title: Indoor Air Pollutant Exposure for Life Cycle Assessment: Regional Health Impact Factors for Households.
abstract: Human exposure to indoor pollutant concentrations is receiving increasing interest in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). We address this issue by incorporating an indoor compartment into the USEtox model, as well as by providing recommended parameter values for households in four different regions of the world differing geographically, economically, and socially. With these parameter values, intake fractions and comparative toxicity potentials for indoor emissions of dwellings for different air tightness levels were calculated. The resulting intake fractions for indoor exposure vary by 2 orders of magnitude, due to the variability of ventilation rate, building occupation, and volume. To compare health impacts as a result of indoor exposure with those from outdoor exposure, the indoor exposure characterization factors determined with the modified USEtox model were applied in a case study on cooking in non-OECD countries. This study demonstrates the appropriateness and significance of integrating indoor environments into LCA, which ensures a more holistic account of all exposure environments and allows for a better accountability of health impacts. The model, intake fractions, and characterization factors are made available for use in standard LCA studies via www.usetox.org and in standard LCA software.
authors.affiliation: Irstea, UMR ITAP, ELSA Research group & ELSA-PACT-Industrial Chair for Environmental and Social Sustainability Assessment, 361 rue J.F. Breton, 5095, 34196 Montpellier, France.|Division for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark , 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
authors.forename: Ralph K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Rosenbaum
authors.affiliation: OTB Research for the Built Environment, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology , 2600 GA Delft, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Arjen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meijer
authors.affiliation: Healthy Working Lives Group, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow , Glasgow G12 8RZ, U.K.|MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow , Glasgow G2 3QB, U.K.
authors.forename: Evangelia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Demou
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich , 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hellweg
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Jolliet
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley , Berkeley, California 94720, United States.
authors.forename: Nicholas L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematical and Industrial Engineering, CIRAIG - Polytechnique Montreal , Montreal, Quebec H3C 3A7, Canada.
authors.forename: Manuele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Margni
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley , Berkeley, California 94720, United States.
authors.forename: Thomas E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: McKone
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis*; D003296:Cooking / Q000379:methods; D004777:Environment; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds