Exposure to indoor air pollution across socio-economic groups: A review of the literature and a modelling methodology

Disparities in outdoor air pollution exposure between populations of different socio-economic status is a growing area of research, widely explored in environmental health literature. However, in developed countries, around 80% of time is spent indoors, meaning indoor air pollution may be a better proxy for personal exposure. Building characteristics and occupant behaviour mean indoor air pollution may also vary across socio-economic groups, leading to health inequalities. Following the results of a review carried out into indoor air pollution disparities, we incorporate socio-economic information into an indoor air quality model in order to evaluate exposure disparities in the indoor environment. The building physics tool EnergyPlus was used to model the effect of two policy interventions on indoor exposure to PM2.5 in two socio-economically different populations. Results suggest that households of low socio-economic status may be disproportionately affected by building and/or environmental policies which are implemented without consideration of the wider socio-economic processes governing the space.