Changes to indoor air quality as a result of relocating families from slums to public housing
Author
dc.contributor.author
Burgos de la Vega, Soledad
es_CL
Author
dc.contributor.author
Ruiz Rudolph, Pablo
Author
dc.contributor.author
Koifman, Rosalina
es_CL
Admission date
dc.date.accessioned
2014-02-06T15:35:46Z
Available date
dc.date.available
2014-02-06T15:35:46Z
Publication date
dc.date.issued
2013
Cita de ítem
dc.identifier.citation
Atmospheric Environment 70 (2013) 179e185
en_US
Identifier
dc.identifier.other
doi 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2012.12.044
Identifier
dc.identifier.uri
https://repositorio.uchile.cl/handle/2250/129258
General note
dc.description
Artículo de publicación ISI
en_US
Abstract
dc.description.abstract
One largely unstudied benefit of relocating families from slums to public housing is the potential
improvement in indoor air quality (IAQ).We compared families that moved from slums to public housing
with those that remained living in slums in Santiago, Chile in terms of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) as
main indicator of change. A cross-sectional study of 98 relocated families and 71 still living in slums was
carried out, obtaining indoor and outdoor samples by a Personal Environmental Monitor. Home characteristics,
including indoor air pollution sources were collected through questionnaires. Multivariate
regression models included the intervention (public housing or slum), indoor pollution sources, outdoor
PM2.5 and family characteristics as predictors. Indoor PM2.5 concentrations were higher in slums
(77.8 mg m 3 [SD ¼ 35.7 mg m 3]) than in public housing (55.7 mg m 3 [SD ¼ 34.6 mg m 3], p < 0.001).
Differences between indoor and outdoor PM2.5 were significant only in the slum houses. The multivariate
analysis showed that housing intervention significantly decreased indoor PM2.5 (10.4 mg m 3) after
adjusting by the other predictors. Outdoor PM2.5 was the main predictor of indoor PM2.5. Other significant
factors were water heating fuels and indoor smoking. Having infants 1e23 months was associated
with a lowering of indoor PM2.5. Our results suggest that a public housing program that moves families
from slums to public housing improves indoor air quality directly and also indirectly through air pollution
sources.