Indoor Air Pollution Causes Millions of Deaths Each Year

After losing my kidney to cancer, I made a disturbing discovery: household air pollution might have contributed to my illness.

According to researchers, plastics in our air and household items could be linked to kidney problems. While I may never identify the exact cause of my cancer, research shows that indoor air pollution is responsible for an estimated three to five million premature deaths worldwide each year. It’s connected to heart disease, stroke, and cancer.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should be taking action to protect everyone from toxic chemicals indoors. In February 2025, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin identified clean air, land, and water as top priorities. However, by March 2025, the EPA’s mission had shifted to making cars cheaper, homes less expensive to heat, and businesses more affordable. Yet even without these misguided goals, the EPA lacks adequate testing and regulations and allows manufacturers to use new chemicals without testing until harm is proven; this helps manufacturers by putting the rest of us at risk.

The EPA must establish a national Clean Indoor Air Act (CIAA) to combat indoor air pollution and require testing and regulation of toxic chemicals before they enter the market. A national CIAA could be cost-effective, reduce illness, and save lives, ensuring a healthier and safer future for everyone. Just as the Clean Air Act (CAA) has been crucial in addressing outdoor pollution, a similar approach is necessary for indoor air quality.

The CAA has effectively regulated emissions since 1967, saving over $2 trillion in healthcare costs while providing benefits 30 times greater than its expenditures. Similarly, improving indoor air quality can reduce illnesses and deaths. However, unlike outdoor air pollution, no federal laws currently address polluted indoor air, highlighting the need for a similar approach.

In contrast to the EPA’s inaction, states like California have proactively addressed these issues. California identified 874 toxic chemicals that can cause cancer, disabilities, or reproductive harm. These chemicals are commonly found in household products like food, furniture, and cosmetics. The air inside our homes can be up to ten times more toxic than outside air, leading to serious health issues like respiratory problems and chronic diseases. Air pollution is a significant cause of trachea, bronchus, and lung cancer, with particulate matter being the second leading risk factor after smoking.

Reducing the use of solid fuels for cooking and heating has helped, but using new synthetic materials in flooring, carpets, and wall coverings has increased indoor pollution. These materials are volatile organic compounds ( VOCs), harmful gases in some household products released by chemicals. VOCs are harmful particles and gases that cause health problems like eye irritation, nausea, and cancer. The American Lung Association warns that VOCs are the primary cause of poor indoor air quality and can harm our health.

In 2025, France banned toxic polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs) from cosmetics, ski wax, and clothing, creating an opportunity for the United States to take similar action. PFAs are also known as “forever chemicals.” Some states, like California, have acted to regulate these chemicals, and the EPA should do the same. In January 2025, California banned twenty-four toxic “forever chemicals ” in personal care products, cosmetics, and clothing. These chemicals include mercury and formaldehyde, which are PFAs.

Although the EPA has issued some guidelines for certain toxic chemicals, it must do more. A 2024 study shows the need for a nationwide act to protect public health and indoor environments.

A National Clean Indoor Air Act (CIAA) could be cost-effective, reduce illness, and save lives. The CIAA must require testing and regulations for human health safety for 1) new toxic chemicals before being allowed into the marketplace and 2) existing toxic chemicals to be limited or removed from the marketplace, as testing dictates.

While the EPA starts regulating, there are ways to identify some of the chemicals in our indoor spaces. The Consumer Products Information Database offers information on its website about chemicals in everyday products and how they might affect our health. Clearya, a mobile app, helps buyers scan labels for toxic ingredients in personal and household products when shopping. Some of this is in our hands. But we must hold our leaders—and the EPA—accountable for the air we breathe. Clearly, they have work to do.

Carole Rollins has been an environmental educator for 35 years. She has a Ph.D. in environmental science and has taught environmental education at the University of California at Berkeley. Carole has received the White House Millennium Green Award and the National Endowment for the Arts Public Education and Awareness Award.