Air Quality Matters

This week, we sit down with Rebecca Coates, Head of Radon Projects at PropertEco. Who has spent over 16 years managing radon testing and mitigation programs across the UK, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about indoor air quality and home safety: Our complete failure to recognise that for the price of a family meal out, any homeowner can test their property, that remediation is not tearing up floors or spending tens of thousands, but drilling one hole from outside and installing a fan in an afternoon, and that until we treat radon mitigation like servicing a boiler, something routine and well understood, over 1,100 people a year in the UK alone will continue to die from lung cancer caused by a gas they never knew was there?
Key Topics Discussed:
What Radon Remediation Actually Looks Like: Radon remediation is not about cleaning contaminated materials or tearing up your home. Once the gas is gone, the problem is solved. The most common solution is a radon sump system installed from outside the building. A small hole is core drilled beneath the foundations, a void is excavated to create a point of low pressure, and pipework with an inline fan draws radon out from beneath the building and discharges it safely above roof level. The work is completed in a day. It costs around three to three and a half thousand pounds for a standard residential property. No one needs to leave their home. There is no dust inside. It is not disruptive. And in 95 percent of cases, it works first time.
The Suspended Floor Challenge: Suspended timber floors are more complicated than solid floors. You have a ready made void running under the whole footprint of the building. Sometimes extracting from that void works beautifully. Sometimes it makes levels worse by drawing more radon up through the floorboards. There is no one size fits all solution. It can require trial and error. Sometimes the answer is to ignore the floor void completely and drill deeper beneath the building to create a sump at a lower level. Suspended floors bring moisture risk, thermal performance, air movement and radon together in ways that require multidisciplinary expertise. Many radon specialists come from property preservation backgrounds precisely because of this complexity.
Ventilation as a First Line of Defence: Where radon levels are moderate, improving ventilation can be enough. Radon is a gas. Dilution works. Somewhere between 50 and 75 percent of homes do not have adequate ventilation. Fixing that can solve radon problems and bring co benefits for damp, mould and condensation. Positive input ventilation can work by gently increasing air pressure in the building to inhibit radon ingress and by diluting what is already there with fresh filtered air from outside. For low to moderate radon levels, this can be a very effective first step before considering a sump system.
The Awareness Gap and the Path Forward: The biggest problem is that people do not know what they do not know. Carbon monoxide awareness has grown dramatically over the last two decades. Most homes now have a carbon monoxide alarm as standard. Considerably fewer people die each year from carbon monoxide poisoning than radon induced lung cancer. Yet radon remains invisible in public consciousness. The UK has one of the best radon maps in the world. Testing costs about fifty pounds. Remediation is straightforward. But unless the message reaches the man on the street, nothing changes. Social housing and schools are starting to take this seriously. The missing piece is the homeowning population. Radon testing should be as routine as an MOT on your car. You spend far more time in your house than your car. It is a one off cost to know whether the environment where your family spends 90 percent of their lives is safe.
GUEST:
Rebecca Coates - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccacoates-radon-advice/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-coates-radon/
https://properteco.co.uk/
https://radonassociation.co.uk/
https://www.ukradon.org/information/ukmaps
The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with
Mann + Hummel https://www.mann-hummel.com/en.html Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/
Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Lindab (https://www.lindab.ie/) - S&P UK (https://www.solerpalau.com/en-uk/)
The One Take Podcast in Partnership with
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Zehnder https://www.zehndergroup.com/en
Charity Partner - https://www.saferairproject.org/

