17^th Plenary Session of the Congress

Strasbourg, 15 October 2009

Speech by Paolo Rondelli on Improving indoor air quality: a new challenge for local authorities

Thank you Mr. President,

Dear Colleagues,

Indoor air quality has only recently been considered a major health issue, unlike outdoor pollution which is subject to extensive regulation and media attention. However, recent public health scares have alerted public authorities and public opinion to the fact that pollution levels in indoor air are often higher than those outside.

Many local authorities have already set up programmes to improve indoor air quality. These approaches include taking preventive action in order that all indoor spaces under their authority, whether public or private, are of the highest environmental quality. Local authorities also have a responsibility to raise public awareness and to facilitate training on the issue of improved indoor air quality and a healthy environment.

Just few weeks ago the Parliamentary Assembly called for “the right to live in an healthy and viable environment” to be enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights which would make it legally enforceable in courts across Europe and the Congress has in my opinion the mandatory role to present to all the Local and Regional Authorities this argument and this is the reason why I present at the end of this presentation a short amendment.

Homes are considered to be safe places providing a healthy environment for individuals. Unfortunately this is far from being the case however; indoor air is at times much more as polluted as outdoor air. Most of this pollution does not come from outdoors, but rather originates in the construction materials, furniture and chemical products.

Recent health scares concerning Legionnaires’ disease, asbestos and lead poisoning or the ever growing number of people suffering from asthma or allergies have alerted both public opinion and public authorities to the extent of the threat posed by indoor pollution.

Public authorities and citizens are increasingly aware of the negative societal, environmental and public health impacts also economical of poor quality indoor air.

Whilst ten years have passed since the international community, particularly the World Health Organisation (WHO), began to recognise indoor air pollution as a major public health challenge, but the instruments to tackle the issue remain inadequate and does not meet public expectations.

Regulations and guidelines on products found indoors are generally limited to a few high-risk substances.

Professionally I started my engineer career working as risk manager and still doing this time by time. In constructions we are taking care of a very rare but unpredictable episode without taking in the due account an evident daily risk. Something is not working! Europeans spend up to 90% of their lives in closed spaces, with over 60% of that time in the home.  It is hardly surprising to observe in medical evidence an increase in a certain number of medical conditions linked to poor indoor air quality (allergies, migraines, respiratory problems and even cancers). We have to change our risk analysis immediately and consider all environmental issues including indoor pollution!

Indoor environment is a complex issue in terms of evaluating the toxicology of indoor spaces and related health risks. Analysis indicates that indoor air is highly polluted with over 900 chemicals, particles and biological materials with potential health effects detected in indoor air. Many different factors influence indoor air quality, for example ventilation and cleaning products used indoors and the quality of the air outdoors. According to some estimates, human exposure to a typical pollutant released indoors is 1000 times greater indoors than the same substance released outdoors. And we have also to consider possible ‘cocktail effect’. Ventilation is one of the most important factors determining indoor air quality. Poorly aired buildings can affect health, work or academic performance (and, let me add, the Hemicycle here is an example of polluted air). Controlled ventilation and periodical pipes and filters cleaning is important in heavily insulated buildings that allow little air exchange with the outside.

The chemicals found in indoor spaces come from either products intended for use, for example cleaning materials and air fresheners, or unintentional emissions from different sources such as building and decorating materials, furniture and toys.

Indoor air contains a significant number of suspended particles which can be inhaled such as formaldehyde, benzene, phthalates coming from a wide range of inorganic sources. Organic sources of these particles include pollens, spores and food remnants.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids and have short- and long-term adverse health effects. They are emitted by thousands of products including paints and lacquers, paint strippers, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials and furnishings, office equipment (photocopiers and printers) and cosmetics and their concentration can be up to 10 times higher than outdoor.

Radon, a gas that lead to lung cancer, is often found in some buildings. And we have also to remember exposure to EMF that may be a cause of childhood leukaemia and may set the stage for adult cancers and other pathologies later in life.

The connection between chronic exposure at low doses of pollutants and medical conditions is well established in particular allergies, respiratory diseases and some cancers.

New illnesses or syndromes are also appearing such as MCS (multiple chemical sensitivity), CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome) and sick-building syndrome (SBS) in which the occupants of a building experience acute health and discomfort that appear to be linked to time spent there.

The specific vulnerability of children to air pollution has been already recognized, known health effects of indoor pollutants on children include, other than asthma and allergies, delays in developmental including effects on vision, hearing, intelligence and learning as well as on growth.

Many Local authorities are taking initiatives to improve the quality of indoor air especially in schools. One such example is in Sweden (Goteborg) and in the Netherlands (The Hague).

Other vulnerable or sensitive groups include the elderly and housebound, people with existing health problems such as cardiovascular or respiratory problems, and people who show particular physiological or genetic sensitivities to pollutants.

Public responses to protect and foster the health and well-being of citizens, guided by the precautionary principle, need to take these considerations into account and address the overall quality of buildings.

Innovative policies should respond to the growing clamour from citizens for a healthy environment. Sustainable public policies must give precedence to societal concerns over short-term economic interests and be guided by an understanding of the close link between protection of the environment and effective public health protection.

Such an approach can be used to stimulate innovation and research. This means fostering research and development into safer and more sustainable products which meet human needs with lower health and ecological costs.

The WHO, the World Bank, the United Nations are all recognizing the need to improve a better quality for life and prevention from pollution on all levels. And also National institutions are working in this sense like the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA), the Belgian Scientific Institute of Public Health, the Observatory for Air Quality in France, and the Swedish Institute of Environmental Medicine.

Local authorities have a key role to play in overcoming the lack of information and transparency and are also in a position to put environmental health concerns at the heart of their public practices. The focus should be on risk reduction, construction and operation and through the use of safe, sustainable materials and the development of the green economy.

Pressure from consumers and building professionals for reliable product labelling is pushing some manufacturers to provide product information on a voluntary basis as an added value to their products, a commercial way to good environment.

Many public buildings under local authority responsibility are frequented by populations particularly vulnerable to indoor pollution, for example schools, hospitals and homes for the elderly. An important element in improving health and safety is to ensure these structures are well managed in particular that cleaning and maintenance procedures are of the highest standard and employ ecological products.

A whole new approach to combating air pollution is required on the part of all levels of governance, civil society and the private sector and should go hand in hand with policies to foster innovation and technological advances.  Research and development which focus on environmentally products will lead to improvements in health and encourage the green economy.

The threat of climate change has served to raise citizens’ awareness of the need for a sustainable environment and for radical and immediate remedial action. This awareness can be built upon with regards to all aspects of environmental and health protection, starting at level of Local Authorities.

Policies should place citizens centre stage and decision-making processes should respond to the population’s concerns and interests.

At the end please allow me to thank the Secretariat, and in particular Mrs Maritè Moras for their great help in preparing this report, without her I don’t know if I would have finalised this document, and also Mrs. Gaye Doganoglu, so precious in giving motivation to my work in the Sustainable Development Committee.

Thank you.