A new study reveals that pollution levels inside homes are not only higher but also more unpredictable than outdoor air quality, potentially harming our brains. Researchers used low-cost sensors to measure pollutants in three homes over two weeks, finding alarming levels that exceeded World Health Organisation safety guidelines on several days. Household location, ventilation, and occupancy patterns were found to significantly influence indoor pollution levels, with everyday activities like cooking and using heating appliances contributing to the problem. The study emphasizes the need to pay attention to indoor air quality and highlights the potential for inexpensive monitoring methods to be used nationwide.
While you might think you're breathing easy indoors, away from the pollution of the outside world, new research has revealed that may be far from true.
A team of scientists from the University of Birmingham used "low cost" sensors to measure pollutants in the air in three homes over two weeks and discovered alarming levels of indoor pollution. Shockingly, air inside one house exceeded World Health Organisation safety guidelines on nine days throughout the study.
"Outside air comes in…then there's other sources – things like resuspension of dusts…if you're cooking stuff, if you've got your boiler on, candles, incense, all those things are not only making nice smells but kicking up pollution," Professor Francis Pope from the University of Birmingham, who led the study, told BBC News.
The team say their affordable methods to measure air pollution could be used all over the country to help people better monitor indoor air quality. "Our approach is easily scaled due to its low cost and would allow air quality management in homes across Britain and beyond. This could lead to more accurate pollution exposure models and better-informed public health policies," said Prof Pope.
AIR POLLUTION INDOOR AIR QUALITY HEALTH RISKS RESEARCH HOME ENVIRONMENT
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