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Gabriel Rojas and colleagues' comprehensive review examines indoor air quality in over 600 Passive Houses, revealing that properly-designed mechanical ventilation systems generally outperform conventional housing for background pollutants like CO2, VOCs and radon. Quality control makes a dramatic difference - a UK study found 100% of certified Passive Houses met required airflows while only 47% of non-certified MVHR homes even met basic building regulations.

• Certified Passive Houses show consistently better ventilation performance than non-certified buildings with similar technology
• Quality assurance processes are essential, not optional extras
• Cooking pollution creates a significant blind spot in Passive House design
• Recirculating cooker hoods fail to capture harmful PM2.5 particles, which remain trapped in airtight spaces
• New Passive House guidance now strongly recommends extracting cooker hoods venting outside
• Proper makeup air systems must be balanced with kitchen extraction
• Both certification rigor and comprehensive pollutant management are necessary for truly healthy homes

A review of the indoor air quality in residential Passive House dwellings

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The economic value of healthy buildings represents one of the greatest untapped frontiers in our quest for better indoor environments. While we've mastered the technical aspects of creating healthier spaces, convincing decision-makers to invest remains challenging without clear financial metrics.

Stefan Flagner, an economics researcher with a PhD spanning economics and health sciences, brings a unique perspective to this conversation. As co-author of "10 Questions Concerning the Economics of Indoor Environmental Quality in Buildings," Stefan explores how we can quantify and communicate the return on investment for healthy building initiatives. His research reveals we're at a critical juncture—similar to where energy efficiency stood two decades ago—where the business case exists but needs stronger articulation.

The discussion examines several fascinating aspects of this challenge: the split incentives between building owners and occupants, the difficulty in measuring productivity impacts across different industries, and the need for more robust field studies rather than relying solely on laboratory evidence. Stefan highlights how interdisciplinary approaches combining economics, engineering, and health sciences are essential yet surprisingly rare in research.

What makes this conversation particularly valuable is Stefan's focus on practical applications. Rather than targeting companies already investing in premium spaces, he emphasises reaching conservative business owners with limited capital who need hard numbers to justify investments. The path forward requires better data collection, post-occupancy evaluations, and tools that allow businesses to calculate potential returns based on their specific circumstances.

Ready to discover how the economics of healthy buildings could transform our approach to indoor environments? This episode provides crucial insights for anyone involved in building design, management, investment, or occupational health.

Stephan Flagner - LinkedIn

10 Questions

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We dive into a fascinating paper that quantifies respiratory disease burden from formaldehyde, damp and mold in English housing. Using Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) as a metric, researchers reveal the hidden health costs of poor housing conditions while highlighting significant data gaps that could mean we're vastly underestimating the problem.

• Formaldehyde exposure in English homes associated with approximately 4,000 new childhood asthma cases (800 DALYs) in 2019
• Official surveys indicate 4% of English homes have significant damp/mold problems
• Damp and mold exposure linked to 5,000 new asthma cases and 8,500 respiratory infections (2,800 DALYs)
• Alternative data suggests up to 27% of homes might have damp issues, potentially making the health burden 3-8 times higher
• Clear pattern of inequality shows low-income households and ethnic minorities bear greater burden
• Research highlights urgent need for better national surveillance of indoor environments
• Paper provides a framework for understanding housing as a quantifiable public health and equity issue

The Burden of Respiratory Disease from Formaldehyde, Damp
and Mould in English Housing

Thanks a million to our sponsors, SafeTraces, and InBiot who make this podcast possible.

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The landmark ImpAQS study examining ventilation and air quality in 1,200 Austrian schools reveals widespread failure to meet minimum standards, with at least 25% of classrooms unable to maintain acceptable CO2 levels during operational hours.

Professor Rob McLeod discusses how this comprehensive year-long study uncovered significant disparities in ventilation effectiveness between schools, creating an "air quality lottery" for students and teachers.

• Comprehensive monitoring of CO2, temperature, and humidity across all nine Austrian federal regions throughout the 2023-2024 school year
• Matched pair study comparing 600 classrooms with visible CO2 monitors against 600 control rooms with hidden sensors
• Only 10% of Austrian schools have mechanical ventilation systems, with most relying entirely on natural ventilation
• CO2 monitors dramatically improve ventilation behaviours, with over 90% of classrooms spontaneously appointing student "ventilation champions"
• Cultural resistance and misconceptions about ventilation creating barriers to proper air exchange
• Occupant density as a critical factor, with special schools providing 3+ square meters per student achieving superior air quality
• Outdoor air pollution near schools often exceeding WHO guidelines, complicating ventilation strategies
• Need for national-level intervention rather than leaving air quality challenges to individual schools
• Disparities between schools creating educational and health inequalities that require systematic triaging of solutions

Rob McLeod - LinkedIn

ImpAQS Report

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Research reveals that a mother's exposure to air pollution during pregnancy could significantly increases her child's risk of developing asthma, suggesting that our respiratory health journey begins before we take our first breath.

