Announcements
Announcements
Along with experts from a range of sectors, Dr Sarah West, Director of SEI York participated in a discussion on Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and health, organised for two cross-party groups from the UK parliament. H&V News captured the key points and quotes.
Last week’s event, organised by the All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Carbon Monoxide and Health, brought together policy experts, charities and academics. It followed the proposal of the Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill and the publication, last month, of the UK government’s clean air strategy.
During the debate, panelists were positive about the potential of the Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill to improve the UK’s IAQ but expressed frustration at current government strategies. Dr Sarah West drew on her research to highlight the importance of improving public awareness about the impacts of IAQ on health as a vital step towards empowering individuals to take effective action on air quality. Generating meaningful IAQ interventions means offering building occupants a range of mitigation strategies, seeking reliable industry advice and ensuring that ventilation systems are well-maintained.
We know that air pollution is a major public health risk, we also have tools at our disposal to help mitigate the effects of poor air quality, for example, ventilation, air cleaning , behaviour changes and awareness campaigns.
Dr Sarah West, SEI York
Key speakers reiterated the importance of urgent action being taken in order to tackle indoor air pollution across all settings. The debate took place on the same day as the launch of a parliamentary inquiry into the effectiveness of existing IAQ targets.
Project / A citizen science project monitoring indoor air, created with and for UK schools.
Project / This project investigates air pollutants inside homes in the city of Bradford, UK: their sources, interactions and health effects on those living there.
Event on 01 May in Coventry / Sam Bland will host this session on the SAMHE project and the opportunities and challenges of using web apps to engage young people in citizen science.
Other publication / SEI York researchers contributed to a new UK Nitrogen Balance Sheet, developed for WWF-UK by the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.
Project / Investigating if and how hands-on experiences with nature impact values, attitudes and pro-environmental behaviour amongst secondary school students.
Design and development by Soapbox.
