BRE has conducted a national representative survey of air pollutants in 876 homes in England, designed to increase knowledge of baseline pollutant levels and factors associated with high concentrations. Homes were monitored for carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In the majority of the homes, concentrations of the measured pollutants were low. However, some homes have concentrations that would suggest a need for precautionary mitigation. Those factors that are most likely to lead to exposures of concern in homes are identified as gas cooking (for CO and NO 2 ), the use of unflued appliances for heating (for CO and NO 2 ), emissions from materials in new homes (for total VOC (TVOC) and formaldehyde), and painting and decorating, with a significant increase in risk suspected to exist where there is not a place to store materials away from the living space (for TVOC). It is noteworthy that seasonal effects on CO and NO 2 were largely due to indoor sources. This would need to be considered when interpreting time series studies of the effect of outdoor air pollution on health. It is also of some significance that the critical factors are related much more to sources than to ventilation: source control is therefore, as would be expected, the most appropriate approach to reducing the risk of hazardous exposure to air pollutants in homes.
A high incidence of invasive non-type b Haemophilus influenzae disease was found in Northwestern Ontario, Canada; H. influenzae type a was the most prevalent serotype (42%). Clinical and demographic analyses indicate that aboriginal children aged <5 years and adults with predisposing medical conditions are the most affected by invasive H. influenzae disease in the post-H. influenzae vaccine era.
Experimental work is described which investigates the suitability of the Perkin Elmer type adsorbent tube packed with 'Tenax' for diffusive sampling of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in non-industrial indoor air. The tubes are analysed by thermal desorption and gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection. Laboratory and site studies show that the passive sampler can provide useful quantitative data about long-term (4 weeks) mean VOC concentrations in indoor air. The sampling procedure is sufficiently straightforward to allow non-technical personnel to carry out exposure of the tubes and costs of measurements can be minimised by using the postal service to deliver and return samplers. The technique has been used to measure total VOCs in the main bedroom and living room of 100 homes in the UK. Indoor concentrations range from 0.009 to 11.4 µg L -1 . There is no significant difference between the mean concentrations in the living room and bedroom which are 0.553 and 0.508 µg L -1 respectively. The mean indoor concentration of the VOC's measured is 16.5 times higher than that outdoors.
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