Air pollution both inside and outside of the home is the cause of at leat 40,000 deaths a year in the UK, according to a new report.

 

The report, from the Royal College of Physicians highlights the less understood impact of indoor pollution, as well as the growing evidence of harm to children's health. 

 

Sources of indoor air pollution include smoking, faulty boilers, gas cookers and heaters, as well as irritant chemicals from new furniture, air fresheners and household cleaning products. House-dust mites, mould and dander from pets can also damage health, according to the report.

 

Outdoor pollution, much of it from vehicles, causes 40,000 deaths a year in the UK but the number linked to indoor pollution is not known. However, indoor air pollution is estimated to have caused or contributed to 99,000 deaths across Europe in 2012, the report states.

 

The new report found that, although the government and the World HealthOrganization set “acceptable” limits for air pollution, there is in fact no level of exposure that can be seen to be safe, with any exposure carrying a risk.

 

 

The issue of indoor air pollution also needs more research, said the report: “We must strengthen our understanding of the key risk factors and effects of poor air quality in our homes, schools and workplaces.” It noted: “The drive to reduce energy costs, by creating homes with tighter ventilation, could be making the situation worse.”

 

Prof Anthony Frew, a respiratory medicine expert at the Royal Sussex county hospital and not involved in the research, said: “While this report is interesting, its findings have to be seen in the context that on average we live longer, healthier lives than we did in previous generations, and that much of this is due to falling pollution levels. Furthermore, the ‘deaths caused by air pollution’ are generally considered to be deaths that are brought forward, rather than deaths that would not have happened.”