This Virtual Special Issue will provide insights on indoor air pollution exposure, health risks and mitigation, including those of both chemicals and biologicals. Submit your manuscript by August 31, 2024.

A light shining through a window in a room.

People spend more than 90% of their time indoors, where they are exposed to various chemical and microbial agents. Inhalation exposure to indoor air pollutants causes various health effects on humans, such as respiratory diseases, cardiovascular and neurological disorders, allergies, toxic reactions, and even cancer. Increasing use of consumer products adds additional challenges. These air pollutants in indoor environments could also react with each other, thereby forming secondary pollutants. However, their fate and health impact remain unexplored. On another front, indoor air transmission of human pathogens costs an additional toll on human health. Simultaneously, climate change is placing greener and low-carbon demands on building energy and HVAC systems, thus necessitating novel advanced solutions for monitoring and controlling of particulates, VOCs, and biologicals to address health concerns.

This Special Issue from Environment & Health invites researchers to share their innovative research work or comprehensive reviews in understanding and addressing indoor air pollution. We welcome contributions that explore various topics, including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Modern pollutants (microbials, allergens, toxins, VOCs, Ozone, PFAS, etc.) from various sources (cooking, solid fuel burning, air disinfection, cleaning, toilet flush, modern room paint, furniture, electronics, humans, pets, and pests, etc.) or in specific indoor environments (transport vehicles, closed environments, hospitals, schools, etc.).
  • Experimental and modeling work related to indoor air chemistry, dynamics, transport, fate, disease transmission and indoor-outdoor air pollutant relationships using advanced instrumentation, low-cost air sensors, big data, and others.
  • Indoor air quality guidelines, exposure risks, health effects, and health disparities for both modern and traditional air pollutants.
  • Advanced low-carbon, green and environment-friendly mitigation approaches.

Through this Special Issue, we aim to obtain a state-of-the-art understanding of the emission of modern indoor air pollutants, their air chemistry, health impacts, transport and fate, and mitigation. The knowledge gathered from this special issue can help develop a healthier indoor environment and contribute to a better life quality, while meeting the long-term goal of carbon emission reduction and neutrality.

Organizing Editors

Maosheng Yao, Ph.D., Guest Editor
Peking University, China

Fangxia Shen, Ph.D.
, Guest Editor
Beihang University, China

Guofeng Shen, Ph.D.
, Guest Editor
Peking University, China

Anthony S. Wexler, Ph.D.
, Guest Editor
University of California, Davis, United States

Jing Li, Ph.D.
, Guest Editor
University of California, Los Angeles, United States

Xinlei Gai, Ph.D.
, Guest Editor
Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, China

Qian Liu, Ph.D.
, Executive Editor, Environment & Health
Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Submission Information

Submissions are welcome through August 31, 2024.

If your paper is accepted for inclusion in this Virtual Special Issue, your work will be highlighted as a significant contribution to this field. If accepted, publications will go online as soon as possible and be published in the next available issue. Publications on this topic will be gathered into a Virtual Special Issue in 2024 and widely promoted.

All articles will be peer reviewed prior to acceptance to ensure they fit the scope of the Virtual Special Issue and meet the high scientific publishing standards of Environment & Health.

Open Access

Because Environment & Health is a fully open access journal, your paper will be available to anyone, at any time, anywhere in the world. Visit our Open Science Resource Center to learn more about our various open access options available to researchers.

Authors who submit their manuscripts to this Virtual Special Issue may apply for an APC waiver if their paper is accepted after peer review. Appropriate consideration will be given for a waiver providing the paper has already met the scientific and editorial standards required for publication in Environment & Health.

How to Submit

  • Log in to the ACS Paragon Plus submission site.
  • Choose Environment & Health as your journal.
  • Select your manuscript type.
  • Under "Special Issue Selection," choose "Grand Environmental Challenge: Indoor Air Pollution, Health Effects and Mitigation."

Please see our Author Guidelines for more information on submission requirements.

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