This week, we sit down with Jihyun Park, associate professor in the Department of Architecture at Ewha Womans University in South Korea, Vice Director of the EWA Global Institute for Sustainable Partnerships and Empowerment, and founder and CEO of Atlasen, a venture company specialising in indoor environmental diagnostics, smart sensing and performance based management solutions, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about building performance and post occupancy evaluation.
Key Topics Discussed:
From Architecture Practice to Building Performance: Jihyun spent over seven years working as an architectural designer in Korea, designing everything from office buildings to dormitories. But even while working in practice, she was troubled by a fundamental question. After a building was handed over, she had no idea whether it was actually a good building or not. Designers used formal references, copied details and systems from previous projects, but never knew if those systems worked in the real world. This gap between design intent and actual performance drove her into research. She wanted to understand not just how buildings were designed, but how they actually performed once people occupied them. That curiosity led her to pursue a PhD in building performance evaluation at Carnegie Mellon and eventually to founding Atlasen.
Korea's Indoor Air Quality Evolution: Korea has had indoor air quality regulations for over 30 years, but the standards were relatively loose compared to North America. After COVID, everything changed. People became intensely interested in indoor air quality, driven not only by the pandemic but also by particulate pollution from China and increasing cases of skin conditions linked to toxic building materials. Before COVID, buyers wanted luxurious imported materials. Now they want healthy products. Younger generations are willing to pay more for healthy buildings. The shift has been dramatic and sustained. Energy was the focus. Now health and wellness are driving decisions in the built environment.
Founding Atlasen and Building Your Own Sensors: Jihyun founded Atlasen because she wanted to integrate indoor environmental quality evaluation into building performance assessment. She had worked with Korea's electric power company, but the focus was entirely on energy savings. She believed energy efficiency should never come at the expense of occupant comfort and satisfaction. She wanted real time post occupancy evaluation combined with occupant surveys. But the equipment available was either too bulky, too expensive, or not accurate enough. So she built her own. She is now on the fourth generation of her in house sensor, which measures 15 different parameters including 10 air quality metrics covering particulates, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide, temperature and humidity. The sensors are small, invisible, accurate and used in projects across Korea, Canada and Hong Kong.
The WELL Platinum Breakthrough: Jihyun led Korea's first WELL Core and Shell Platinum certification for a major mixed use development in Gangnam, Seoul. The project included two buildings with hotels, retail and office space, and housed some of the world's leading global companies. It is one of the most expensive buildings in the Gangnam area. The reason she got the project was simple. Other companies said they did not know how to do it and could not do it. She said she could. The building was already constructed and occupied for more than five years.
GUEST:
Jihyun Park https://www.linkedin.com/in/jihyun-park-3a70b212/
Atlasen - http://atlasen.com/?lang=en
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Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Lindab (https://www.lindab.ie/) - S&P UK (https://www.solerpalau.com/en-uk/)
The One Take Podcast in Partnership with
SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) - Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) - Farmwood (https://farmwood.co.uk/) - iE Electronics (https://www.eielectronics.ie/) and iAir Group (https://iair-group.com/)
Zehnder https://www.zehndergroup.com/en
Charity Partner - https://www.saferairproject.org/

