Air Quality Matters

Simon Jones

Air Quality Matters inside our buildings and out.This Podcast is about Indoor Air Quality, Outdoor Air Quality, Ventilation, and Health in our homes, workplaces, and education settings.And we already have many of the tools we need to make a difference.The conversations we have and how we share this knowledge is the key to our success.We speak with the leaders at the heart of this sector about them and their work, innovation and where this is all going.Air quality is the single most significant environmental risk we face to our health and wellbeing, and its impacts on us, our friends, our families, and society are profound.From housing to the workplace, education to healthcare, the quality of the air we breathe matters. Air Quality Matters

  1. Weighing Dust vs. Counting Danger: Why PM2.5 Misses the Deadliest Particles - OT42

    1 DAY AGO

    Weighing Dust vs. Counting Danger: Why PM2.5 Misses the Deadliest Particles - OT42

    This week, we step slightly outside the building envelope to examine a question that fundamentally challenges everything we think we know about air pollution: What if the metric the entire world uses to measure air quality is structurally blind to the most dangerous particles we breathe? The document is a perspective piece published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization, titled Air Quality Standards and WHO Guidance on Particulate Matter Measurement 2.5 Microns. It represents a profound wake-up call for the global air quality community, arguing that PM 2.5—the gold standard metric used worldwide to regulate, monitor, and discuss particulate air pollution—has serious fundamental blind spots that could be undermining decades of public health policy. The World Health Organization's normative guidance on ambient air quality is fundamentally based on evidence from health and exposure studies regarding the harms associated with mass concentrations of airborne particulate matter expressed as PM 2.5. These WHO guidelines are a critical reference point for jurisdictions all over the planet when developing or revising their own ambient air quality standards. But this paper makes a stark argument: our global gold standard is missing the full scope of health-harming particulate air pollution. Key Topics Discussed: The Harmonization Problem: The current WHO guidance does not cover harmonization of averaging methods for concentrations measured during data aggregation, nor does it cover how to handle exceedances of PM 2.5 levels. Variations in how different countries measure and aggregate data can obscure true ambient air pollution levels—comparing apples with oranges on a global scale. The Mass-Based Metric is Fundamentally Flawed: PM 2.5 is a mass-based metric. It simply weighs the dust. It completely fails to consider the physicochemical characteristics of airborne particles—their specific size, chemical composition, bioavailability of potentially harmful elements, and critically, the particle number concentrations of different sized particles, including ultrafine particles. The Bowling Ball vs. Marbles Problem: Imagine a box. A single bowling ball gives you a high weight reading. But what if that box is filled with tens of thousands of marbles? The mass of PM 2.5 comes mostly from larger fine particles. The mass of ultrafine particles is negligible when compared to bigger particles. However, the vast majority of particles in typical ambient environments are ultrafine particles—defined as being less than 0.1 microns. A city could hit its WHO mass targets by removing a few heavy bowling balls but leave tens of thousands of smaller marbles floating around. The 5 Microgram Threshold: When PM 2.5 is higher than 5 micrograms per cubic meter, the mass concentration does not correlate well with the particle number of ultrafine particles. Therefore, control measures that aim to reduce high PM 2.5 levels might not actually reduce the ultrafine particle count at all. A good correlation does exist below 5 micrograms per cubic meter, but as the authors bluntly state, most countries are far from achieving such low ambient air pollution. Why Ultrafine Particles Are So Dangerous: Because they are so small, they don't just get stuck in your throat or upper airways—they go deep. Short-term exposure is associated with respiratory symptoms and systemic inflammation, affecting your heart and blood pressure. Long-term exposure is associated with increased mortality, especially cardiovascular and lung-related mortality, as well as ischemic heart disease. Air Quality Standards and WHO Guidance on Particulate Matter Measurement 2.5 Microns Bulletin of the World Health Organization 10.2471/BLT.23.290522 (https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.23.290522) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The Blind Spot in Our Global Air Quality Standard 00:01:49 The Structural Problem: Missing Harmonization in WHO Guidance 00:02:45 The Fundamental Flaw: Why Mass-Based Metrics Miss the Point 00:03:49 The Bowling Ball vs Marbles Problem: Understanding Particle Count 00:05:14 The Five Microgram Threshold: Where Mass and Number Diverge 00:06:18 The Health Threat: Why Ultrafine Particles Are So Dangerous 00:07:13 The Solution: Introducing PM 2.5 Number Density Metric 00:08:33 The Practical Challenges: Monitoring Ultrafine Particles in the Real World 00:09:32 The Indoor Air Quality Wake-Up Call: What Your Monitors Are Missing 00:11:20 The Path Forward: Harmonizing Global Standards for Real Protection

    13 min
  2. Show Up and Breathe: The Slam Dunk ROI That Still Needs an Energy Story to Sell - Jason Jones #113

    4 DAYS AGO

    Show Up and Breathe: The Slam Dunk ROI That Still Needs an Energy Story to Sell - Jason Jones #113

    This week, we sit down with Jason Jones, Director of Air Quality Management at Fellowes, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we sell, specify, and sustain indoor air quality solutions in the real world: What if the biggest barrier to clean indoor air isn't technology or science—but the economic conversation we're having with the people who actually have to write the cheques? Jason leads Fellowes' sales and marketing efforts in the air quality space, working closely with distributors, sales representatives, and end users to help them understand the role of smart, responsive air quality management. This is a theory into practice conversation, and it's critically important. We can discuss the impacts of air quality on health, wellbeing, performance, and energy all day long—but at some point, someone, somewhere, has to literally buy into the idea. Jason provides a fascinating window into how a respected player in the sector, delivering products that actually improve air quality, frames the problem and the solutions, how those conversations are going, and where they think this sector is heading next. Key Topics Discussed: Post-Pandemic Reality: How air quality awareness has evolved since COVID. Some people internalized the lesson and carried it forward into the environments they work in. Others were willing to just get back to normal. The perception problem: if it doesn't smell bad, chances are the air must be clean. But we don't get to control the air we breathe in most of the spaces we're in. Where the Traction Is: Healthcare, education, K-12, higher ed, and assisted living facilities are where air quality is sticking most. The generation that missed prom because of the pandemic took that lesson forward into their lives. That's why there's a bright future for air quality—it made an indelible mark on that generation. Leaning Into Energy Savings: Why Fellowes is talking more and more about energy savings and using standards like ASHRAE's Indoor Air Quality Procedure to specify air purification alongside HVAC systems. The goal: reach the same or better air quality while reducing outside air reliance. Clean air is a human right, but the reality is that building owners have bills to pay and balance sheets to worry about. VRP vs IAQP—A 101: Ventilation Rate Procedure is the blunt instrument—prescriptive ventilation rates based on building type and occupancy. Indoor Air Quality Procedure is more sophisticated—designing around specific contaminants of concern, factoring in air purification and filtration, and allowing you to reduce outside air by 30, 40, 50 percent or more. Less outside air means less heating and cooling, smaller HVAC systems, and potential first cost savings. The Education Experiment: Schools are a massive data set. With thousands of classrooms being phased into air quality solutions over time, we'll finally be able to see clear trends in absenteeism rates, teacher sick days, and student test scores. You can't learn if you're not in class. It's that simple. And it's the most black and white metric of them all. GUEST: Jason Jones https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-jones-0aa672b/ Director of Air Quality Management, Fellowes Fellowes https://www.fellowes.com/ The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/ Farmwood (https://farmwood.co.uk/) - Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Ultra Protect (https://www.ultra-protect.co.uk/air-quality-matters) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website. (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) If you haven't checked out the YouTube channel its here (https://www.youtube.com/@airqualitymatters-SimonJones). Do subscribe if you can, lots more content is coming soon. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The Commercial Reality of Indoor Air Quality 00:03:11 Post-Pandemic Reality: Who Still Cares About Air Quality? 00:08:09 The Budget Battle: Nice to Have vs Need to Have 00:10:05 The Energy Efficiency Angle: A New Way to Sell Clean Air 00:26:00 VRP vs IAQP: Two Approaches to Building Ventilation 00:24:47 The HVAC Energy Equation: Why Outside Air Is So Expensive 00:34:18 The Complexity Challenge: Is the Industry Ready for IAQP? 00:37:51 The Subjective Element: Why Human Perception Still Matters 01:25:09 The Fellows Ecosystem: Networked Air Quality Management 01:16:44 Education as the Testing Ground: The Data Goldmine 01:41:28 The AI Revolution: Natural Language Control of Building Systems

    1hr 46min
  3. The Science is Settled, But Who's Paying the Bill? UK School Air Quality Guidance 2026 - OT41

    2 APR

    The Science is Settled, But Who's Paying the Bill? UK School Air Quality Guidance 2026 - OT41

    This week, we examine a document that represents a profound shift in how we think about school environments: What if the debate over airborne transmission and clean air in schools is finally over—and the real fight is just beginning? The document is titled Ventilation and Air Quality in Education and Childcare Settings, published on 24 February 2026 by the UK Department for Education. It applies specifically to England, and it codifies into official government guidance something we've been arguing about for years: that good ventilation is absolutely essential for healthy and productive learning environments. This isn't a theoretical discussion anymore. This is operational policy. The guidance plainly states that effective ventilation does more than just prevent overheating. It improves pupils' alertness and concentration. It removes polluted air. And crucially, it removes air that might contain virus particles, reducing the spread of respiratory infections like colds, flu, and COVID-19. This is massive. It places the management of indoor air quality squarely in the realm of basic school health and safety. Key Topics Discussed: The Monitoring Framework: Schools are expected to regularly monitor CO2 concentrations across their buildings. The guidance provides best practices on sensor placement—at head height or table height, at least half a meter away from people, and away from doors, windows, or ventilation outlets. If you're under 800 ppm, your ventilation is good. Between 800 and 1500 ppm, it's adequate but could be improved. Over 1500 ppm, your ventilation is officially poor and you need to act. Pragmatic Winter Compromises: The guidance addresses the real-world conflict between keeping kids warm and keeping their air clean. Partially open windows, open higher-level windows to reduce drafts, air out rooms for 10 minutes every hour during breaks. But crucially, do not prop fire doors open to get cross ventilation. Beyond CO2: The document talks about multifunctional environmental sensors that can track temperature, humidity, particulate matter like PM2.5 and PM10, and volatile organic compounds from sources like formaldehyde, cleaning chemicals, body odors, and vaping products. Yes, they specifically mention monitoring for vapes. Air Cleaning Units—With Massive Caveats: The Department for Education is crystal clear that while air cleaning units reduce airborne contaminants including viruses, bacteria, and fungal spores, they do absolutely nothing to improve ventilation or lower CO2 levels. They are not a substitute for ventilation. The government only recommends HEPA filtration units—subtractive technology that physically catches pollutants. They explicitly reject air ionizers, ozone generators, and units with unenclosed UV fields. The Funding Sting: Between 2021 and 2023, the Department for Education provided CO2 monitors and air cleaning units to all state-funded education settings. But now, in 2026, the guidance explicitly states that the government will not replace faulty or damaged devices, and they will not pay for replacement filters. The ongoing financial burden of maintaining clean air has been shifted entirely onto individual school budgets. The Controversial Bits: The guidance talks about bringing in fresh outdoor air—a phrase doing a lot of heavy lifting when many schools are backed up against busy roads. It standardizes on NDIR CO2 sensors, which are solid but arguably already behind the times compared to photoacoustic sensors. And that 1500 ppm threshold—many in our community will argue that allowing CO2 levels anywhere near 1500 ppm is simply not acceptable for vulnerable populations. Ventilation and Air Quality in Education and Childcare Settings UK Department for Education, 24 February 2026 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ventilation-and-air-quality-in-education-and-childcare-settings/ventilation-and-air-quality-in-education-and-childcare-settings The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The UK's New School Air Quality Guidance 00:01:15 The Science Is Settled: Air Quality as Basic Health and Safety 00:02:16 The Monitoring Solution: CO2 as Your Ventilation Indicator 00:03:19 The Traffic Light System: Understanding CO2 Thresholds 00:04:03 Winter Pragmatism: Balancing Warmth and Fresh Air 00:04:46 Beyond CO2: Multifunctional Environmental Sensors 00:05:36 Air Cleaning Units: The Promise and the Limitations 00:06:39 HEPA Only: The Government's Firm Stance on Technology 00:07:41 The Sting in the Tail: Who Pays for Ongoing Maintenance 00:08:56 The Uncomfortable Details: Fresh Air, NDIR, and 1500 PPM 00:10:41 The Bottom Line: Science Won, Now the Funding Battle Begins

