Stuart Smith, Group Sales Director at ventilation specialists, Nuaire, tells us how legislative changes, alongside system and product innovations, could provide the key to improving indoor air quality for the long term.
Indoor air quality (IAQ) is in the spotlight at present, but the infl uence of this topic on public health is not limited to the current pandemic. The World Health Organization estimates that around 90% of people globally live with dirty air. The associated increase in poor health and early death makes poor air quality a bigger killer worldwide than smoking.
Even in developed countries, such as the UK, the full impact of air pollution is only now beginning to be understood, shedding light on broader health implications such as deteriorating eyesight, alongside the higher incidence of respiratory conditions and some cancers.
The UK Government recently recognised air pollution as the most significant environmental risk to public health, costing the economy around £20bn and contributing to 20,000 premature deaths every year.
Given that we spend around 90% of our time indoors, addressing the quality of the air we breathe when inside – in terms of pollutants from external sources and pathogens circulating within – is critical to bringing those figures down.