Indoor environment and cancer materials specification and cancer risk

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Indoor environment and cancer materials
specification and cancer risk

• Eugenious Omonigho Adebamowo
• B.Sc. M.Sc. (Arch)Jos ANIA(Arcon)
• Department of Civil Engineering, University of
  Ibadan,Ibadan
• E-mail e_adebamowo_at_yahoo.com

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INTRODUCTION

• A building is a walled roof structure a
  structure with walls and a roof, e.g. a house or
  factory
• WHO defines health as a state of complete
  physical, mental and social well being not just
  the absence of disease and infirmity
• Exposure to indoor enviromental health harzards
  is a continueing threat to the health,
  particularly in developing countries, though
  reducing environmental health harzards is on the
  8 aims of the United Nations Millennium
  Development Goals (MDG) Briggs, 2003 Hrynkow et
  al 2003, Meyer et al, 2003, Obasanjo, 2005
  united Nations, 2005
• This presentation is about building materials and
  their association with health risks

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Examples of building materials that are
associated with health risks

• Paint US EPA 1991, 2001
• Granite stones and limestone (radon gas, granite
  city of Aberdeen in Scotland The sixth committee
  of the Biological Effects of the Ionizing
  Radiation of the America national Academy of
  Science
• Asbestos roofing and flooring materials (asbestos
  fibre)
• banned in the 70s in a number of countries
  but not in Nigeiria
• Lead water pipes WHO,1989

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Some health effects associated with building
materials

• Lead in paint
• Brain Cancer
• Reduced I. Q. in children
• Asthma attacks
• Renal and reproductive diseases
• Anaemia
• Hyperactivity in Children
• Language delay in children
• Hypertension
• Behavioural disorders

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Some health effects associated with materials

• Radon gas from ganite and limestone
• Lung cancer
• Asbestos
• Lung Cancer
• Asbestosis
• Loss in breathing

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Reducing the health effects of building materials
and how Architects can help

• Usage of lead free paint
• Specification of other water pipe materials
  instead of lead pipes
• Buildings with plentiful natural light and
  ventilation
• Creation of green space
• Specification of alternative roofing and flooring
  materials instead of asbestos products
• Banning the usage of asbestos products
• .

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Work done concerning lead

• Focus Group Discussions (poor knowledge)
• Administered Survey Questionnaire (poor
  knowledge)
• Paint market survey(84.8-50,000 ppm)

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Conclusion

• There is need to increase awareness of the
  harmful effects of lead in the domestic
  environment (Adebamowo et al, 2006
• Regulatory limits on lead content of paint also
  need to be vigorously enforced ( clark et al,
  2006)
• There is an urgent need to determine, and to
  develop programmes to reduce the risks of
  exposure
• Human well being is now clearly the
  responsibility of planners, architects, teachers,
  and all others who influence the physical or
  local environment
• The ability work in teams and adopt amulti
  disciplinary approach is the main issue to being
  able to solve enviromental health problems (
  Somerville and Rapport, 2000)

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