Science
and Technology for the Social, Environmental and Economic Benefit of
Australia
FASTS Occasional Paper
Series
Number 5a October
2002
Indoor Air Quality in
Australia:
A Strategy for
Action
by
Indoor Air Quality Special
Interest Group
of the
Clean Air Society of Australia
and New Zealand
$20
FASTS Occasional Paper
Series
Number 5a October 2002
SUMMARY
OF
Indoor Air Quality in
Australia:
A Strategy for
Action
FASTS
PO Box
218
DEAKIN WEST ACT
2600
Phone: (02) 6257 2891
Fax: (02) 6257 2897
Email: fasts@anu.edu.au
Disclaimer
This summary paper has been prepared from the comments received from
Members, particularly the Indoor Air Quality Special Interest Group, and may
not necessarily represent the views of all Members of the Clean Air Society of
Australia and New Zealand. The information contained herein is offered in good
faith based on input of Members. However neither the Members of the Special
Interest Group or the Society, accept any liability that may be construed to
arise from the material in the paper in relation to any claim or
legal action.
ISBN 0-9579916-5-7
Title: Summary of Indoor Air Quality in Australia: A Strategy for
Action
Web site: http://casanz.org.au/
Email:
casanz@ozemail.com.au
FOREWORD................................................................................................................................
1
OVERVIEW..................................................................................................................................
2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................
4
SUMMARY OF 21 INDOOR
AIR POLLUTANTS & RECOMMENDATIONS..................................... 6
PRIORITY........................................................................................................................................
6
REASONS FOR
CONCERN..........................................................................................................
7
THE SIX MOST SERIOUS
INDOOR AIR POLLUTANTS...............................................................
9
1. CARBON MONOXIDE............................................................................................................
9
2. NITROGEN DIOXIDE............................................................................................................
10
3. ENVIRONMENTAL TOBACCO SMOKE (ETS)........................................................................
12
4. FORMALDEHYDE................................................................................................................
13
5. HOUSE DUST MITE (HDM)...................................................................................................
14
6. MOULDS AND FUNGI..........................................................................................................
15
IMPEDIMENTS TO BETTER
INDOOR AIR QUALITY..................................................................
17
SIX STEPS TO BETTER
INDOOR AIR QUALITY.......................................................................
19
SHORT FORMS
AND GLOSSARY.............................................................................................
21
The role of the FASTS Occasional Paper series
is to bring significant issues to the attention of the community, the
government and the bureaucracy.
In the case of the
paper prepared by the Clean Air Society of Australia and New Zealand, the
science is well established. Measurements have been done, evidence collected,
and the implications emphasised. There is a clear and present danger. A
significant proportion of our community is at risk, and will remain at risk
until the governments of Australia tackle issues which affect the quality of
air within the buildings where we work, live and study.
The paper makes a
number of recommendations. These range from establishing a national body to
take responsibility for the issue of indoor air quality and the setting up of
programs offering practical solutions, to filling in gaps in the data. These
recommendations deserve close scrutiny from all levels of government, and a
coordinated response.
Often science-based
issues demand a whole-of-government response, because the issues cross the
administrative boundaries established by the allocation of portfolio
responsibilities. Australia has been slowly improving its capacity to respond
to matters that involve a number of ministers or require actions at all levels
of government.
It is our belief
that Australia requires a wider whole-of-government approach to coordinate the
national research effort because of the pervasiveness of science to almost all
policy areas, and because many issues involve federal, state and territory
governments. COAG-the Council of Australian Governments-has a role
here.
There have been promising signs in Australia in
recent years as both major political parties have increased their commitment to
science and technology. The commitment has been accompanied by some modest (but
welcome) increases in funding, but the missing ingredient has been the absence
of a long-term strategy that would allow science and technology to serve its
rightful place as a driver of the economy and solution to our environmental
problems.
The issues raised in this paper are an illustration
of the fact that Australia still lacks a national commitment to making the best
of its science.
President
Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies
Indoor air quality is a most significant environmental issue
that has not been seriously addressed in this country. Unhealthy indoor air is
costing the Australian community an estimated $12 billion a year. Australia is failing its responsibilities of a 'duty
of care' to protect the community in the environment where we spend most of our
time.
Resolution of the issue requires
assessment of the problem, the setting of standards, formation of a central
responsibility for indoor air, and initiation of actions to improve air
quality.
Though further assessment will be
needed to better define the problem, the facts before us already
show:
·
we spend up to 90 percent of
our time indoors
·
while on the one hand,
national enforceable standards (NEPMs) are rarely exceeded outdoors, on many
days every year millions of people inhale air in excess of air quality
standards or goals while indoors
·
the indoor air pollutants
that often exceed acceptable levels include nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide,
particles, formaldehyde, environmental tobacco smoke, and house dust
mites
·
in 2000 there were five
fatalities from carbon monoxide poisoning in dwellings in Victoria alone, and
by calculation the health of millions of people is being impaired by indoor air
pollution.
Australia has national enforceable
standards for ambient air (NEPMs), where people spend only around 10 percent of
their time, but it has only non-enforceable interim guidelines for some indoor
air pollutants. There is a very much wider range of pollutants indoors that are
of concern when compared to outdoors. Ott and Roberts stated
in Scientific
American (February 1998) that 'Of the hundreds of air pollutants covered by US laws, only
ozone and sulfur dioxide remain more prevalent outdoors'. It is imperative that national standards are set for indoor
air quality in the very near future so the extent of indoor pollution can be
fully established.