    12 min
  4. Finish Line Problem: Defining What Healthy Buildings Mean for Human Bodies - Stephanie Taylor #112

    30 MAR

    Finish Line Problem: Defining What Healthy Buildings Mean for Human Bodies - Stephanie Taylor #112

    This week, we sit down with Stephanie Taylor, a unique physician architect whose career is dedicated to bridging the deep chasm between the medical profession and the built environment, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about buildings: What if the real problem isn't just that our buildings are failing us—but that we're measuring the wrong things entirely? As medical advisor for ThinkLite Air, she applies her clinical insights to the development of advanced air sensing and cleaning technology, transforming raw environmental data into actionable health impact scores. By integrating medical science into engineering standards, she continues to champion the idea that engineers are in many ways the physicians of the future, responsible for the preventative care of billions of people who spend so much of their time indoors. Key Topics Discussed: Buildings as Extensions of Health: Why treating buildings as part of caring for human health could be one of the biggest advances of our century. The opportunities are clear: decreased acute and chronic diseases, improved productivity, better financial outcomes. But will we actually do it? The obstacles include resistance to change, difficulty bringing the medical community into building management, and the legal ramifications of talking about health. Defining the Finish Line: What does good indoor environmental health actually look like? Stephanie's answer: an indoor space that does not increase our physiological stress level. Not just measuring hazards, but diminishing components of the indoor environment that cause stress on our cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological, and immune systems. The Imperceptible Forces Problem: We design buildings and respond to environments as we can perceive them—rain, cold, visible mould. But the imperceptible exposures are the ones causing us problems. Low humidity impairing immunity. Ultrafine particles penetrating deep into the lungs. VOCs we cannot smell. The challenge is monitoring and controlling what we cannot sense. The Platinum Building Paradox: Why even the most advanced buildings with all the badges can fail spectacularly. A healthy buildings conference held in a room where 100 experts sat in a fog of their own breath for four hours, CO2 climbing to 3,000 parts per million in one of the smartest buildings in London. The disconnect between design intent and operational reality. Beyond Wells Riley: Rethinking how we model risk. The traditional Wells Riley equation models exposure to infectious bioaerosols. Stephanie is expanding that framework to model not only exposure risk, but also what indoor air quality is doing to your immune system—your protective mechanisms. It's not just how many weapons are shooting at you, but your ability to defend yourself. ThinkLite and the Health Index: Seeing what's going on through sensors, analyzing the data in a way that is relevant for the human body system by system—lungs, brain, cardiovascular health—and then remediating. Turning arbitrary data points into relevant health metrics. Moving from zigzag lines on dashboards to actionable health impact scores GUEST: Stephanie Taylor Physician Architect | ASHRAE Fellow | Medical Advisor, ThinkLite Air Stephanie Taylor - LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-taylor-md-b6456b8/ https://www.thinkliteair.com/ The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/ Farmwood (https://farmwood.co.uk/) - Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Ultra Protect (https://www.ultra-protect.co.uk/air-quality-matters) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website. (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) If you haven't checked out the YouTube channel its here (https://www.youtube.com/@airqualitymatters-SimonJones). Do subscribe if you can, lots more content is coming soon. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: Buildings as an Extension of Human Health 00:06:42 The Medical-Building Disconnect: Why Healthcare Must Join the Conversation 00:12:17 Defining the Finish Line: What Does a Healthy Building Actually Look Like? 00:23:29 The Imperceptible Hazards: Why We Design for What We Can Sense 00:27:38 The Autonomic Building: Automation as an Extension of Human Physiology 00:33:27 The Platinum Building Paradox: When Award-Winning Spaces Fail Their Occupants 01:01:43 The Legal Minefield: Why Talking About Health Is Terrifying for Building Professionals 00:51:23 Think Light Air: Translating Environmental Data into Human Health Impact Scores 01:40:37 Beyond Wells-Riley: Modeling Vulnerability, Not Just Exposure 01:28:54 The Path Forward: Regulation, Education, and the Courage to Do the Hard Thing

