One Take #7 - Formaldehyde, Damp, and Mold in English Housing
Send us a textWe dive into a fascinating paper that quantifies respiratory disease burden from formaldehyde, damp and mold in English housing. Using Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) as a metric, researchers reveal the hidden health costs of poor housing conditions while highlighting significant data gaps that could mean we're vastly underestimating the problem.• Formaldehyde exposure in English homes associated with approximately 4,000 new childhood asthma cases (800 DALYs) in 2019• Official surveys indicate 4% of English homes have significant damp/mold problems• Damp and mold exposure linked to 5,000 new asthma cases and 8,500 respiratory infections (2,800 DALYs)• Alternative data suggests up to 27% of homes might have damp issues, potentially making the health burden 3-8 times higher• Clear pattern of inequality shows low-income households and ethnic minorities bear greater burden• Research highlights urgent need for better national surveillance of indoor environments• Paper provides a framework for understanding housing as a quantifiable public health and equity issueThe Burden of Respiratory Disease from Formaldehyde, Dampand Mould in English HousingThanks a million to our sponsors, SafeTraces, and InBiot who make this podcast possible.Support the showCheck out the Air Quality Matters website for more information, updates and more. And the YouTube Channel The Air Quality Matters Podcast is brought to you in partnership with. Eurovent Farmwood 21 Degrees Aereco Aico Ultra Protect InBiot The One Take Podcast is brought to you in partnership with. SafeTraces All great companies that share the podcast's passion for better air quality in the built environment. Supporting them helps support the show.
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#78 Rob McLeod: 1,200 Classrooms Later: What We Learned About Air Quality in Schools ImpAQS
Send us a textThe landmark ImpAQS study examining ventilation and air quality in 1,200 Austrian schools reveals widespread failure to meet minimum standards, with at least 25% of classrooms unable to maintain acceptable CO2 levels during operational hours. Professor Rob McLeod discusses how this comprehensive year-long study uncovered significant disparities in ventilation effectiveness between schools, creating an "air quality lottery" for students and teachers.• Comprehensive monitoring of CO2, temperature, and humidity across all nine Austrian federal regions throughout the 2023-2024 school year• Matched pair study comparing 600 classrooms with visible CO2 monitors against 600 control rooms with hidden sensors• Only 10% of Austrian schools have mechanical ventilation systems, with most relying entirely on natural ventilation• CO2 monitors dramatically improve ventilation behaviours, with over 90% of classrooms spontaneously appointing student "ventilation champions"• Cultural resistance and misconceptions about ventilation creating barriers to proper air exchange• Occupant density as a critical factor, with special schools providing 3+ square meters per student achieving superior air quality• Outdoor air pollution near schools often exceeding WHO guidelines, complicating ventilation strategies• Need for national-level intervention rather than leaving air quality challenges to individual schools• Disparities between schools creating educational and health inequalities that require systematic triaging of solutionsRob McLeod - LinkedInImpAQS ReportSupport the showCheck out the Air Quality Matters website for more information, updates and more. And the YouTube Channel The Air Quality Matters Podcast is brought to you in partnership with. Eurovent Farmwood 21 Degrees Aereco Aico Ultra Protect InBiot The One Take Podcast is brought to you in partnership with. SafeTraces All great companies that share the podcast's passion for better air quality in the built environment. Supporting them helps support the show.
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One Take #6 - Maternal Air Pollution Exposure: How It Shapes Your Child's Respiratory Future
Send us a textResearch reveals that a mother's exposure to air pollution during pregnancy could significantly increases her child's risk of developing asthma, suggesting that our respiratory health journey begins before we take our first breath. The study conducted in China tracked mothers and their children from 2015-2018, analyzing exposure to various pollutants throughout different stages of pregnancy.• PM2.5 exposure during the second trimester is strongly linked to childhood asthma development• PM10 exposure in the third trimester is similarly associated with increased asthma risk• Sulfur dioxide exposure throughout pregnancy correlates with higher asthma rates• Nitrogen dioxide shows complex effects, with first trimester exposure increasing risk• Findings suggest preventative health measures may need to begin nine months earlier• Results highlight the need for stronger environmental regulations to protect pregnant women• Clean air represents a right for future generations that begins before birthAssociation analysis of maternal exposure to air pollution during pregnancy and offspring asthma incidenceThanks a million to our sponsors, SafeTraces. This podcast would not be possible without their support.Support the showCheck out the Air Quality Matters website for more information, updates and more. And the YouTube Channel The Air Quality Matters Podcast is brought to you in partnership with. Eurovent Farmwood 21 Degrees Aereco Aico Ultra Protect InBiot The One Take Podcast is brought to you in partnership with. SafeTraces All great companies that share the podcast's passion for better air quality in the built environment. Supporting them helps support the show.
