The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) have reported that poor indoor air can cause ill health and disease, and that "no single government department has ownership of this issue." Asthma UK has simultaneously unveiled research that has named the leading indoor triggers that cause asthma.
Asthma UK say that poor indoor air quality is not investigated properly, despite being a major source of pollution known to cause poor health and disease.
- The main health effects are to heart and lungs
- Most at risk are developing children and adults who are already ill
- Moulds and house dust mites worsen asthma and cause wheezing
- One in five children carry an inhaler, one in four pre-schoolers wheeze
- The extent to which indoor air pollutants affect health is not fully known
POST is concerned that too much emphasis has been placed on researching outdoor pollution, with not enough scrutiny indoors. Asthma UK supports this with new research describing how common dust found indoors from house dust mites, dogs, cockroaches and peanuts, can begin an immune cascade towards allergy and asthma: "Important cells sample the air we breathe in and decide whether or not to activate an immune response."
More on http://www.housedustmite.com