This week, we sit down with Ciarán Cuffe, co-chair of the European Green Party and former rapporteur on the landmark revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about European policy and the built environment: What if the single biggest barrier to transforming our buildings isn't our lack of scientific knowledge or technology—but our complete failure to recognise that the most ambitious building legislation in European history was negotiated through late night deals, diplomatic trilogues, and careful political capital management, and that unless we understand how policy actually gets made, keep decision makers accountable during implementation, and translate technical directives into language that resonates with families worried about healthy homes, even the most groundbreaking legislation will fail at the national level?
Key Topics Discussed:
From Architecture to the Brussels Machine: Ciarán brings a rare perspective, moving from architecture and local government in Dublin to national politics and finally to the European Parliament, where he landed what he calls a policy wonk paradise. As rapporteur for the EPBD recast, he spent two-thirds of his final two years in Europe negotiating what would become the most ambitious building law the continent has ever seen. The Greens threw everything at securing this file during the auction process for committee assignments. They didn't think they would get it, but they did. And it became the centrepiece of the European Green five years, alongside the European Climate Law and over 20 interconnected pieces of legislation covering everything from maritime fuels to energy trading.
Inside the Trilogues: European policymaking is not just about the parliament. It is about three institutions: the European Parliament, the Council of Member States, and the European Commission. Ciarán spent countless hours in meetings with Commission officials from DG Energy, attending Council meetings in Luxembourg where energy ministers gathered, and working the sidelines to convince national teams that specific provisions would work for Sweden, for Malta, for Cyprus. The final deals happened in late night trilogues, where representatives from all three bodies sat in a room with pieces of paper, writing down numbers and asking, can we live with a 16 percent energy reduction by 2030? People were on the phone back to ambassadors, back to capitals. Eventually, you get a deal done. But within a complex technical document, you win in some areas and lose in others.
The Affordability Backlash: Almost immediately after the recast was agreed, there was a political backlash on affordability. In Italy, Salvini, the Minister for Transport, declared that Brussels was going to take your home. It became a huge story. Ciarán and his team had to do outreach to major Italian newspapers like Sole 24 Ore to clarify that no, Brussels was not taking anyone's home, and in fact, Brussels would supply much of the money required for deep retrofits. The pushback showed that the directive had been pushed about as far as politically possible. If there had been no reaction, it would have meant they hadn't been ambitious enough.
Indoor Environmental Quality Enters the Directive: One of the most significant achievements of the recast is the embedding of indoor environmental quality as a fundamental pillar of building performance. This shift, recognised globally by the indoor air quality movement, moves buildings from being seen as units of energy to being seen as homes. Ciarán believes the pandemic helped make the case. High mortality rates in northern Italy, in overcrowded urban areas with poor outdoor and indoor air quality, made it stunningly obvious that we needed to focus on the quality of the spaces where people spend most of their lives. Many of his colleagues in Brussels were living in small apartments with no balconies, no private outdoor space. Improving indoor air quality became not just a health issue, but an equity issue.
GUEST:
Ciarán Cuffe
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ciarancuffe/The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with
Mann + Hummel https://www.mann-hummel.com/en.html Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/
Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Lindab (https://www.lindab.ie/) - S&P UK (https://www.solerpalau.com/en-uk/)
The One Take Podcast in Partnership with
SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) - Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) - Farmwood (https://farmwood.co.uk/) - iE Electronics (https://www.eielectronics.ie/) and iAir Group (https://iair-group.com/)
Zehnder https://www.zehndergroup.com/en
Charity Partner - https://www.saferairproject.org/

This week, we sit down with José Luis Gutiérrez Villanueva, a specialist radon measurement advisor at Radanova, member of the Commission on Radon Communication at the Spanish Professional Association of Physicists, and deeply involved in standards across Europe, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about indoor air quality and radiation protection: What if the single biggest barrier to protecting people from radon exposure isn't our lack of scientific knowledge or technology—but our complete failure to recognise that the only way to know your radon level is by measuring it, that no two buildings are the same, and that the invisible nature of this radioactive gas means millions of people are unknowingly breathing air that significantly increases their risk of lung cancer every single day?
Key Topics Discussed:
The European Directive That Changed Everything: Since 2014, when the new European Directive on Radiation Protection was approved, all 27 member states now have legislation in place with reference levels for radon. For the first time in the history of radiation protection in Europe, every country must have a number in their national legislation. This is a massive game changer. Before that, there were only recommendations. Some countries followed them, others did not. Now there is a legally binding reference level, and this has moved everything forward.
What Is Radon and Why Does It Matter: Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive noble gas that comes from the decay of uranium in soil and rock. It is everywhere. Outdoors, levels are usually very low, but indoors, radon can accumulate to dangerous concentrations. When you breathe radon, the gas itself is inert and exhaled, but during its journey through your lungs, radon decays into radioactive polonium, which attaches to lung tissue and emits alpha particles. These alpha particles have enough energy to damage DNA, and over years of continuous exposure, this damage accumulates and significantly increases the risk of lung cancer. After smoking, radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer.
How Passive Radon Detectors Work: Passive radon detectors use a special plastic called CR39 inside a holder. Radon gas diffuses into the holder, and when radon decays, it emits alpha particles that create microscopic tracks in the plastic. After exposure, the detector is returned to the lab where the plastic undergoes chemical etching. The etching process enlarges the tracks so they can be counted under a microscope. The lab counts the number of tracks per square millimetre, applies a calibration factor, and calculates the radon exposure. This is then divided by the exposure time to give a result in becquerels per cubic metre.
Why You Cannot Predict Radon Without Measuring: You cannot compare your home with your neighbour's home. Even if you live in detached houses next to each other, your radon levels can be completely different. Radon levels can vary dramatically within the same property, from room to room, and over time. Weather, soil moisture, air pressure, ventilation, and building characteristics all affect radon. One home on top of a hill might see radon drop when it rains, while a home in the valley below sees radon increase. Radon levels can fluctuate by more than 50 percent from year to year. The only way to know your radon level is by testing.
GUEST:
José Luis Gutiérrez Villanueva
Specialist Radon Measurement Advisor, Radanova
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseluis-gutierrez-radonspecialist/
The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with
Mann + Hummel https://www.mann-hummel.com/en.html Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/
Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Lindab (https://www.lindab.ie/) - S&P UK (https://www.solerpalau.com/en-uk/)
The One Take Podcast in Partnership with
SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) - Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) - Farmwood (https://farmwood.co.uk/) - iE Electronics (https://www.eielectronics.ie/) and iAir Group (https://iair-group.com/)
Zehnder https://www.zehndergroup.com/en
Charity Partner - https://www.saferairproject.org/

