Defra’s Air Quality Expert Group (AQEG) has published its long-awaited report on indoor air quality (link).
People spend a substantial proportion of their lives indoors, but indoor air quality has been studied far less than air quality outdoors. Indoor air quality is complex, with most indoor environments containing variety of pollution sources and sinks. Emissions from indoor appliances, building materials, furnishings, consumer products, and people themselves all combine to make indoor air chemically rich and highly diverse. The influence of outdoor emissions sources is also highly variable, relating not only to location but also to ventilation rates and building permeability.
People’s actions are particularly important in determining their own exposure to air pollutants indoors. As well as product choices, ventilation, both designed-in and occupant-controlled, is extremely important. As AQEG has highlighted previously (link), limiting the use of certain products indoors might also benefit outdoor air quality.
To carry out this review, AQEG long-standing members, including AQC's Ben Marner, were joined by several subject area specialists. The report was also subject to external peer review prior to publication. It accompanies previous publications, such as that from RCPCH (link) and NICE (Link) to provide an in-depth analysis of the current evidence, and evidence gaps, regarding this important topic.
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