They feel that the government should pass stricter laws regarding the same
Air quality experts met at an event hosted by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) recently and stated that the government should set stricter norms with regards to indoor pollution. During the meet, it was discussed that more studies had highlighted health problems linked to ultra-fine particulate matter since last year, and that the World Health Organization (WHO) had identified air pollution as the biggest environmental risk to health – blaming it for around one in every nine deaths annually.
Stuart Smith, commercial director of Zehnder Group UK, said, “Although air quality has gradually improved in recent times, air pollutant concentrations still exceed the 2005 WHO air quality guideline levels in many areas. This means they are above the levels associated with serious risks to public health.” He further said that although the building services industry was primarily focused on addressing levels of PM 10 and PM 2.5, the picture created by measuring ultra-fine particulate matter, down to PM1, was “more frightening” because these tiny particles can enter the bloodstream and reach the brain. They also have a larger surface area in proportion to their size so can carry significant amounts of contaminants including plastic and tiny metal fragments into the body. He said, “We need to make more effort to understand the levels of ultra-fine particles in our air. Unlike PM2.5, PM1 is unregulated and monitoring technology is limited. We also need more research into the specific harm caused by PM1.”
A survey for CAD carried out by Zehnder found that 83 per cent of respondents wanted to know more about the air quality inside their homes, but although a sixth said they worried about outdoor pollution just one in 10 expressed the same level of concern about the indoor threat. Adam Taylor, vice-chair of BESA’s Indoor Air Quality group, urged the government to mount a public awareness campaign similar to those that featured celebrities highlighting the risks posed by car crashes and household fires, which account for fewer deaths than pollution. “The annual mortality of human-made air pollution in the UK is roughly equivalent to between 28,000 and 36,000 deaths every year. Globally, household air pollution was responsible for an estimated 3.2 million deaths per year in 2020,” he said. He added that the lack of public awareness was at least partially down to the way that IAQ information is presented.
Dan Fraser from ventilation manufacturer Nuaire highlighted the specific problem in schools, pointing out that in London alone, more than 400 primary schools were in areas that breach WHO guidelines for air pollution (GLA 2018) and that young children are particularly vulnerable. “Their exposure to high levels of air pollution can lead to behavioural problems, asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory diseases,” said Fraser. “Poor IAQ can cause headache, eye irritation, fatigue, dry throat, sinus congestion, dizziness, and nausea. Improving air quality in and around schools needs to become a top priority for local authorities,” he added.