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#77 - Robert Bean: The Human Element and Building Better Spaces
Send us a textIndoor environmental quality is about more than just air quality – it encompasses everything our sensory systems experience within built environments. This knowledge provides a framework for creating healthier, more human-centered buildings.• Indoor environmental quality encompasses thermal comfort, acoustics, lighting, vibration, odors, microbiome, and water quality• Neuroscience can help us understand how our brains respond to environmental stressors even when we don't consciously perceive them• The disconnect between building sciences and health sciences despite sharing a common focus on human occupants• Building codes represent minimum standards that unfortunately become maximum efforts in profit-driven construction• Most buildings under 20,000 square feet have no specialised environmental design input• Designing for lifetime housing should include environmental considerations for aging and illness• Performance measurement and accountability could drive significant improvements in building quality• Museums carefully control environments for artefacts, while homes expose both valuables and people to harmful conditions• Education about healthy environments could help consumers demand better spacesRobert Bean LinkedInEdifice Complex PodcastASHRAE Support the showCheck out the Air Quality Matters website for more information, updates and more. And the YouTube Channel The Air Quality Matters Podcast is brought to you in partnership with. Eurovent Farmwood 21 Degrees Aereco Aico Ultra Protect InBiot The One Take Podcast is brought to you in partnership with. SafeTraces All great companies that share the podcast's passion for better air quality in the built environment. Supporting them helps support the show.
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One Take #5 Clean Air, Full Classes
Send us a textResearch establishes a direct link between classroom air quality and student attendance rates through a comprehensive study of 144 classrooms across 31 Midwestern elementary schools. The findings provide compelling evidence that improved ventilation and lower PM2.5 levels significantly reduce illness-related absences, even at pollution levels previously considered acceptable.• For every 1 L/s/person increase in ventilation rate, classrooms experienced 5.6 fewer absence days annually• Average school ventilation rate (5.5 L/s/person) fell below ASHRAE's recommended standard of 7 L/s/person• Each 1 μg/m³ increase in indoor PM2.5 corresponded to over 7 additional absence days per classroom per year• Negative health effects occurred at PM2.5 levels below previous "acceptable" thresholds (mean: 3.6 μg/m³)• Investing in school HVAC improvements represents a direct intervention to improve student attendance and achievement• Benefits extend beyond education to public health, academic equity, and economic advantages for families• Improved ventilation and filtration systems build resilience against future airborne health challengesThank you to our sponsors, SafeTraces, for making this podcast possible. See you next week for another One Take!Associations between illness-related absences and ventilation and indoor PM2.5 in elementary schools of the Midwestern United StatesSupport the showCheck out the Air Quality Matters website for more information, updates and more. And the YouTube Channel The Air Quality Matters Podcast is brought to you in partnership with. Eurovent Farmwood 21 Degrees Aereco Aico Ultra Protect InBiot The One Take Podcast is brought to you in partnership with. SafeTraces All great companies that share the podcast's passion for better air quality in the built environment. Supporting them helps support the show.
Air Quality Matters inside our buildings and out.This Podcast is about Indoor Air Quality, Outdoor Air Quality, Ventilation, and Health in our homes, workplaces, and education settings.And we already have many of the tools we need to make a difference.The conversations we have and how we share this knowledge is the key to our success.We speak with the leaders at the heart of this sector about them and their work, innovation and where this is all going.Air quality is the single most significant environmental risk we face to our health and wellbeing, and its impacts on us, our friends, our families, and society are profound.From housing to the workplace, education to healthcare, the quality of the air we breathe matters. Air Quality Matters
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