News analysis with BESA
Engineers now have more tools to tackle the building health crisis
The intense focus on addressing health problems linked to poor quality ventilation and air fi ltration in buildings has prompted several recent ‘game changing’ developments, according to the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA).
G
rowing numbers of healthcare experts now recognise that investment in building and facilities management can have a dramatic
impact on a range of chronic illnesses. And, in response, the industry is investing considerable time, expertise and money in updating its technical guidance and training.
The latest example is a new specifi cation for ventilation hygiene which has been widely hailed as “a big step towards revolutionising air quality in buildings”. BESA’s TR19® Air ‘Specifi cation for internal cleanliness and hygiene management of ventilation systems’ was designed to address an “urgent need for better cleaning and maintenance of ventilation ducting”. This has been highlighted by healthcare professionals as crucial to reducing building occupants’ exposure to harmful airborne particulates and pollutants. To support the new specifi cation, the Association’s
training Academy has also updated two of its air hygiene training courses. These are designed so contractors can help their clients meet health & safety obligations and comply with increasingly stringent legislation. The new TR19® Air Hygiene Operative course
provides training on cleaning ventilation systems to the required standards with operatives having to complete both theory and practical tests. The second course, Air Hygiene Technician, is for those who, as well as cleaning, must also be able to produce risk assessments/method statements (RAMS); install access panels, and inspect, test and report on the cleanliness of the system.
Risky
“Cleaning ventilation ductwork has often been considered one of those ‘out of sight out of mind’ tasks that can be postponed or avoided entirely to reduce cost, but the Covid-19 pandemic proved just how risky that strategy is,” said BESA technical director Graeme Fox.
“Poorly maintained, dirty air ducts cannot provide
for measuring, monitoring, and reporting indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in all types of non- domestic buildings. It includes an evaluation and rating system for air quality, lighting, thermal comfort, and acoustics.
It champions tighter exposure limits based on the UK government’s own Daily Air Quality Index, World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines which were updated in 2021, and existing measures in Approved Document F, as well as other industry standards including BS EN 16798-1. This makes it another important tool in the armoury of ventilation and air quality contractors.
Investment
Healthcare specialist Dr Philip Webb, chief executive of Respiratory Innovation Wales (RIW), helped to develop the new standard which he said was a response to a growing “indoor environmental quality (IEQ) crisis”.
the level of air quality needed to safeguard human health and well-being in buildings. Accumulated debris in air ducts can obstruct the airfl ow, forcing fans to work harder to maintain the desired temperature and air change rates.” Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is aff ected by a cocktail of
contaminants including carbon monoxide from cooking and heating, spores from mould and condensation, particulate matter, and smoking. Also, more volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted from indoor sources than transport. Fox also pointed out that ventilation management was at the heart of the challenge to reduce energy consumption and prolong system life in line with wider carbon reduction goals. “Cleaning will allow the system to operate more effi ciently and reduce wear and tear. This will also be an increasingly important consideration when retrofi tting buildings to achieve net zero,” he said. The new TR19® specifi cation covers all relevant legislation and professional guidance, including BSEN15780 ‘Cleanliness of Ventilation Systems’, which has been the British and European Standard since 2011.
It also refl ects the aspirations of the fi rst British
Standard for Health and Well-being in Buildings British Standard 40102 (Part One), which is being launched this year and provides recommendations for measuring, monitoring, and reporting indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in non-domestic buildings. It is the fi rst standard of its type in the world and
was unveiled at the recent COP28 climate conference in Dubai. It will be formally launched in the UK later this year, and provides recommendations
He believes the standard could play a big part in driving greater investment in building and facilities management and so help reduce excess deaths related to respiratory, cardiovascular, and mental health conditions. He has called for a fundamental reassessment of the way public money and resources were allocated to tackling air quality, which he says is responsible for higher numbers of excess deaths than the Covid-19 pandemic, cancer, heart disease and mental health combined. According to data from Public Health Wales, Covid- 19 was responsible for 38 deaths per 100,000 of the global population, smoking annually accounts for 180, and cancer 278, but air quality is responsible for up to 1,400 excess deaths per 100,000 every year. However, it receives a tiny fraction of the public money and resources allocated to health and wellbeing services. Webb also pointed out that there were 3,000 new
occupational asthma cases reported in the UK every year linked to the air quality in workplaces. “We are suff ering from a legacy of poor building design dating back to the 1960s and 70s,” he said. “With people spending, on average, up to 90% of their time indoors, it is IAQ that is the most serious issue. However, what small amount of government money is spent on environmental quality is aimed at addressing outdoor pollution, so it is increasingly important that we change the whole narrative around this issue. “If properly supported, facilities and building management systems could have a bigger impact on health and wellbeing than the whole of the health and social care system globally,” said Webb. RIW, which is part of the Raven Delta Group,
calculated that in Wales alone £2.4 billion (£763 million on direct health costs) had been spent on mitigating the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak. The country also spends £409m a year on cancer care,
8
May 2024
DOWNLOAD THE HVR APP NOW
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
