This eye-opening study continuously measured individual exposure to indoor and outdoor-generated air pollution, in 76 patients with COPD, for an average of 134 days. They compared this with information collected daily about patient's symptoms and peak flow readings. The study found that exposure to both indoor and outdoor sources was associated with increased exacerbations and respiratory symptoms. For example, an increase by the IQR in exposure to NO2 was associated with a 33% increase in the odds of an exacerbation. The association was stronger for indoor (odds ratio 1.19) compared to outdoor (odds ratio 1.12) air pollution. Higher NO2 and carbon monoxide exposure were both associated with more reported respiratory symptoms. The most common source of NO2 indoors is from gas cookers (and to a lesser extent, heating), whilst outdoors it is road transport.
The authors conclude "Regulating day-to-day exposure to both indoor and outdoor sources of gaseous pollution is important to the respiratory health of patients with COPD in London. There are actions that patients can take to reduce these exposures as well as legislative interventions. Those caring for patients with COPD should be aware of these actions and provide appropriate advice. Those with respiratory conditions should avoid the use of gas cookers where possible."
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"Volatile chemical products emerging as largest petrochemical source of
urban organic emissions". McDonald et al., Science 359, 760–764 (2018) 16 February 2018
"Global emissions of VOCs from compressed aerosol products". Collections: Knowledge Domain: Atmospheric Science Amber M. Yeoman, Alastair C. Lewis
Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene (2021) 9 (1): 00177.
These two references are insightful on the scale of the emissions.
However, figure 5 in the second reference is the most worrying.
In summary, "The UK National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI), from which the data in Figure 5 are drawn, is highly detailed by sector and also by VOC species. Further details are described in Passant (2002). Taking the UK as likely representative of other countries in Europe in terms of consumer behaviour and habits, the fraction of UK national emissions represented by aerosol propellants grew from around 2.0% of national emissions in 1990 to around 6.1% in 2017. Although this may superficially appear to be still a relatively modest contribution, put in perspective, the official inventory estimated UK emissions of VOCs from aerosol use in 2017 (approximately 60 kt pa) were greater than the total VOC emissions arising from all passenger cars in the UK (estimated as approximately 30 kt pa in 2017, Office for National Statistics UK, 2019)."
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