BESA backs government health adviser on IAQ monitoring practice – © ProStockStudio-Shutterstock
The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has welcomed the latest comment on indoor air quality (IAQ) from Professor Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer.
Professor Whitty has pushed for offices and public buildings – including schools, supermarkets, and hospitals – to be regularly monitored for levels of indoor air pollutants.
Whitty said that analysing IAQ should be made “standard practice” and called for an investment in “indoor emission inventories” on a “roadmap to cleaner indoor air”.
However, IAQ was a “complex problem” because it varies from one building to another because of different occupant behaviour or ventilation systems.
Nathan Wood, chair of BESA’s Health & Well-being in Buildings group, agreed that detailed monitoring was a “vital first step” on the road to producing a more targeted IAQ strategy.
“However, showing someone that they have a problem is only the start. They must then be shown how to address the problem through competent professional advice and the use of proven solutions.”
BESA is supporting the proposed clean air (human rights) bill which is currently progressing through Parliament. This would introduce specific responsibilities for building operators to meet IAQ targets in line with World Health Organization guidance.