The study conducted in China tracked mothers and their children from 2015-2018, analyzing exposure to various pollutants throughout different stages of pregnancy.

• PM2.5 exposure during the second trimester is strongly linked to childhood asthma development
• PM10 exposure in the third trimester is similarly associated with increased asthma risk
• Sulfur dioxide exposure throughout pregnancy correlates with higher asthma rates
• Nitrogen dioxide shows complex effects, with first trimester exposure increasing risk
• Findings suggest preventative health measures may need to begin nine months earlier
• Results highlight the need for stronger environmental regulations to protect pregnant women
• Clean air represents a right for future generations that begins before birth

Association analysis of maternal exposure to air pollution during pregnancy and offspring asthma incidence

Thanks a million to our sponsors, SafeTraces. This podcast would not be possible without their support.

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Indoor environmental quality is about more than just air quality – it encompasses everything our sensory systems experience within built environments. This knowledge provides a framework for creating healthier, more human-centered buildings.

• Indoor environmental quality encompasses thermal comfort, acoustics, lighting, vibration, odors, microbiome, and water quality
• Neuroscience can help us understand how our brains respond to environmental stressors even when we don't consciously perceive them
• The disconnect between building sciences and health sciences despite sharing a common focus on human occupants
• Building codes represent minimum standards that unfortunately become maximum efforts in profit-driven construction
• Most buildings under 20,000 square feet have no specialised environmental design input
• Designing for lifetime housing should include environmental considerations for aging and illness
• Performance measurement and accountability could drive significant improvements in building quality
• Museums carefully control environments for artefacts, while homes expose both valuables and people to harmful conditions
• Education about healthy environments could help consumers demand better spaces

Robert Bean LinkedIn

Edifice Complex Podcast

ASHRAE

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Research establishes a direct link between classroom air quality and student attendance rates through a comprehensive study of 144 classrooms across 31 Midwestern elementary schools. The findings provide compelling evidence that improved ventilation and lower PM2.5 levels significantly reduce illness-related absences, even at pollution levels previously considered acceptable.

• For every 1 L/s/person increase in ventilation rate, classrooms experienced 5.6 fewer absence days annually
• Average school ventilation rate (5.5 L/s/person) fell below ASHRAE's recommended standard of 7 L/s/person
• Each 1 μg/m³ increase in indoor PM2.5 corresponded to over 7 additional absence days per classroom per year
• Negative health effects occurred at PM2.5 levels below previous "acceptable" thresholds (mean: 3.6 μg/m³)
• Investing in school HVAC improvements represents a direct intervention to improve student attendance and achievement
• Benefits extend beyond education to public health, academic equity, and economic advantages for families
• Improved ventilation and filtration systems build resilience against future airborne health challenges

Thank you to our sponsors, SafeTraces, for making this podcast possible. See you next week for another One Take!

Associations between illness-related absences and ventilation and indoor
PM2.5 in elementary schools of the Midwestern United States

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Imagine if you could actually see how viruses and bacteria move through the air in a building. That's exactly what Safe Traces technology allows us to do, and the implications for public health and building performance are profound. In this eye-opening conversation, CEO Eric Malmstrom reveals how his company's DNA-tagging technology is transforming our understanding of airborne infection risk.

Born from bioterrorism concerns after 9/11, Safe Traces developed surrogate challenge agents that safely simulate how pathogens behave in real-world environments. By releasing these DNA-tagged particles in buildings and tracking their movement, they can visualize infection pathways that were previously invisible. This empirical approach reveals surprising truths about our buildings: many modern facilities are dramatically overventilated (wasting energy without improving safety), while schools and older buildings often have dangerous gaps in protection that simple interventions could fix.

What makes this conversation particularly valuable is Malmstrom's firsthand experience deploying this technology across diverse environments—from healthcare facilities to schools, offices to prisons. The patterns he's observed challenge conventional wisdom about ventilation rates, air disinfection efficacy, and the relationship between building codes and actual health outcomes. His military background brings a unique perspective on risk management and resilience that enriches the discussion.

The most exciting revelation? We're on the cusp of a revolution in aerobiology technology, with real-time pathogen detection systems just months away from deployment. Combined with growing momentum toward mandatory indoor air quality standards, we may finally be approaching meaningful change in how we design and operate our buildings to protect public health.

Support the show

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The Air Quality Matters Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.

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SafeTraces

All great companies that share the podcast's passion for better air quality in the built environment. Supporting them helps support the show.