The UK government has pledged to tackle aspects of indoor air quality as part of its ongoing Clean Air Strategy 2019. Poor air quality – inside or out – has negative effects on people’s health, causing harm to the respiratory system and beyond. Given that most people in the UK spend the majority of their time indoors, either in buildings or on public transport, a focus on improving indoor air quality is critical.

A new document produced by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) offers stakeholder perspectives on challenges and opportunities to improve the UK’s indoor air quality and summarizes current knowledge about indoor air pollution and its health impacts. The UK currently has few legal controls on indoor air quality, despite legislation existing for outdoor air quality.

Sarah West, Centre Director at SEI York, was invited to contribute to this briefing in the form of an interview:

According to the new POST briefing, improving and developing legislation on indoor air quality is hampered by limited scientific evidence. The impact of poor indoor air quality is not as well understood as outdoor air quality, and historically, research in this area has been underfunded. However, the authors noted a number of current research projects addressing this knowledge gap and highlighted two of the SEI-York centre’s major indoor air quality research projects: Schools Air Quality Monitoring for Health and Education (SAMHE) and Understanding the Sources, Transformations and Fates of Indoor Air Pollutants (INGENIOUS). They commented that these studies focus on specific environments – schools and homes – and called for further development of research into indoor air quality, urging the government to explore options for large-scale monitoring programmes, such as those taking place in France.

While current knowledge on the health effects of poor indoor air quality identifies it as a risk factor for various health problems, it is difficult to characterize precisely how such pollution directly causes these health effects. For example, over the course of a day or a week, people move between geographical locations, buildings and even rooms: all of these would be subject to different conditions, from the temperature to air flow to furniture present in the vicinity – each of which would impact air quality.

The authors also outlined other sociodemographic factors that could increase the risk of individuals being impacts by indoor air pollution; those living in poorer quality housing and near busy roads are more likely to be affected, as are those spending long periods of time in institutional settings such as care homes, prisons, hospitals or schools. Children, pregnant women and babies, and people of all ages from low-income households and minority ethnic groups are also more vulnerable to the effects of indoor air pollution.

The briefing pointed to a number of strategies for improving indoor air quality, such as upgrading ventilation, using air purifiers, and raising public awareness so that individuals can take action. Numerous factors are beyond the occupants’ control, the authors conclude, and therefore further research and regulation are required to improve the UK’s indoor air quality.