WATCH: INGENIOUS Project to host webinar on indoor air quality in social housing
The INGENIOUS project, composed of various university scientists, is organising a webinar to discuss the importance of indoor air quality (IAQ) in UK social housing following the Awaab Ishak case.
Titled: Beyond Awaabs Law: Priorities for Indoor Air Quality Actions in the UK, the webinar, which is being delivered in partnership with Born in Bradford and Stockholm Environment Institute, aims to highlight the multiple dimensions of air quality by going beyond moulds and spores to address the broader issues of indoor air quality. By looking beyond social housing, the webinar discusses indoor air quality in private rented homes and owner-occupied homes with the intention that a wider perspective ensures IAQ improvements cut across all types of houses or housing processes.
Scientists from the University of York, University of Manchester, the University of Sheffield, and the University of Cambridge, will be delivering the webinar, which is timely and aligns with the ongoing consultation process of the 2023 Social Housing law. The UK Housing Secretary launched a consultation on 9th January, 2024, on implementing the Social Housing law, also known as Awaab’s law.
The law was proposed into Parliament after two-year-old Awaab Ishak tragically lost his life in December 2020 due to a respiratory condition caused by mould. The young boy lived with his parents in a damp and mould invested flat in Rochdale and despite applying for help countless times, the landlord refused to address the issue.
Supported by DEFRA, the INGENIOUS project, is dedicated to unravelling the impact of various household activities on airborne pollutants. Through investigation, the INGENIOUS project strives to uncover these unknowns and develop practical interventions to minimise exposure. This webinar offers a valuable platform to present INGENIOUS observations on indoor pollutants and how these cut across all sorts of housing in the UK.
Considering that there are no existing singular legislative frameworks for indoor air quality, they are subsumed and captured in subtly interpreted ways in other laws. It is hoped that such a webinar will sensitise participants on IAQ and how this is important for the UK housing sector.
Speakers include:
• Prof. Nicholas Pleace – Director, Centre for Housing Policy, University of York
• Prof. Nic Carslaw – Principal investigator, INGENIOUS, Indoor Air Chemistry, University of York
• Dr. Chantelle Wood – Social psychologist, University of Sheffield
• Prof. Sani Dimitroulopoulou – Principal Environmental Public Health Scientist on Indoor Environments within the Air Quality and Public Health Group, Environmental Hazards and Emergencies Department (EHE), UKHSA
• Prof. Sarah West – Centre Director, SEI York
Click here to register for the webinar
Image: Iyus sugiharto
The challenge of improving indoor air quality in social housing