Why Indoor Chemistry Matters (2022) / Chapter Skim
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7 A Path Forward for Indoor Chemistry
7 A Path Forward for Indoor Chemistry
Pages 147-158
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From page 147... ...
CHEMICAL COMPLEXITY IN THE INDOOR ENVIRONMENT Complex Chemical Mixtures and Processes An emerging theme in indoor chemistry is the high degree of chemical complexity in indoor environments where people spend, on average, more than 80 percent of their time. People are often in close proximity to sources and processes that emit chemicals.
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From page 148... ...
Most studies examining human influences on indoor environments have focused on chemical exposures in developed countries and with communities of higher socioeconomic status, or in underdeveloped countries relying on solid or fossil fuels for indoor heating and cooking (termed "household air pollution" by the World Health Organi zation)
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From page 149... ...
Our incomplete quantitative understanding of the partitioning of semivolatile molecules limits the ability of models to accurately describe the removal rate and exposure levels, especially for near-field exposures. Additional measurements are needed of the spatially and temporally dependent abundance of contaminants in all surface reservoirs in a range of indoor environments, and of the rates at which such gas-surface partitioning processes occur.
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From page 150... ...
Recommendation 5: Researchers who study toxicology and epidemiology and their funders should prioritize resources toward understanding indoor exposures to contaminants, including those of outdoor origin that undergo subsequent transformations indoors. Similarly, indoor chemistry influences outdoor air pollution.
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From page 151... ...
The availability of healthy outdoor air for ventilation cannot be taken for granted, especially with the increasing impacts of climate change. Recent events have shown that exchanging indoor air with outdoor air can be problematic when the concentrations of chemical species and PM in outdoor air pose a health risk.
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From page 152... ...
Efforts to integrate laboratory experiments, indoor field observations, and modeling need to be a high priority and have strong potential for impact when coupled with exposure and health studies. This "three-legged stool" approach has been successfully applied in environmental science and needs to continue to be implemented for indoor environments.
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From page 153... ...
Recommendation 9: Researchers and their funders should invest in developing novel methods and chemoinformatic resources that increase our ability to identify and quantify the abundances of wide classes of indoor chemicals, both primary emissions and secondary chemical reaction products. Our emerging picture of indoor environments indicates chemical complexity in gas, particle, and surface phases.
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From page 154... ...
Recommendation 11: Federal agencies should design and regularly implement an updated National Human Activity Patterns Survey. Federal and state agencies should add survey ques tions in existing surveys that capture people's activities in indoor environments as they relate to indoor chemistry and indoor chemical exposures.
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From page 155... ...
Such a framework would contextualize and ground the broader field of indoor chemistry within an equity lens. Factors and variables for consideration in the framework include • unique sources and distribution of chemical contaminants in substandard housing and the influence of different types and variable quality of heating, cooling, ventilation, and filtra tion systems; • health effects of indoor exposures in substandard versus standard housing due to building materials and maintenance practices; • source, proximity, and scale of outdoor contaminants to which EJ communities may have greater indoor exposure; • unique behaviors, chemical emissions, and chemical interactions that may occur due to a variety of reasons including locus of controls, differences in activity patterns, occupant density, and type of housing, such as multifamily versus single family; and • how chemical interactions in a changing world may affect EJ communities in unique ways.
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From page 156... ...
Standards for Indoor Environmental Quality Unlike regulation of outdoor chemistry, the management of indoor chemistry is at a nascent stage. Regulation of outdoor air has followed scientific discoveries for years.
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From page 157... ...
It is clear that the chemical complexity of the indoor environment -- present in its sources, chemical transformations, and loss mechanisms -- currently precludes accurate and complete assessments of the exposure rates for many of the chemicals present indoors. Effective integration of laboratory experiments, indoor measure ments, and modeling is necessary to determine the impacts of this chemistry on indoor environmental quality and chemical exposures.
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From page 158... ...
Indoor Air 21:191–204. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0668.2010.00703.x.
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