Indoor Air Pollution Threatens Children

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http://ens-news.com/ens/jul2002/2002-07-02-09.asp#anchor2

Indoor Air Pollution Threatens Children

ITHACA, New York, July 2, 2002 (ENS) - Indoor air pollutants found in low

income housing and in many child care centers may put children at health

risk, suggests a new study from Cornell University. In areas prone to high

radon levels, homes occupied by limited resource households have higher

levels of radon than those occupied by higher income households, and some

child care centers have unsafe levels of radon, lead and mold, the study

shows.

" We found levels of pollutants in homes and child care facilities that we

should be concerned about, " said ph Laquatra, associate professor of

design and environmental analysis in the New York State College of Human

Ecology at Cornell.

" Even low levels of exposure to some of these pollutants is dangerous, "

Laquatra noted, " and if you have a child who lives in a home with high

radon, lead and mold levels and then spends the day being exposed to those

same pollutants in a child care facility, that child may be at significantly

higher risk for lead poisoning, cancer, asthma attacks and allergies. "

Laquatra, who conducted the study with colleagues Lorraine Maxwell and Mark

Pierce, both in the Department of Design and Environmental Analysis with

Laquatra at Cornell, reported their findings at the Ninth Annual

International Conference on Indoor Air and Climate in Monterey, California

today.

The indoor environmental experts tested indoor air pollution levels in a

representative sample of 328 houses and 75 child care facilities in six

nonmetropolitan counties in New York state.

They also found that the homes of lower income residents had higher levels

of carbon monoxide, perhaps because 60 percent of the homes in the study had

no functioning kitchen exhaust fan, the researchers said. In addition, 16

percent of the homes in the study had asbestos problems, and 10 percent had

basement mold.

" Limited resource households have disproportionate exposure to radon and

other indoor air pollutants, most likely because of lower quality housing

and housing deficiencies that create pollutant pathways, such as foundation

cracks and dirt basement floors, as well as chipped paint, friable asbestos

and leaking combustion equipment, " Laquatra said.

" Lead poisoning in children leads to lowered intelligence and behavioral

problems. Mold is a trigger for allergies and asthma, both of which lead to

school and work absences, productivity losses and increased health costs, "

Laquatra explained. Exposures to asbestos, carbon monoxide and radon can

lead to early death, he added.

" Health officials and policymakers agree that indoor air pollutants pose

serious health risks, and they expend considerable resources to raise public

awareness of these risks. But for low income households, resources for

pollutant abatement are negligible, which generates a dilemma for public

policy, " Laquatra said.

A follow up study at Cornell is examining the effectiveness of teaching low

income household members practical management strategies to minimize their

risks of exposure to indoor air pollutants.