Page 28 - Climate Control News May 2022

Indoor Air Quality
FAR LEFT: Swansea University will lead the study.
LEFT: The study will monitor air quality and the health of pregnant women.
Study to examine health of fetuses
RESEARCHERS AT SWANSEA University have launched a major study to discover how eve- ryday pollution impacts on the development and health of fetuses and children.
The study includes indoor spaces. It is de- signed to determine how air pollution exposures of pregnant women pass to the baby and affect organ development, leading to poor health in childhood.
The new study will be the first to track how the function of different organs such as the lungs and brain are impacted by pollution in the home, work, and other indoor places, exploring how
pregnant women might respond differently to air pollution.
Previous studies have shown that air pollution can impact the size of babies and premature birth.
Professor of Human Immunology at Swansea University, Cathy Thornton, said researchers will work directly with women and children.
To conduct the study, biological samples will be obtained from pregnant volunteers at various trimesters, with scientists then ana- lysing the effects of airborne materials on the samples.
The samples will be exposed to PM2.5, alone and in combination with other airborne materi- als such as pollen and viruses.
The team will also measure natural expo- sures in the homes of pregnant women, how women respond to this environment and then follow the health of their babies as they grow up.
The four-year project is a first.
Professor Sir Stephen Holgate, UKRI’s Clean Air champion, said poor air quality affects mil- lions of lives, but the impact of pollutants in- doors is not understood.
Focus on occupant experience not buildings
THE INTERNATIONAL WELL Building Insti- tute (IWBI) has launched theWELL Performance Rating, a new rating that recognises building owners and operators for achieving excellence in healthy building performance.
The aim is to enhance the well-being and ex- perience of the people inside.
Developed in collaboration with a host of smart building technology experts, the rating provides a roadmap for organisations to demonstrate excel- lence in occupant experience and building perfor- mance across key indoor environmental quality (IEQ) indicators related to air quality, water qual- ity, thermal comfort, acoustics and lighting.
IWBI president and CEO, Rachel Hodgdon, said the WELL Performance Rating puts every- one on an accelerated path to make buildings smarter for human health, unlocking the use of new technologies and more intelligent ap-
proaches to improve and enhance well-being and performance.
“Thanks to the contributions of our collabora- tors from across the globe, the rating will con- nect building performance with the experience of the people inside, allowing organisations to make actionable what was once invisible through data and occupant insights,” she said.
Companies involved in the development of the new rating include Carrier, Honeywell, Johnson Controls, Panasonic, Schneider Electric, SGS and Trane Technologies.
Demonstrating a commitment to optimising the health of the people inside the buildings, the following organisations have enrolled in the WELL Performance Rating:
Ethos Engineering CEO, Greg Hayden, said the company has been an early participant in the new rating.
L-R: Honeywell’s vice president and general manager of sustainable buildings, Manish Sharma. Ethos Engineering CEO, Greg Hayden, was an early supporter of the new rating. IWBI president and CEO,
Rachel Hodgdon.
Honeywell headquarters in the United States.
“We have adopted it at our head office in Dub- lin, which is on track to become one of the first in Europe to achieve this standard of building per- formance and analysis,” he said.
Honeywell plans to introduce the WELL Per- formance Rating at its new corporate headquar- ters in the United States.
The company’s vice president and general manager of sustainable buildings, Manish Shar- ma, said the priority is to deliver an unmatched occupant experience to support the well-being of employees and guests while also being conscious of Honeywell’s environmental impact.
The IWBI first announced plans to develop the new rating system in July 2021.
28
CLIMATECONTROLNEWS.COM.AU