This week, we dive into a groundbreaking study published in The Lancet Public Health titled Impact of Ultra Low Emission Zone on Lung Function Growth in Children in London: A Prospective Parallel Cohort Study, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about air pollution and child health: What if the single biggest barrier to protecting our children's respiratory health isn't our lack of scientific knowledge or technology—but our complete failure to recognise that when we clean up urban air pollution, children's developing lungs don't just stop getting worse, they actually catch up, proving that early life deficits can be restored and that clean air zones are not just environmental policy, but direct biological interventions with immediate, measurable health benefits?

Key Topics Discussed:

The Scale and Methodology: A Masterclass in Longitudinal Research: Known as the CHIL study, the Children's Health in London and Luton study, this was a prospective parallel cohort study. The researchers approached 122 primary schools and an impressive 69 percent agreed to participate. They recruited a massive cohort of 3,414 children aged six to nine years old. They followed these kids over four to five year periods, performing annual spirometry tests right in the school to measure FEV1, forced expiratory volume in one second, and FVC, forced vital capacity. They coupled these clinical tests with high resolution dispersion modelling to estimate annual air pollution exposure at each child's home address. This is rigorous, large scale, longitudinal public health research at its finest.

Complete Recovery: The Gap Was Closed: Then London implemented the ULEZ and over the follow up period the researchers watched a dramatic shift occur. The children in London saw their FEV1 growth increase by an extra 10 millilitres per year compared to the children in Luton. Because of that accelerated growth, after just four years of follow up, the children in London did something many experts thought was impossible. They reached complete parity with Luton. The gap was completely closed. Even more astonishing, the proportion of children in London with clinically impaired lung function fell from 14 percent at baseline down to just 9 percent by the end of the study. The introduction of the London ULEZ was associated with improved lung function growth trajectories, suggesting that previous deficits in lung development were restored.

The Built Environment Connection: Historically, we have often treated building ventilation and outdoor air quality as two entirely separate silos. But this paper proves that they are intimately connected. Outdoor air is the raw intake for our indoor environments. By implementing clean air zones like the ULEZ, we are performing a massive city scale pre filtration of our indoor air. If we can close a 38 millilitre lung deficit and restore clinical impairment just by cleaning up the ambient city streets, we are proving that environmental interventions have an almost immediate direct biological benefit. If cleaning up outdoor air can do this, imagine the health optimisation we can achieve if we combine ambient clean air zones with high quality filtered and mechanically ventilated indoor spaces. We spend 90 percent of our lives indoors after all.

The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with

Mann + Hummel https://www.mann-hummel.com/en.html Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/

Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Lindab (https://www.lindab.ie/) - S&P UK (https://www.solerpalau.com/en-uk/)

The One Take Podcast in Partnership with

SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) - Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) - Farmwood (https://farmwood.co.uk/) - iE Electronics (https://www.eielectronics.ie/) and iAir Group (https://iair-group.com/)

Zehnder https://www.zehndergroup.com/en

Charity Partner - https://www.saferairproject.org/