Mandatory Indoor Air Quality Standards Urged by Experts to Combat COVID-19 Spread

2024-03-29 14:13:57

There should be mandatory indoor air quality standards, says an international group of experts led by Professor Lydia Moraveska.

Professor Moraveska, Vice-Chancellor Fellow at the University of Surrey and Distinguished Professor at the Queensland University of Technology, led the call for the World Health Organization to recognize airborne transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19 early in the pandemic – and help minimize it.

Now, in an article published by the prestigious journal Science, Professor Moravska’s international team recommends setting standards for ventilation rates and three key indoor pollutants: carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and PM2.5, which are particles that small they are. can settle deep inside the lungs and enter the bloodstream.

Professor Moravska said:

“Most states do not have statutory indoor air quality performance standards for public spaces that address concentration levels of indoor air pollutants.

“To be of practical value, indoor air quality standards must be enforceable by the design of new buildings that are constructed, operated and maintained to the standards or retrofitted to meet the standards.

“Although there is a price in the short term, the social and economic benefits to public health, well-being and productivity will far exceed the investment in the cost of obtaining clean indoor air.”

People living in urban and industrialized societies spend more than 90% of their time indoors, but there is little control over the quality of the air they breathe there.

Professor Prashant Kumar, author of the paper and director of the University of Surrey’s Global Center for Clean Air Research (GCARE), said:

“There is no doubt that indoor air quality management is complicated and modeling is difficult because every space is different. But that cannot be an excuse. We offer solutions using available and cheap monitors, focusing on three indicator pollutants.”

CO2 is one of the easiest parameters to measure and can be used as a proxy for pollutants and pathogens emitted by occupants, as well as useful for evaluating ventilation quality effectively. “By limiting indoor CO2 levels, we can reduce the spread of diseases spread by respiratory pathogens, such as COVID-19, colds and flu.”

Professor Catherine Noakes, Professor of Structural Environmental Engineering, University of Leeds

The article ‘Indoor air quality standards in public buildings’ is published in Science.

This research demonstrates the University of Surrey’s contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These include SDG 3 (good health and well-being) and SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities).