Chemical indoor air pollutants: selected pollutants (2010)
The WHO indoor air quality guidelines for selected pollutants (chemicals) are intended to prevent health risks from these pollutants, which are often present indoors in concentrations of concern for health. They include background material summarizing the evidence on health risks.
The Guidelines consider various levels of economic development, cover all relevant population groups and enable feasible approaches to reduce health risks from exposure to the pollutants in various regions of the world. Existing national and international guidelines, experience in regulating indoor air quality and results of international reviews supported the discussion and its conclusions.
Selected pollutants
50 experts recommended indoor air quality guidelines for the following pollutants:
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benzene
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carbon monoxide (CO)
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formaldehyde
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nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
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naphthalene
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polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
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radon
- tetra- and tri-chloroethylene
The guidelines are based on a thorough risk evaluation for each. A systematic review of the evidence on the health risk associated to each of the pollutants was carried out, covering:
- general description of the compound;
- indoor sources and pathways of exposure;
- current indoor levels and relationship with outdoor levels;
- kinetics and metabolism (including experimental evidence on pathogenetic mechanism from animal and in vitro studies); and
- health effects (non-cancer and carcinogenic effects) for the general population and susceptible groups.
