A TECHNICAL PAPER PRESENTED BY SAMSON O. OJOAWO, Ph.D, MNSE, MNICE AT A MONTHLY GENERAL MEETING OF THE NIGERIAN SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS, OSOGBO BRANCH

1. PROVEN CONTROL MEASURES AGAINST
COMMON DOMESTIC AND INDOOR
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS IN
DEVELOPING NATIONS
A TECHNICAL PAPER
DELIVERED BY
Samson Olakunle OJOAWO, MNSE, MNICE, COREN Regd., Ph.D
Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Ogbomoso
@
THE NIGERIAN SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS (NSE)
OSOGBO BRANCH MONTHLY GENERAL MEETING
30th NOVEMBER, 2017
1

2. Presentation Outline
• Background information
• Justification for the presentation
• Common sources of domestic pollutants
• Hazardous household products
• Indoor Air Pollution, IAP
• Household products and potential health effects
• Proven control measures to domestic pollution
• Conclusions/Recommendations
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3. Background Information
• 3 bn people in developing nations worldwide rely
on biomass as their domestic cooking fuel
• The biomass is in form of wood, charcoal, dung, and
crop residue
• Cooking indoors in environments that lack proper
ventilation leads to serious health risks
• Globally IAP led to 4.3 million deaths in developing
countries in 2012 3

4. • South East Asian and Western Pacific regions
bear most of the burden with 1.69 and 1.62m
deaths, respectively
• About 600,000 deaths occur in Africa; 200,000
in the Eastern Mediterranean region; 99,000 in
Europe and 81,000 in the Americas. The
remaining 19,000 deaths occur in high income
countries [WHO 1]
• Solid fuel use, <20% in Europe & Central Asia,
>80% in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
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5. Note :
AAP = Ambient Air Pollution; IAP = Indoor Air Pollution;
OAP = Outdoor Air Pollution; HAP = Household Air Pollution 5

6. Justification for this presentation
• Household pollutants are contaminants that
are released during the use of various
products in daily life
• Studies indicate that indoor air quality is far
worse than that outdoors because homes, for
energy efficiency, are made somewhat
airtight
• Household pollutants are trapped in houses
causing further deterioration of indoor air
quality
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7. Common Sources of
domestic pollutants
• Insecticides and mosquito
coils
• Smoking cigarettes in the
public
• Firewood cooking smoke
• Roadside drying of food
items
• Leaving bottled or sachet
water in the sunny car
• Turning on the car a/c
parked under the sun
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8. Distribution pattern of Respiratory risks from IAP
across the globe 8

9. Hazardous household products
• household cleaners
• paints and solvents
• lawn and garden care
• automotive products
• pool chemicals, and
• health and beauty aids 9

10. 10

11. 11

12. Sun-drying raw food items on the highway 12

13. • Combustion products;
• semi-volatile and volatile organic compounds
released by building materials, furnishings,
and chemical products;
• pollutants in soil gas; and
• pollutants generated by biological processes
- Samet et al, 1991
General classes of indoor pollutants
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14. 14

15. Product Type
Harmful
Ingredients
Potential Health
Hazards
Air fresheners &
deodorizers
Formaldehyde
Toxic in nature;
carcinogen; irritates
eyes, nose, throat and
skin; nervous,
digestive, respiratory
system damage
Bleach Sodium hypochlorite
Corrosive; irritates
and burns skin and
eyes; nervous,
respiratory, digestive
system damage
HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS AND THEIR POTENTIAL
HEALTH EFFECTS
15

16. Disinfectants Sodium hypochlorite
Corrosive; irritates and
burns skin and eyes;
nervous, respiratory,
digestive system damage
Phenols
Ignitable; very toxic in
nature; respiratory and
circulatory system damage
Ammonia
Toxic in nature; vapor
irritates skin, eyes and
respiratory tract
Drain cleaner
Sodium/potassium
hydroxide (lye)
Corrosive; burns skin and
eyes; toxic in nature;
nervous, digestive and
urinary system damage
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17. Floor
cleaner/wax
Diethylene glycol
Toxic in nature; causes
nervous, digestive and
urinary system damage
Petroleum solvents
Highly ignitable;
carcinogenic; irritate
skin, eyes, throat, nose
and lungs
Ammonia
Toxic in nature; vapor
irritates skin, eyes and
respiratory tract
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18. Furniture polish Petroleum distillates or mineral spirits
Highly ignitable; toxic in nature;
carcinogen; irritate skin, eyes, nose,
throat and lungs
Oven cleaner Sodium/potassium hydroxide (lye)
Corrosive; burns skin, eyes; toxic in
nature; causes nervous and digestive
system damage
Paint thinner Chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons
Toxic in nature; cause digestive and
urinary system damage
Esters
Toxic in nature; irritate eyes, nose
and throat
Alcohols
Ignitable; cause nervous system
damage; irritate eyes, nose and
throat
Chlorinated aromatic hydrocarbons
Ignitable; toxic in nature; digestive
system damage
Ketones
Ignitable; toxic in nature; respiratory
system damage
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19. Paints
Aromatic hydrocarbon
thinners
Ignitable; toxic in
nature; carcinogenic;
irritates skin, eyes, nose
and throat; respiratory
system damage
Mineral spirits
Highly ignitable; toxic
in nature; irritates skin,
eyes, nose and throat;
respiratory system
damage
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20. Toilet bowl cleaner
Sodium acid sulfate or
oxalate or hypochloric
acid
Corrosive; toxic in nature;
burns skin; causes
digestive and respiratory
system damage
Chlorinated phenols
Ignitable; very toxic in
nature; cause respiratory
and circulatory system
damage
Window cleaners Diethylene glycol
Toxic in nature; cause
nervous, urinary and
digestive system damage
Ammonia
Toxic in nature; vapor
irritates skin, eyes and
respiratory tract
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21. THE PROVEN
CONTROL
MEASURES
21