    1hr 57min
  5. Federal and State Policy: The Missing Piece in the Indoor Air Quality Puzzle - OT40

    26 MAR

    Federal and State Policy: The Missing Piece in the Indoor Air Quality Puzzle - OT40

    This week, we tackle a question that cuts through decades of technical progress and scientific consensus: What if the reason we still don't have clean indoor air isn't because we lack the technology—but because we lack the policy to actually implement it? The paper is a policy commentary titled Federal and State Policy Opportunities to Improve Indoor Air Quality, published in the Journal of Health Security. It's authored by a powerhouse group of experts, including Georgia Lagoudas and colleagues from Brown University, Harvard, and several other leading institutions. Many of them have been previous guests on this podcast. This isn't a theoretical exercise. It's a roadmap—a practical, actionable menu of policy interventions that could finally bring indoor air quality into the same regulatory and public health framework that we've successfully built for drinking water, fire safety, and smoking bans. Here's the glaring truth: we spend about 90% of our time indoors, yet we have no unified national initiative for clean indoor air. We have the Clean Air Act. We have the EPA regulating outdoor air. But outdoor regulations completely fail to account for the fact that outdoor pollutants make their way inside—where we spend all our time—and they ignore the fact that indoor spaces have their own unique pollutant sources. Concentrations of certain pollutants can be two to five times higher indoors than outdoors. And outdoor regulations do absolutely nothing to address one of the biggest indoor threats: the spread of respiratory pathogens like COVID-19 and influenza. Key Topics Discussed: The Current Mess: The federal government doesn't really regulate indoor air outside of occupational settings, leaving jurisdiction to state and local governments. Building codes are adopted and enforced locally, creating a massive patchwork of different standards. Some states like California, Connecticut, and Minnesota have taken steps, especially for schools, but there's no comprehensive national roadmap. Develop Health-Based Indoor Air Quality Targets: Right now, building owners and facility managers don't have a simple unified goal. We need clear thresholds for easy-to-measure indicators like carbon dioxide and PM2.5. The EPA or a coalition of NGOs should publish voluntary health-based targets, providing a clear benchmark that states and local entities can adopt. If you don't know what the target is, you can't hit it. Support States and Local Communities to Adopt Standards: Develop a national model indoor air quality code—similar to national model energy codes. Provide tax incentives to commercial buildings that make indoor air quality improvements, similar to deductions for energy efficient buildings. Create a state playbook filled with template language for regulations and building codes to make it easy for local governments to take action. Implement Sector-Specific Standards: Schools need indoor air quality monitors, regular HVAC inspections, and better filtration. Nursing homes should have indoor air quality standards as a strict condition of participation, just like hospitals. Federal buildings housing around a million federal employees need robust ventilation verification programs. OSHA needs to update its permissible exposure limits—many were developed in the 1970s, nearly half a century ago. The Two Biggest Priorities: Developing health-based indoor air quality targets and getting states to adopt indoor air quality building standards. If we can agree on what good air looks like and put it into the building code, the market will innovate to meet those demands. Federal and State Policy Opportunities to Improve Indoor Air Quality 10.1177/23265094251410880 (https://doi.org/10.1177/23265094251410880) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The Missing Framework for Clean Indoor Air 00:01:12 The Glaring Gap: Why Indoor Air Quality Has Been Ignored 00:01:45 Why Outdoor Regulations Fail Indoors 00:02:22 The Astronomical Cost of Inaction 00:03:01 The Current Mess: A Patchwork of Standards 00:03:55 Recommendation One: Health-Based Indoor Air Quality Targets 00:04:43 Recommendation Two: Supporting States with Standards and Financing 00:05:38 Recommendation Three: Sector-Specific Standards 00:07:13 Recommendation Four: Research and the Wild West of Air Purifiers 00:08:30 The Bottom Line: Clean Air Is a Choice We Must Make

    11 min
  6. Free Radicals, Diesel Particles, and the War Zone in Your Lungs - Frank Kelly #111

    23 MAR

    Free Radicals, Diesel Particles, and the War Zone in Your Lungs - Frank Kelly #111

