COVID-19 and Lockdown: The Potential Impact of Residential Indoor Air Quality on the Health of Teleworkers

Ana Ferreira and Nelson Barros
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Ana Ferreira: Department of Environmental Health, Coimbra Health School, Polytechnic of Coimbra, Rua 5 de Outubro—São Martinho do Bispo, Apartado 7006, 3046-854 Coimbra, Portugal
Nelson Barros: UFP Energy, Environment and Health Research Unit (FP-ENAS), Universidade Fernando Pessoa (UFP), Praça Nove de Abril, 349, 4249-004 Porto, Portugal

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 10, 1-23

Abstract: In addition to outdoor atmospheric contamination, indoor exposure to pollutants is a prime contributor to the overall human exposure, and may condition the expressiveness and severity of respiratory, cardiovascular, and allergic diseases. This situation has worsened due to COVID-19, as people have spent more time indoors to comply with social isolation and mandatory telework. The primary purpose of this study was to assess and compare indoor air quality (IAQ) in a significant sample of dwellings of workers from a Higher Education Institution (HEI) in Portugal who were teleworking and their usual workplace. The levels of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and formaldehyde, particles with equivalent diameters of less than 10 μm, 5 μm, 2.5 μm, 1 μm, 0.5 μm, and 0.3 μm, and ultrafine particles, as well as the level of thermal comfort, were measured at both of the sites assessed. It was found that most of the houses studied, as well as the HEI, had good IAQ, although there were places where the concentrations of some pollutants were above the legal standards. On the other hand, a link was identified between the IAQ and the symptoms and diseases observed in the workers who participated in the study. These results offer the opportunity to make corrective interventions, thereby controlling the sources of pollutants and promoting better ventilation in order to reduce the risk for workers.

Keywords: indoor air quality; health; dwellings; COVID-19; telework (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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