PLASTICS BURDEN - A GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN AND PROSPECT: A REVIEW

Journal: Environmental Contaminants Reviews (ECR)
Author: Aniefiok E. Ite, Idaresit A. Ite

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Doi:10.26480/ecr.01.2024.62.85

ABSTRACT

Advances in industrialisation, urbanisation, and increased energy demand and consumption across the world lead to severe air pollution, which poses significant impacts on indoor air quality in our homes, schools, businesses, and other indoor spaces. Over the years, vulnerable populations have experienced poor indoor air quality and the associated economic cost of illnesses in several developed and developing countries. Air quality degradation challenges our efforts for sustainable, clean air and hinders progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in various developing countries around the world. In recent years, the scientific community has faced the task of understanding the fate and occurrence of various indoor air pollutants as well as their ecotoxicological implications. Understanding the sources and occurrence of adverse impacts on the environment, human health, and economic burden of poor indoor air quality is crucial for developing effective preventative controls and mitigation strategies. The detection and characterisation of some of these indoor air pollutants at trace levels will enable researchers to understand the environmental fate and behaviour of various indoor air pollutants. The detection and characterisation of indoor air pollutants will begin with the development of sensitive and cost-effective, robust methods and long-term monitoring for sustainable environmental management and cost-effective risk mitigation strategies. Therefore, the goal of this review paper is to explain indoor air pollutants’ sources and occurrences, as well as their adverse human health effects. Sustainable environments necessitate reducing indoor emissions, adopting air pollution prevention and control policies, and developing effective risk mitigation strategies. Governments worldwide must promote clean air policies, strategies, and plans to improve indoor air quality and reduce emissions, thereby promoting sustainable environments.

KEYWORDS
Indoor Air pollution; Air pollutants, Human exposure, Health effects, Mitigation strategies