A Discussion on Indoor Air Pollution Exposure Process and Resultant Problems

Abstract

The production and usage processes of buildings correspond to a highly complex interrelation among many experts of professionals and users in which the space is produced according to certain approaches to become one of the essential factors to affect the users’ life. In this context, indoor air and its pollution are in the most critical aspects of spaces with a very high potential to create a wide range of comfort, many health and related economic problems. In order to structure a better cause and effect relation between spaces and users in the context of enhanced indoor air quality, among other aspects particularly the exposure phenomenon: process between encountering indoor air pollution and the formation of problems should be investigated in regard to underlying mechanisms. Existence of harmful substances with diverse properties for a definite period of time causes indoor air pollution and certain parts or the entire indoor environment of a building can constitute an exposure environment as the pollution meets with building users. This process can occur via respiration, olfaction or contact to skin and eyes where pollutants, their metabolites or reaction products compose biomarkers. The number of biomarkers, determined as dose, is directly related with the occurrence of a vast number of health / comfort conditions ranging from odour intolerance, headache or irritation to respiratory infections, heart diseases and cancers. Although there are many different approaches for classification of these outcomes, the problems are categorized under three groups in this research: cancers, non-cancerous diseases and sick building syndrome. It is believed that the study is beneficial to present an alternative qualitative point of view different from the common quantitative tendencies in the field of indoor air quality studies and the resultant classification can be useful for a more practical and accurate assessment process which is appreciated to be vital to sustain existing building stock and transform the problematic spaces in better and healthy living environments by raising awareness for particularly important but mostly ignored or misplaced problem groups.