The pandemic highlighted how much the air we breathe indoors impacts our health, wellbeing and productivity.

For decades, action on air quality has focused on improving outdoor air. However, most of the risk from breathing hazardous air, including airborne infections, pollution, bushfire smoke, allergens and poor ventilation, occurs indoors. This is where we now need to focus our efforts.

The Pathway to Clean Indoor Air in Victoria project will implement and evaluate indoor air quality interventions for public settings, develop user-friendly technical guidance and explore policy options. The project will develop an investment case for indoor air quality improvement specific to Victoria.

We aim to reduce the health, social, and economic impacts of indoor airborne infections and hazards.

Approach

The project will test, refine and evaluate a range of practical interventions to improve indoor air quality.  

We will test real-time indoor air quality monitoring, low-cost solutions including ventilation and air cleaning (filtration). We will assess the acceptability and feasibility of these solutions in a range of settings, including schools, workplaces and public spaces. 

Activities that will generate new evidence include:

• implementation with an evaluation of feasible models for IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) monitoring, improvement, and management
• exploring regulation and policy options for IAQ standards
• developing an investment case on the costs and benefits of scaled IAQ solutions.

Benefits to the community

Clean indoor air (or indoor air quality) is the next frontier in public health. It is comparable to how scientific evidence and engineering promoted the adoption of clean water and sanitation in the mid-20th century.  

The pandemic highlighted how much the air we breathe indoors fundamentally impacts our health, wellbeing and productivity. The understanding we gained about aerosol transmission of COVID has shifted thinking on how we combat airborne infections (such as influenza, colds and other viruses) through ventilation, air filtration and disinfection.

Beyond the pandemic, it is well-known that air pollution, including smoke from bushfires, gas stoves, tobacco, pollen, have short- and long-term impacts on our health, the economy, and society.

Studies in schools and workplaces have shown improving air quality enhances test performance, attendance and cognitive performance.

A study by the UK Royal Academy of Engineering in 2022 showed that good air quality could also improve productivity by around 1-4%.

Decades of research has largely focused on outdoor air. However, most of the risk occurs indoors, which is where we now need to focus our efforts. 

Burnet aims to develop a knowledge base that will support the provision of clean indoor air across our society. This will reduce the impact of infectious diseases, pollutants and allergens on our health, wellbeing and the economy.

Clean indoor air solutions operate in the background as passive controls. This means they don’t require significant behaviour change, knowledge or dependence on a person’s ability to access tools such as tests, treatments or masks. Clean air strategies promote health equity if they can be delivered at scale in public settings.

For more information, please contact cleanindoorair@burnet.edu.au.

See also: 'Grattan on Friday: Experts want Albanese to lead on indoor air quality as part of pandemic planning' published in The Conversation.