    This week, we sit down with Frank Kelly, Professor at Imperial College London and Director of the Environmental Research Group, to examine a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about air pollution: What if the real danger isn't just how much dust we're breathing, but what that dust is made of and what it does to our bodies at a cellular level? For over three decades, Frank Kelly has been one of the architects of London's modern understanding of air quality. His pioneering work on the oxidative potential of particulate matter has transformed how we evaluate the toxicity of everything from diesel exhaust to wood smoke. By proving how these pollutants trigger harmful free radical reactions and deplete antioxidants in the lungs, he provided the scientific backbone for London's most ambitious public health interventions, including the Congestion Charging Zone and Ultra Low Emissions Zone. Key Topics Discussed: Beyond Size and Mass: Why PM10, PM2.5, and ultrafine particles are categorized by size, but size alone doesn't tell us what's actually harmful. The real story is in the chemistry, the physics, and the biology of what those particles carry and what they do when they reach the lung. The Meteor Analogy: Particulate matter isn't just carbon spheres. It's a complex, ever-changing cocktail of metals, gases, chemicals, and biological material that picks up and sheds components as it moves through the environment and into our bodies. Oxidative Potential: What free radicals are, why transition metals on particle surfaces drive oxidative stress, and how the body's antioxidant defences like glutathione, vitamin C, and vitamin E fight back. When the balance tips, inflammation and cellular damage begin. The Seesaw Model: On one side, you have particulate pollution with oxidative potential. On the other, your body's natural defences. Your genetics, your diet, and your environment all determine where you sit on that seesaw and when the damage starts. The London Success Story: How Frank's research directly influenced the introduction of the Ultra Low Emissions Zone. The data showed that children living in East London exposed to heavy traffic pollution had slower lung growth than children outside London. That evidence became the catalyst for policy change. Indoor Air Quality and the Well Home Study: Over 100 homes in West London instrumented for two months each to understand indoor pollution sources. The findings: damp and mould in social housing, gas cooking as a major pollutant source, and pollution migrating from kitchens into children's bedrooms where it stayed trapped overnight. The Microplastics Problem: Modern tyres are 55% plastic. As the fossil fuel industry loses its market in surface transport, it's shifting to plastic production. Frank's team has developed methods to characterize plastic particles in air, water, and food. The challenge: distinguishing plastic signatures from human tissue in toxicology studies. The Future of Air Quality Monitoring: Moving beyond mass-based metrics to real-time oxidative potential monitoring. Frank's team is developing prototype instruments that measure free radical activity in the air instantaneously, allowing us to identify which pollution sources are truly harmful. GUEST: Frank Kelly Professor, Imperial College London | Director, Environmental Research Group https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/frank.kelly The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/ Farmwood (https://farmwood.co.uk/) - Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Ultra Protect (https://www.ultra-protect.co.uk/air-quality-matters) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website. (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) If you haven't checked out the YouTube channel its here (https://www.youtube.com/@airqualitymatters-SimonJones). Do subscribe if you can, lots more content is coming soon. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The Hidden Complexity of Particulate Matter 00:05:50 Understanding PM10, PM2.5, and Ultrafine Particles 00:08:01 The Lung as an Open Door: Why We're Vulnerable 00:09:52 The Meteor Effect: What Particles Are Really Made Of 00:20:41 The Seesaw Battle: Oxidative Potential and Free Radicals 00:25:46 The London Laboratory: Evidence That Drove the Ultra Low Emission Zone 00:59:13 The Indoor Air Quality Challenge: A New Frontier 01:11:43 The Kitchen Problem: Why Cooking Dominates Indoor Pollution 01:26:46 The Research Ecosystem: Eight Teams Tackling Air Quality 01:44:51 The Future: Real-Time Oxidative Potential Monitoring

    1hr 49min
  7. The Human Nose vs. The Lab: Testing Air Cleaners That Actually Improve Indoor Air Quality - OT39

    19 MAR

    The Human Nose vs. The Lab: Testing Air Cleaners That Actually Improve Indoor Air Quality - OT39

