No longer a nice-to-have: IoT solutions monitor the quality of the air we breathe to keep us safe, healthy and productive.

Indoor concentrations of some pollutants are often two to five times higher than typically outdoors. Indoor air pollution has increased in recent decades as a result of reduced mechanical ventilation in the interests of energy efficiency, and increased use of synthetic building materials, furnishings, personal care products, pesticides and household cleaners.¹

Worse still, it has been found these materials release toxic substances (PFAS) — so-called ‘forever chemicals’ because they do not break down. They accumulate in animals, as well as humans, and are linked to cancer, birth defects, liver disease, thyroid disease, decreased immunity, hormone disruption and a range of other serious health problems. Researchers with the University of Rhode Island and Green Science Policy Institute recently tested indoor air at 20 sites and detected the “forever chemicals” in 17 locations.

According to The Guardian,² the study published in Environmental Science & Technology used a new PFAS measurement technique for checking air. It found particularly high levels in several kindergarten classrooms and also checked the supply room of an outdoor clothing store, offices, several university classrooms, university labs and an elevator.

In recent months the ease in which the delta variant of COVID-19 spreads through the air created huge awareness on indoor air quality and made improvement a global priority. The World Green Building Council cites an academic study that found enhancing indoor air quality could be as effective in reducing aerosol transmission of viruses as vaccinating 50-60% of the population.³

COVID-19 has changed the way we think about and value clean air

The World Health Organization (WHO) released in March 2021 the “Roadmap to improve and ensure good indoor ventilation in the context of COVID-19.”

“Understanding and controlling building ventilation can improve the quality of the air we breathe and reduce the risk of indoor health concerns including preventing the virus that causes COVID-19 from spreading indoors.”⁴

Scientists lead the way for change

Lidia Morawska, Distinguished Professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Queensland University of Technology, is one of the world’s foremost authorities on the impact of airborne particles on human health and the environment.⁵

She says it should be mandatory that building occupants get real-time information on the quality of the air they are breathing.

“Wide use of monitors displaying the state of indoor air quality must be mandated because the general public currently have no way of knowing the condition of indoor spaces they occupy and share with others. Visible displays will keep building operators accountable for air quality. The public should be made aware and demand safe environments.”

She is leading an international call for a ‘paradigm shift’ in combating airborne pathogens such as COVID-19, demanding universal recognition that infections can be prevented by improving indoor ventilation systems.⁶

Testing for specific atmospheric pollutants, or pathogens like COVID-19, can require complex and costly technology, but a good proxy for indoor air quality that can be easily measured is the level of carbon dioxide (Co2). We exhale CO2 when we breathe. So the higher the concentration above the outdoor level, the poorer the ventilation, and hence the greater the potential for pollution from other sources.

In addition to CO2, humidity and temperature are also strong indicators of the potential for an indoor environment to spread COVID-19.

An in-depth modelling study in China and the United States conducted in 2021 investigated the impact of temperature and relative humidity on the transmission of COVID-19. It found “Higher temperature and higher relative humidity potentially suppress the transmission of COVID-19.” The study found even a 1% variation of both measures could impact transmission rates.⁷

Indoor air quality is a global priority

The achievement of good indoor air quality is a global priority, one of the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to reduce inequality and mitigate the effects of climate change. Goal No 11 is focused on sustainable cities and the environment. It calls for a reduction in the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including paying special attention to air quality. According to the WHO, tackling both outdoor and indoor air pollution is crucial to the achievement of these goals.⁸

The mandate for clean indoor air is gathering pace

Legislators are starting to take action against poor indoor air quality: it is a question of when, not if legislation will be widely introduced.⁹

Belgium holds employers accountable for ensuring safe air quality. “The employer is now required to carry out a risk analysis of indoor air quality and take into account the different sources of pollution: presence and physical activity of persons; presence of products and materials in the workplace; maintenance, repair and cleaning of the workplace and air quality provided by infiltration and ventilation, pollution and operation of ventilation, air treatment and heating systems. The employer must take the necessary technical and/or organizational measures to ensure that the concentration of Co2 in the workplace is generally less than 900 ppm.”¹⁰

The business benefits of clean workplace air

In most workplaces, unless there are specific sources of atmospheric pollutants that can be dealt with, maintaining good air quality largely means maintaining adequate ventilation. However, there is a cost. Air needs to be pumped, and depending on the outside temperature, heated or cooled. So building managers aim for a compromise between cost and quality.

However research is increasingly revealing the impacts on worker productivity and wellbeing of poor air quality, suggesting that compromising on air quality could represent a false economy, but the costs are born, in most buildings, by tenant organizations, not building owners or managers.

Workers’ health and productivity can both be compromised by poor air quality in the workplace. And as modern buildings have become more efficient, they have also become more airtight, increasing the potential for poor air quality.

A 2015 US study, The Impact of Green Buildings on Cognitive Function,¹¹ found employees’ cognitive performance doubled in green building environments with enhanced ventilation compared to a conventional building environment.

“These results … suggest that the levels of carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds that we commonly encounter in conventional office buildings are associated with decreases in worker performance compared to when those same workers are in green building environments. … When we enhance ventilation and optimize indoor environmental conditions, we see improvements in the cognitive function of workers.”

In depth research by leading indoor air quality expert Joseph Allen, Harvard University, in 2015, demonstrated the impact of indoor air quality on worker productivity. “The results were dramatic. When volunteers worked in well-ventilated conditions (which lowered the levels of Co2 and VOCs), they scored 61% higher than when they worked in typical office building conditions. When they worked in the cleanest conditions, with even lower Co2 levels and higher ventilation rates, their scores climbed 101%.”¹²

“One of our biggest frustrations over the past year is that we knew enough to act early on.” Joseph Allen, Harvard University

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found “If 20% of the work force has symptoms — including watering eyes; hoarseness; headaches; dry, itchy skin; dizziness; nausea; heart palpitations; miscarriages; shortness of breath; nosebleeds; chronic fatigue; mental fogginess; tremors; swelling of legs or ankles; and cancer — the building may be labelled a ‘sick building’. The telling factor is if the symptoms ease when workers are at home or on vacation.”¹³

Living with COVID

Countries have adopted different strategies to handle COVID-19, striving to balance its impact on people, the load on the health system and the impact of lockdowns on the economy. However, even those administrations that have been very successful to date in eliminating the virus or keeping infection rates very low now acknowledge that with the delta variant, elimination is impossible: we must learn to live with the virus. For employers, this will mean ensuring workplaces are safe and that everything reasonably possible is done to minimise spread. Maintenance of good air quality will make a significant contribution, and those employers that fail to address air quality will face consequences on multiple fronts:

• Failure in duty of care to employees, leading to possible damages claims
• Business disruption if large numbers of employees fall sick
• Significant adverse publicity with the link between indoor air quality and infection rates is well-established and well-known.

Depending on the nature of the workplace, ensuring good air quality could be as simple as opening windows or adjusting the heating/ventilation/air-conditioning system. But none of these things can be done without some means of monitoring air quality and raising an alert if it deteriorates beyond predetermined limits.