Low-Cost Indoor Air Pollution Monitoring Helps Protect Children’s Health

Co-author and Clean Air Fellow Owain Rose commented: “Indoor air quality is becoming one of the most important factors for public health, as people spend far more time indoors compared to outdoors." 

The high school studied is in an urban area of Cardiff and accommodates approximately 900 pupils, between the ages of 11 and 19. For the two-week study period, three optical particle counter (OPC) sensors were installed in a religious studies classroom, an English studies classroom, and a home economics classroom.

Air pollution is a significant global environmental challenge that endangers human health, especially among vulnerable populations like children.

Schools represent a significant microenvironment for exposure to air pollution during childhood. In the UK, children spend 14.1% of their total year in school, making healthy indoor air quality within school environments vital for safeguarding their health.

The Clean Air Fund and the University of Birmingham, with the generous support of the McCall MacBain Foundation, launched the innovative Clean Air Fellowship in 2022 and the programme has now entered its third year.

Designed by academics who are world-leading in their field, the programme identifies individuals who can demonstrate a strong rationale for studying air pollution and can commit to tackling the problem through their career choice after they graduate.

The Fellowship focusses on recruiting future clean air leaders from the UK and to address the high air pollution levels in Central and Eastern Europe. The partnership with the Clean Air Fund creates extra-curricular learning and networking opportunities through the world’s largest philanthropically funded organisation dedicated to challenging air pollution.