    This week, we dive into a question that challenges one of the most common assumptions in building energy efficiency: What if the chemical tests we use to validate air cleaning technology are completely missing the point—and what if the human nose is actually the most reliable instrument we have? The paper is titled A Method for Testing the Gas Phase Air Cleaners Using Sensory Assessment of Air Quality, published in the Journal of Building and Environment. It's authored by Cantor Amada, Lee Fang, Pavel Wargocki, and colleagues from Waseda University in Japan and the Technical University of Denmark. This research was conducted as part of the IEA Energy and Buildings and Communities Annex 78 project, and it proposes a radically practical testing protocol for gas phase air cleaners—one that puts human perception at the center, not just chemical spreadsheets. But here's the problem. Current standards typically test these air cleaners by challenging them with a few selected chemicals—measuring how well they remove formaldehyde, for example. But indoor air contains hundreds of different gaseous pollutants. If you only use chemical analysis on a handful of compounds, you might completely underestimate real-world performance. Worse, you might completely miss harmful byproducts the air cleaner is actually creating. Key Topics Discussed: Subtractive vs. Additive Air Cleaners: Subtractive cleaners remove chemicals using things like activated carbon. Additive cleaners decompose chemicals using active components like photocatalytic oxidation, ion generators, UV, or ozone. Some additive technologies can transform relatively harmless pollutants into dangerous unwanted species—or pump ozone into the space. If your chemical test isn't looking for those specific byproducts, the machine gets a pass grade while actively making the room worse. The Two-Phase Testing Protocol: Phase one is a screening phase—do no harm. The goal is simply to make sure the air cleaner doesn't have a negative effect on air quality. Phase two is the deep dive, testing the air cleaners at various ventilation rates from very low to standard levels, with panelists rating acceptability and odor intensity. The UVO Zone Device Failed Immediately: One additive air cleaner—a UVO zone device—actually increased the odor intensity in the room, particularly when humans were present. It was dropped from the study. An ion generator was allowed through to phase two just to see if poor results would be repeated. They were. It significantly decreased the acceptability of the air. Activated Carbon Worked—But Only for Building Materials: When the pollution source was purely building materials like old carpets and linoleum, the activated carbon air cleaners significantly improved air quality. But when the pollutant source was humans—people just sitting there breathing and existing—the air cleaners did not significantly improve perceived air quality. The Chemical Data Lied: Parallel chemical measurements showed that total VOCs dropped significantly when using the carbon air cleaners, regardless of whether the pollutant came from materials or humans. If you were only looking at the chemical spreadsheet, you would say the air cleaners worked perfectly in all scenarios. But the human panelists were telling a completely different story. The chemical measurements simply did not match the sensory evaluations. The ISO 16000-44 Standard: This research heavily supports the new ISO 16000-44 standard approved in 2023, which outlines the test method for measuring perceived indoor air quality to test the performance of gas phase cleaners. The sector is slowly recognizing that the human experience is a metric. A Method for Testing the Gas Phase Air Cleaners Using Sensory Assessment of Air Quality https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2024.111630 The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The Challenge of Testing Gas Phase Air Cleaners 00:01:14 The Energy Dilemma: Why Air Cleaners Matter for Buildings 00:02:12 The Chemical Testing Problem: What Current Standards Miss 00:02:53 Additive vs Subtractive: Understanding Air Cleaner Technologies 00:03:43 The Human Nose Solution: Sensory Assessment as a Testing Method 00:04:04 The Experimental Setup: Real Materials and Real People 00:04:50 Phase One Results: The Do No Harm Screening 00:05:54 Phase Two Deep Dive: Testing at Various Ventilation Rates 00:06:31 The Big Reveal: When Chemical Data Doesn't Match Human Experience 00:07:28 The Massive Implication: Why Chemical Analysis Alone Fails 00:08:21 The Path Forward: ISO 16000-44 and Sensory Testing Standards 00:09:24 Closing Thoughts: The Human Nose Remains Essential

    10 min
  8. Sheep's Wool, Formaldehyde, and the Chemical Experiment in Your Living Room - Mark Lynn #110

    16 MAR

    Sheep's Wool, Formaldehyde, and the Chemical Experiment in Your Living Room - Mark Lynn #110

