Air
Air pollution, both indoor and outdoor, is a major environmental health problem of the countries in the Western Pacific Region. Indoor air pollution, which comes from domestic cooking and heating with solid fuels such as wood, coal, dung, and agricultural residues, is responsible for nearly 500 000 deaths each year in the Region. Urban air pollution brought about by rapid urbanization contributes to about 360 000 deaths each year. The increasing number of factories and vehicles, which release harmful gases and small particles that can penetrate the human lungs and trigger respiratory problems, is a major contributing factor to urban air pollution.
WHO actively supports measures to reduce both indoor and outdoor air pollution. Interventions to reduce indoor air pollution include switching from solid fuels to cleaner and more efficient fuels, improving stoves for better combustion and lower emission levels, and improving ventilation of the cooking area (e.g. chimneys, smoke heads, windows). The use of cleaner fuels, modification to combustion processes, attachment of emission-control devices, and optimization of industrial-operational processes and road design can greatly decrease urban air pollution.
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05 October 2006
WHO challenges world to improve air quality
[full text]
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