People spend 90% of their time in indoor spaces so everyone is affected by poor air quality and pollution, but this has more negative effects for people with asthma, allergy and COPD as they are the first to react and the symptoms of their disease are worsened by bad indoor air quality.
On the 11th of May, the European Ventilation Industry Association (EVIA) hosted the seminar “Indoor Air Quality in energy efficient buildings” that brought together representatives from industry, the EU Institutions, patients and other stakeholders. EFA Senior EU Policy Advisor Roberta Savli was invited to present the patients’ perspective on this issue.
The World Health Organisation has recognised since 2000 the right to breathe good indoor air quality (IAQ), but this right is constantly breached. Roberta presented patient recommendations to improve indoor air quality. In particular, indoor air quality requirements should be included in national legislations, especially for schools and kindergardens, and with the final objective of being in line with WHO recommended guidelines. EU legislations should also tackle indoor air pollutants, by including IAQ considerations in the review of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (link?), as well as in the upcoming legislation review on EU regulations on Health and Safety at Work.
Other sectorial policies should also be strengthened, such as limiting ambient air pollution, exposure to chemicals and banning second-hand smoke in line with WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Finally, patient associations, EFA members should have a crucial role in decisions influencing the health of the patients they represent as they can bring forward the unique expertise of what it means to live with the disease and experience the bad indoor air quality.
To know more about the event, please visit EVIA’s Press Release.