The Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology (POST) is working on a new POSTnote on indoor air quality.
Indoor air quality can be affected by a range of factors, including infiltrations from outdoor pollution, and emissions from combustion appliances (such as stoves) and consumer products. Pollutants are often more concentrated indoors, due to reduced circulation, and exacerbated by mould and damp. Poor indoor air quality can have adverse effects on health, such as increased risk of heart disease, stroke and respiratory infections.
This briefing will identify contributors to improved and compromised indoor air quality, and subsequent effects on health. The note will identify groups that are at increased risk of ill-health due to indoor air quality and outline wider impacts on the NHS. It will review existing guidelines for indoor air quality, with reference to potential gaps in evidence and legislation.
POST produces impartial, non-partisan, and peer-reviewed briefings, designed to make scientific research accessible to the UK Parliament.