22. Indoor pollution intervention means
• Ventilation by enlarging windows or
opening eaves space
• adding smoke hoods over the cooking area
• installing an improved cooking stove
22

23. Various types of smoke and fume extractors 23

24. Product Alternative(s)
Air refresher
Open windows to ventilate. To scent air, use herbal
bouquets, pure vanilla
All-purpose cleaner
Mix cup baking soda, ¼ cup ammonia and ¼ cup
vinegar in a gallon of hot water.
Brass polish
Use paste made from equal parts vinegar, salt and
flour. Be sure to rinse completely afterward to
prevent corrosion.
Carpet/rug cleaner
Sprinkle cornstarch/baking soda on carpets and
vacuum.
ALTERNATIVES TO COMMON HOUSEHOLD POLLUTANTS
ISSUES
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25. Dishwashing liquid
Wash dishes with hand using a liquid
soap or a mild detergent
Drain opener
Add 1 tablespoon baking soda into drain
and then slowly pour cup white
vinegar to loosen clogs. Use a plunger to
get rid of the loosened clog.
Prevent clogs by pouring boiling water
down drains once a week, using drain
strainers, and not pouring grease down
drains
Fabric softener
Use ¼ to ½ cup of baking soda during
rinse cycle
Fertilizer Use compost and organic fertilizers
Floor cleaner Mix 1 cup vinegar in 2 gallons of water
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26. Floor polish Polish floors with club soda
Furniture polish
Mix 1 teaspoon lemon oil and 1
pint mineral oil.
Also, use damp rag
Insecticides
Wipe houseplant leaves with
soapy water
Oil-based paint, thinner Use water-based products.
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27. Pesticide
Use physical and biological
controls.
Toilet cleaner
Use baking soda, a mild
detergent, and a toilet brush
Window cleaner
Mix ¼ cup ammonia with 1
galon of water.
Source: Air and Waste Management Association
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28. Solar cookers use sunlight as energy source for outdoor cooking28

29. CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS
• Rug carpets after laying must be allowed at least
some 72hrs be well ventilated before rooms are
occupied, same for asbestos and paints
• Insecticides and mosquito coil emission must be
allowed to totally subside before staying indoor
• Smoking of cigarettes in the public should
continually be banned to save the passive smokers
• In the rural areas where inevitable, firewood
cooking should be done in the open, and in urban
kitchens smoke/fume extractors should be installed
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30. • Roadside sun-drying of food items like
yam/cassava flour should be highly discouraged
• Bottled or sachet water left in the sunny car for
more than 30 minutes should be discarded
• Before turning on the car a/c parked under the
sun, car windows are to be lowered for few
minutes
• Pesticide usage is to be discouraged within house
premises
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31. BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Baird, Colin. (1999). Environmental Chemistry, 2nd edition. New
York: W.H. Freeman
• http://www.pollutionissues.com/Ho-Li/Household-
Pollutants.html#ixzz4zeYG1bCg
• Confederate Chemicals Limited Web site. Available from
http://www.poolandspachemicals.co.uk
• Ecology America Web site. Available from http://www.ecomall.com
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Web site.
Available from http://www.osha-slc.gov/SLTC/indoorairquality
• http://www.pollutionissues.com/Ho-Li/Household-
Pollutants.html#ixzz4zeYTqwv0
• Samet J, Spengler J, Spengler JD and Samet JM (1991) A perspective
on indoor and outdoor air pollution. in Indoor air pollution: a health
perspective. eds Samet J, Spengler J (Johns Hopkins University Press,
Baltimore), pp 1–29
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32. THE END
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