    This week, we sit down with Mark Lynn, Managing Director of Eden Renewable Innovations and Chair of the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products, to explore a question that cuts to the heart of indoor air quality: What if the materials we bring into our buildings are the forgotten foundation of healthy indoor air—and what if natural materials offer solutions we've systematically overlooked for decades? Recorded live at the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products Annual Healthy Buildings Conference in London, this conversation takes us deep into the world of building materials, their chemistry, their moisture behavior, and their profound impact on the air we breathe indoors. Mark brings over two decades of experience in natural fiber insulation and nearly 30 years in natural building materials, with a particular focus on building physics and the chemistry of materials. Key Topics Discussed: The Forgotten Inflection Point: In the mid to late 1990s, society cared deeply about indoor air quality. MDF was scrutinized for formaldehyde emissions. Smoking bans were introduced. Ventilation moved up the agenda. But somewhere around the early 2000s, we shifted our focus entirely to ventilation as the sole solution—and stopped asking hard questions about the materials themselves. The Chemical Experiment: A single 1970s living room contained perhaps a dozen materials, most locally sourced. Today's living rooms contain thousands of materials, sourced globally, with complex chemistries we barely understand. We are living in a grand chemical experiment, and the results won't be clear for decades. Hurdle Technology and the Swiss Cheese Model: Ventilation alone is not enough. Good indoor air quality requires multiple layers of defense—elimination of harmful materials at source, moisture buffering through hygroscopic materials like wood and wool, and only then, ventilation as a final backstop. Relying on ventilation alone assumes it works perfectly. It rarely does. The Moisture Problem: Ventilation removes 95% of moisture from a building. But the remaining 5% can cause catastrophic problems—mold, structural decay, and poor air quality. Natural materials like sheep's wool and wood fiber can buffer moisture safely, acting as a critical redundancy when ventilation underperforms. Wool and Formaldehyde: Sheep's wool uniquely reacts with formaldehyde through a condensation reaction, permanently binding the carbon from formaldehyde into the keratin protein structure of the fiber. It's not just inert—it's actively neutralizing a harmful indoor pollutant. GUEST: Mark Lynn Managing Director, Eden Renewable Innovations | Chair, Alliance for Sustainable Building Products https://asbp.org.uk/ https://thermafleece.com/ The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/ Farmwood (https://farmwood.co.uk/) - Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Ultra Protect (https://www.ultra-protect.co.uk/air-quality-matters) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website. (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) If you haven't checked out the YouTube channel its here (https://www.youtube.com/@airqualitymatters-SimonJones). Do subscribe if you can, lots more content is coming soon. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The Forgotten Fundamentals of Building Materials 00:02:19 The Inflection Points: When We Cared About Indoor Air Quality 00:05:16 The Chemical Soup: Living Rooms Then and Now 00:08:16 The Grand Chemical Experiment: Unknown Long-Term Impacts 00:10:58 Custodianship and Consumption: The Lost Art of Make Do and Mend 00:13:07 Particles as Trojan Horses: The Chemistry Happening in Your Home 00:15:22 Hurdle Technology: The Swiss Cheese Approach to Risk Management 00:17:34 Learning from Food: Why Digestive Biscuits Have Better Moisture Science 00:20:15 The Ventilation Fallacy: What Happens When Your Backup Plan Fails 00:25:00 Natural Technology: The Evolution Already Solved the Problem 00:32:59 The Standards Dilemma: Innovation Versus Established Frameworks 00:36:00 Post-Completion Reality: When Sensors Reveal the Truth 00:38:27 Transparency and AI: The Coming Revolution in Material Selection 00:57:59 Sheep's Wool and Formaldehyde: When Materials Fight Pollutants 01:01:20 The Trajectory Forward: Capacity, Policy, and Bottom-Up Change 01:04:39 From Belfast to Buildings: Optimism Through Experience

    1hr 7min
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Air Quality Matters inside our buildings and out.This Podcast is about Indoor Air Quality, Outdoor Air Quality, Ventilation, and Health in our homes, workplaces, and education settings.And we already have many of the tools we need to make a difference.The conversations we have and how we share this knowledge is the key to our success.We speak with the leaders at the heart of this sector about them and their work, innovation and where this is all going.Air quality is the single most significant environmental risk we face to our health and wellbeing, and its impacts on us, our friends, our families, and society are profound.From housing to the workplace, education to healthcare, the quality of the air we breathe matters. Air Quality Matters

Information

  • Creator
    Simon Jones
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    169
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Air Quality Matters
  • Show Website
    Air Quality Matters

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