Poor quality indoor air affecting health, says report

4.00pm

Poor indoor air quality is contributing to ill health in older people, young children and Maori, a report to the Government says.

People spent about 80 per cent of their time indoors but there was little or no monitoring of domestic air quality, the Public Health Advisory Committee said in its first government report, released today.

Committee spokesman Alistair Woodward said sources of indoor pollutants included poor quality housing, unvented gas appliances and second-hand tobacco smoke.

"Older uninsulated housing is often damp, cold and mouldy," Mr Woodward said.

"These conditions contribute to poor health, particularly for people in low socio-economic groups, including older people and Maori."

Newer housing was often airtight with little ventilation and this had the potential to create the damp conditions associated with toxic fungi, he said.

Unvented gas appliances and second-hand smoke released toxins and particles that aggravated respiratory and heart conditions.

Other findings in the report highlighting environmental issues and their link to health included:

* outdoor air quality: New Zealand research indicates that ambient air pollution is responsible for an estimated 970 premature deaths a year in people over 30, with about 400 due to vehicle emissions;

* water quality, including drinking water, surface and groundwater, and sanitation: faecal contamination from dairy farming is a major pressure on inland waterways. Small rural communities are more likely to experience contamination of water supplies from failed or inadequate sewage disposal systems;

* quality of life in urban environments: with 86 per cent of New Zealanders living in urban areas the demand for land, housing, energy, transport and waste disposal is putting pressure on the environment and this needs to be managed sustainably; and

* health effects of climate change: human health is dependent on the sustainability of natural systems and the indications are that the natural environment will change as the climate changes through such factors as global warming.

Mr Woodward said the issues chosen were impacting disproportionately on communities and groups that already had poorer health status than other New Zealanders.

"We have the potential to make considerable health gains for these people by addressing many of these issues," he said.

- NZPA

Herald feature: Health