A critical factor that has permitted the poor
condition of indoor
air to deteriorate to its present state is the lack of government ownership of
this environment. In the case of outdoor air, the state governments have passed
legislation that is enforced by regulation. Fines of up to $1 million can be
imposed for infringements that result in unhealthy air. The environment
ministers in the states and the Commonwealth have formed a partnership to
ensure everyone in the community has access to clean air in the ambient
environment. However, in the indoor environment there is only a fragmented
interest spread amongst departments of public health, environment, building,
work safety, and so on. This has resulted in sporadic involvement, usually by
issuing information brochures on isolated issues such as unflued gas heaters or
passive smoking. Environment Australia has funded some research studies on
indoor air. Although well over 15 years have passed since the first major study
revealed very serious air pollution levels in homes, hospitals, schools and
caravans, the community remains uneducated and the government largely
unmoved.
It seems astonishing that certain
environmental programs are being put in place without full consideration of the
total exposure of the population to air pollutants. This is exemplified in the
strong government program associated with the construction of new dwellings and
commercial buildings to conserve energy, and thereby reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. Unfortunately, without due consideration of the effects on the
indoor environment, this can result in modern building designs that are
reducing ventilation and thus potentially causing a very serious decline in the
quality of indoor air and the health of the occupants.
The immediate steps required to
address the issue of indoor air pollution are to:
·
establish a national body
(linked or similar to the National Environment Protection Council, or NEPC)
responsible for indoor air
·
establish indoor standards of
air quality for the most common and serious pollutants
·
collate existing measured
indoor air pollution levels into a national database
·
commence studies in areas
where insufficient data are available
·
establish programs that will
address the most serious problems
·
commence a wide-ranging and
comprehensive public education program.
The sooner these steps are taken
the sooner the health and economic benefits will
accrue.
Len Ferrari
President
Clean Air Society of Australia and New Zealand
It has long been known that substances in the air can damage
human health. Air pollution (of ambient air) came into focus with London's
'killer smogs' in the early 1950s-an estimated 4000 people lost their lives in
one incident alone. The smogs brought swift government action to improve the
situation. However, it was another two decades before a similar level of
concern was expressed about the quality of air within non-industrial buildings.
This slow rise of concern about indoor air quality was
addressed by a rapid rise in overseas interest and research into indoor air
quality. In Australia, the first major investigations occurred in the 1980s.
However, in contrast to the overseas experience, the response to research
findings in Australia has been less comprehensive. We have seen concerted
action to address only a few of the pollutants identified as causes for concern
in research findings.
This summary paper focuses on concrete and immediate steps
to improve indoor air quality in Australia, based on the current state of
knowledge. As a means to that end it also looks at the six most serious indoor
air pollutants in the Australian context and attempts, briefly:
·
to review what is known about them
·
to indicate their possible impact on health
·
to estimate the population that may be at risk
·
to outline any significant actions that have already
been taken to improve the situation
·
to recommend ways to remedy identified problems.
The full paper
discusses 21 pollutants. A summary of all the pollutants and recommended
actions is included on page 6.
The term 'indoor air' has a wide range of meanings. We use
the term in accordance with the NHMRC definition: a non-industrial indoor space
where a person spends a period of an hour or more in any day. Thus indoor air
includes the air inside homes, offices, commercial premises (such as shops,
restaurants), schools, and automobiles including cars and buses.
Effectively, 'indoor air pollution' becomes all those air
pollutants indoors that are not controlled by occupational or ambient
legislation in the environment in which they are encountered.
Unless otherwise indicated, the section on potential health
effects for each pollutant has been drawn from the references listed in the
full paper and the Final Impact Statement for the National Environment
Protection Measure for Ambient Air (1998).
These sections indicate some of the salient, known adverse effects rather than
provide an exhaustive treatment of what is known about the health effects of
the pollutants.
Mention is made throughout of the National Environment
Protection Council (NEPC) and National Environment Protection
Measures (NEPMs).
The NEPC was established to set national environmental goals
and standards for Australia, through NEPMs. It is a statutory body with
law-making powers established under the National Environment Protection
Council Act 1994 (Commonwealth), and
corresponding legislation in the other jurisdictions. The objectives of NEPC
are to ensure that:
·
the people of Australia enjoy the benefit of equivalent
protection from air, water or soil pollution and from noise, wherever they live
·
decisions of the business community are not distorted,
and markets not fragmented, by variations between member governments in
relation to the adoption or implementation of major environment protection
measures.
Members of Council are ministers
(not necessarily environment ministers) appointed by first ministers from the
participating jurisdictions-the Commonwealth, state and territory
governments.
The NEPC Committee is the principal advisory body to the
Council. It comprises the NEPC Executive Officer and one nominee of each
Council member. A non-voting observer has been appointed by the President of
the Australian Local Government Association.
NEPMs are 'framework' documents outlining agreed national
objectives for protecting or managing particular aspects of the environment.
They may consist of any combination of goals, standards, protocols, and
guidelines. NEPMs must be agreed by a two-thirds majority of ministers of the
NEPC. Once they have been tabled in the Commonwealth Parliament, they become
law in each participating jurisdiction. Progress is reported annually through
state/territory parliaments and through the NEPC to the Commonwealth
Parliament.
In the past four years, the NEPC has made six NEPMs, including one on ambient
air quality (July 1998).