air pollution. Globally, indoor air pollution is responsible for approximately million deaths every year. Various interventions are available to reduce indoor air pollution and associated health impacts at the household level. Working chimneys and hoods, increased ventilation and improved combustion can reduce concentrations of indoor air pollutants. Reducing human exposure to these harmful by-products of combustion leads to reduced illness | INT J TUBERC LUNG DIS 14 9 1079-1086 2010 The Union -----------2010------------- THE YEAR OF THE LUNG Series editor John F. Murray REVIEW ARTICLE Everyone has heard and t-shirts can be bought emblazoned with the popular saying Home is where the heart is . Lungs too it turns out. Hearts and homes convey images of peace and security protection and shelter. Lungs and homes as we learn from this month s 2010 Year of the Lung feature article have a different association. Homes of poor people are where lungs are likely to be injured from exposure to exceedingly high concentrations of toxins in smoke from biomass fuels and coal used in cooking and heating. Indoor air pollution we are told accounts for a substantial proportion of the global burden of disease in developing countries . And that s not all according to Doctors Perez-Padilla Schilmann and Riojas-Rodriguez it is going to get worse before it gets better. Clean fuels are expensive. Efficient stoves can alleviate some of the emissions but both cultural and behavioral barriers stand in the way of widespread acceptance. Much more needs to be done. John F. Murray Series Editor e-mail johnfmurr4@ Respiratory health effects of indoor air pollution R. Perez-Padilla A. Schilmann H. Riojas-Rodriguezf Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias Mexico City f Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública Cuernavaca Morelos Mexico Domestic pollution is relevant to health because people spend most of their time indoors. One half of the world s population is exposed to high concentrations of solid fuel smoke biomass and coal that are produced by inefficient open fires mainly in the rural areas of developing countries. Concentrations of particulate matter in kitchens increase to the range of milligrams per cubic meter during cooking. Solid fuel smoke possesses the majority of the toxins found in tobacco smoke and has also been associated with a variety of diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in women acute .