Indoor Air Quality Guide
People who may be particularly vulnerable to ill health as a result of exposure to poor indoor air quality include:
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people with a pre‑existing health condition such as asthma, allergies, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cardiovascular disease
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pregnant women and their unborn babies
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pre-school children
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older people
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people who live in poor-quality housing
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people exposed to tobacco smoke in their homes
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people who live in poverty.
Housing conditions that put people at increased risk of exposure to poor indoor air quality include:
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location (external factors such as high levels of outdoor air pollution, or where noise or security risks mean residents do not open windows)
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physical infrastructure (such as small room size, inadequate ventilation and the building’s layout and orientation)
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standard of housing (for example, with damp and mould or physical disrepair including flood damage or with unflued or poorly maintained fuel-burning appliances)
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overcrowding.
