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AIRMEX cautions indoor pollutants are too high

EU-funded research shows that many harmful air pollutants make their presence known more indoors than outdoors. AIRMEX (the 'European Indoor Air Monitoring and Exposure Assessment Project') investigated indoor air quality and personal exposure concentration by measuring 19 vol...

EU-funded research shows that many harmful air pollutants make their presence known more indoors than outdoors. AIRMEX (the 'European Indoor Air Monitoring and Exposure Assessment Project') investigated indoor air quality and personal exposure concentration by measuring 19 volatile organic compounds in indoor air, such as carbonyls, terpenoids and aromatics, in public buildings and kindergartens in a number of cities across Europe. AIRMEX is funded under the EU's Joint Research Centre (JRC). Improved health is a priority for the EU, and this is outlined in the European Environment and Health Action Plan 2004-2010 which focuses on determining what impact environmental damage has on human health. This action plan will give the EU the information it needs to forge stronger collaboration between stakeholders in the environment, health and research fields. The AIRMEX partners found that personal exposure concentrations to harmful pollutants - especially formaldehyde and benzene - are for the most part higher than the respective indoor/outdoor concentrations. Their research also showed that 30.2% of the personal exposure concentrations, 22.9% of the indoor concentrations and 18% of the outdoor concentrations topped the ambient air limit value established by the Commission for 2010 under Directive 2000/69/EC for benzene. The researchers carried out personal exposure measurements with employees and teachers in their respective working environments. According to the researchers, these values are above health benchmarks. The outdoor concentration measurements single-handedly underestimate the health risks from human exposure to the values in the long run. The researchers evaluated how human lung cells are affected by the mixtures of chemicals. Based on their data, the chemical compounds interact and their impact on human health is contingent on the presence of other chemicals. On the whole, the results indicate that the multiple effects of indoor air pollutants depend on other components that affect people, including stress, gender and genetic background. Ultimately, the AIRMEX project identified and quantified the main air pollutants in various areas and identified the main sources of these pollutants. It estimated human exposure and assessed how human health that is exposed to these pollutants is affected, in particular the well-being of children. The researchers performed analyses in Athens and Thessaloniki (Greece), Leipzig (Germany), Catania and Milan (Italy), Brussels (Belgium), Nicosia (Cyprus) and Arnhem and Nijmegen (the Netherlands). The full project also included the cities of Dublin (Ireland), Helsinki (Finland) and Budapest (Hungary).

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