Aerosol Science: Technology and Applications

Chapter 14

Environmental Health in Built Environments

Zaheer Ahmad Nasir

Healthy Infrastructure Research Centre, Department of Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering, University College London, UK

14.1 Environmental Hazards and Built Environments

Environmental health in built environments is central to public health. The existence of a wide range of contaminants of both indoor and outdoor origin, the great source strength per area and the high proportion of time spent in various indoor environments mean that exposure can have a significant impact on human well-being. The amount of time spent in different built environments (residential, occupational, transport and recreational) varies across the globe. However, people around the world typically spend a higher proportion of their time inside than outside.

Broadly, ‘built environment’ refers to ‘human-made space in which people live, work, and recreate on a day-to-day basis’ (Roof and Oleru, 2008). It is a material, spatial and cultural product of human labour that combines physical elements and energy in forms necessary to life, work and play (Doleman and Brooks, 2011). In the twenty-first century, humans are exposed to a range of physical, chemical, biological and ergonomic hazards in various built environments. Worldwide, there is considerable variation in the degree of exposure to these hazards, due to noticeable differences in their types and strengths; they are closely linked to socioeconomic developments. Environmental, ...