Periodic Reporting for period 1 - EDIAQI (EVIDENCE DRIVEN INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT)
Reporting period: 2022-12-01 to 2024-05-31
Indoor air pollution, an emerging threat recognised by European society, is claiming millions of lives annually. In light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, elevated exposure to indoor air pollutants due to increased time spent indoors further faces a significant increase in negative effect on both physical and mental health and well-being not only in Europe, but also worldwide. When it comes to indoor air quality itself, serious knowledge gaps remain in understanding complex nature of indoor-outdoor pollution relationships, pollution sources and exposure pathways, health effects of emerging pollutants, ventilation of indoor spaces on wide spatial and long temporal scales. To increase the resilience of EU for emerging threats of indoor air pollution and to promote living and working in healthy environments, project EDIAQI aims at conducting characterisation of sources and routes of exposure and dispersion of chemical, biological, and emerging indoor air pollution in multiple cities in EU. Quantification of the main properties of pollutants and processes that governs its fate in indoor environments will be investigated on two levels:
a) the-state-of-the-art, small-scale, high-intensity scientific focus measurement campaigns; and
b) long-term, large-scale monitoring of target indoor air pollutants.
The chosen project strategy for developing, characterisation, and deployment of cost-effective/user-friendly monitoring solutions, together with the-state-of-the-art scientific instrumentation will allow to create new knowledge on sources, routes of exposure, and body burdens of indoor multi-pollutants.
a) the-state-of-the-art, small-scale, high-intensity scientific focus measurement campaigns; and
b) long-term, large-scale monitoring of target indoor air pollutants.
The chosen project strategy for developing, characterisation, and deployment of cost-effective/user-friendly monitoring solutions, together with the-state-of-the-art scientific instrumentation will allow to create new knowledge on sources, routes of exposure, and body burdens of indoor multi-pollutants.
The main achievements of the EDIAQI project consortium during the first 18-month period include:
• 4 Pilots and 4 campaigns have been set up and are proceeding to gather data, including 165 monitoring stations in 66 buildings.
• Project Data Platform has been developed and interoperability is being implemented to ensure that data can be transferred automatically from the pilots and campaigns to the project platform.
• Demo version of an IAQ simulation tool has been developed and the EDIAQI Wiki is now live and capturing information easy to understand information on IAQ and the results from the EDIAQI and other IDEAL cluster projects.
• Guidelines for setting up IAQ monitoring stations for pilots have been established.
• Demo version of the IAQ interactive dashboard as part of the guideline for pilots and campaigns.
• Data collected via QR code experiments at three city labs for testing IAQ monitoring solutions
• Demo version of a calibration toolkit is also available.
• 20 Best Practices for pilots on IoT system prototype and visualisations developed.
• Both the retrospective and prospective cohort studies are yielding results towards new scientifically based data for the risk assessment of air pollutants which in turn will facilitate understanding of the early biomarkers of exposure and effects and possible health outcomes.
• In vitro data on different cell models revealed a sensitivity of different cell models towards selected air pollutants either alone or in their mixture.
• Ethics guidelines established for clinical studies and all documentation presented and approved before the relevant ethical committees.
• Data management strategy co-developed with consortium partners and distributed to ensure common understanding.
• Extended presence in closely related policy areas.
• Active engagement in all the working groups of the IDEAL cluster. The EDIAQI team will also take on the leadership of the new working group focussing on microbiome.
• 4 Pilots and 4 campaigns have been set up and are proceeding to gather data, including 165 monitoring stations in 66 buildings.
• Project Data Platform has been developed and interoperability is being implemented to ensure that data can be transferred automatically from the pilots and campaigns to the project platform.
• Demo version of an IAQ simulation tool has been developed and the EDIAQI Wiki is now live and capturing information easy to understand information on IAQ and the results from the EDIAQI and other IDEAL cluster projects.
• Guidelines for setting up IAQ monitoring stations for pilots have been established.
• Demo version of the IAQ interactive dashboard as part of the guideline for pilots and campaigns.
• Data collected via QR code experiments at three city labs for testing IAQ monitoring solutions
• Demo version of a calibration toolkit is also available.
• 20 Best Practices for pilots on IoT system prototype and visualisations developed.
• Both the retrospective and prospective cohort studies are yielding results towards new scientifically based data for the risk assessment of air pollutants which in turn will facilitate understanding of the early biomarkers of exposure and effects and possible health outcomes.
• In vitro data on different cell models revealed a sensitivity of different cell models towards selected air pollutants either alone or in their mixture.
• Ethics guidelines established for clinical studies and all documentation presented and approved before the relevant ethical committees.
• Data management strategy co-developed with consortium partners and distributed to ensure common understanding.
• Extended presence in closely related policy areas.
• Active engagement in all the working groups of the IDEAL cluster. The EDIAQI team will also take on the leadership of the new working group focussing on microbiome.
The results and potential impacts of the EDIAQI project include the following:
• Initial steps to ensure that Public authorities, consumer protection entities and patient associations have access to FAIR data on air pollutants, including both chemical and microbiological determinants, and their main sources for relevant and representative indoor environments and settings in Europe: The Project Data Platform, Indoor Air Quality Wiki.
• Society has access to user-friendly solutions to monitor IAQ, a knowledge base of risk factors associated to human health impacts related to the main indoor air determinants and guidelines for interventions to improve air quality: The Project Data Platform, Indoor Air Quality Wiki, IAQ Simulation Tool.
• Policy-makers are provided with proposals for revised IAQ standards for the main determinants identified to support regulatory measures and improve regulatory monitoring: Work being carried out in WP3,4 and 5.
• The Zero-Pollution Action Plan of the European Green Deal is supported by science-based evidence: Representation of the EDIAQI project at the Zero Pollution Stakeholder workshop “Zero Pollution Monitoring and Outlook” on the 24th and 25th of January 2024; Active sharing of results through the project WIKI and close collaboration with the Zero Pollution Action Plan development team and the IDEAL Cluster projects.
• Initial steps to ensure that Public authorities, consumer protection entities and patient associations have access to FAIR data on air pollutants, including both chemical and microbiological determinants, and their main sources for relevant and representative indoor environments and settings in Europe: The Project Data Platform, Indoor Air Quality Wiki.
• Society has access to user-friendly solutions to monitor IAQ, a knowledge base of risk factors associated to human health impacts related to the main indoor air determinants and guidelines for interventions to improve air quality: The Project Data Platform, Indoor Air Quality Wiki, IAQ Simulation Tool.
• Policy-makers are provided with proposals for revised IAQ standards for the main determinants identified to support regulatory measures and improve regulatory monitoring: Work being carried out in WP3,4 and 5.
• The Zero-Pollution Action Plan of the European Green Deal is supported by science-based evidence: Representation of the EDIAQI project at the Zero Pollution Stakeholder workshop “Zero Pollution Monitoring and Outlook” on the 24th and 25th of January 2024; Active sharing of results through the project WIKI and close collaboration with the Zero Pollution Action Plan development team and the IDEAL Cluster projects.