Boost air quality in buildings to reduce respiratory infections

Leading experts in the transmission of airborne pathogens are calling for tighter regulations to control air quality in buildings – as a way of reducing the spread of COVID-19 and other illnesses. Writing in the journal Science, the 40 scientists said: “A paradigm shift is needed on the scale that occurred when Chadwick’s Sanitary Report in 1842 led the British government to encourage cities to organise clean water supplies and centralised sewage systems.

“In the 21st century we need to establish the foundations to ensure that the air in our buildings is clean, with a significantly reduced pathogen count, contributing to the building occupants’ health – just as we expect for the water coming out of our taps.”

The scientists who have contributed to the analysis include CDT Co-Director, Professor Cath Noakes, who is also a member of SAGE, the body that advises the UK Government on scientific emergencies. Professor Noakes said: “Over the years, we have neglected the role that the air circulating inside a building plays in the way germs and viruses may spread between people. The pandemic has exposed that deficiency in our understanding and the way we seek to make buildings safer to use.

“We need to introduce new mechanisms that keep pathogen levels in the air flow in buildings and other enclosed spaces to a minimum. That approach can be achieved with technology backed-up with a requirement to meet new standards.”

“Action to improve ventilation to reduce exposure to airborne pathogens will bring other benefits, including reducing exposure to other air pollutants and improved performance and wellbeing.”

Historically, public health regulations have concentrated on sanitation, drinking water and food safety, whereas the risk from airborne pathogens whether it is flu or COVID-19 is “...addressed fairly weakly, if at all, in terms of regulations, standards, and building design and operation, pertaining to the air we breathe”, said the scientists.

Read the full article, 'Boost air quality in buildings to reduce respiratory infections'. 

Professor Cath Noakes stands under the ducts of a ventilation system inside a building. Picture: Jude Palmer/Royal Academy of Engineering