Nearly 100 representatives and leaders from local governmental, social welfare, education, healthcare and architecture organizations gather for collective ideas to improve indoor air quality

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 7 February 2024 - The Clean Air Network (CAN) today organized the "Clean Air for Schools and Beyond" forum, attracting close to 100 representatives and leaders from local governmental, social welfare, education, healthcare and architecture sectors and gathered twelve speakers from industry and academia to address the prospects and challenges facing Hong Kong's indoor environment. Increasing concerns of indoor air quality after the pandemic highlighted the opportunity to educate and promote related research. In view of this, CAN has collaborated with the Institute for the Environment of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (IENV HKUST) from January 2022 to March 2024 on the "Clean Air Schools for Hong Kong" (CASHK) project, which aims to establish the first school-based air monitoring network and provide personalized action plan for eight participated primary schools in the densely populated Sham Shui Po and Tuen Mun districts. To facilitate discussion, CAN organized the "Clean Air For Schools and Beyond" forum which served as a platform to showcase the outcomes of CASHK and extend the awareness on indoor air and green building to a broader audience beyond schools. By sharing knowledge and experiences gained through this project, inspired individuals, organizations and policymakers to take action and create green and healthy indoor environments across Hong Kong. Indoor Air Quality Affects School Children's Health Conditions and Cognitive Development According to data collected from August 2022 to July 2023 for the CASHK project, some participating schools recorded up to 26.9% of the time with a higher AQHI level (level 7 or above) compared to the closest Air Quality Monitoring Stations of the government which showed a moderate level (level 6 and below). This indicates a higher degree of health risk associated with air pollution in schools. The project also found that CO2 levels in most of the classrooms were high averaging approximately 1,100 ppm quarterly, with some classrooms reaching unhealthy levels 50 percent of the time (up to 3000ppm CO2). With CO2 levels that high, it allows bacteria and viruses in the air to remain, increasing the risk of infectious diseases. Students could experience up to an 80% decrease in cognitive functions. Dr. Zhi Ning, Professor, Institute of Environment, Division of Environment and Sustainability, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said at the forum "The real-time data provides more fluid and efficient insights supporting indoor environment research, which could naturally empower on the education and advocacy front for extending the air monitoring network and encourage behavior change in schools." Patrick Fung, CEO of Clean Air Network, said "The past two years was a precious journey and a successful experience for us to extend the initiative and drive discussions around indoor environment in Hong Kong. We are encouraged to progressively move towards the direction of educating schools and communities on air pollution, and we hope to use this reliable data to influence government policies to improve air quality and reduce the risk of infectious and non-infectious diseases in the long term." Indoor Air Quality a Key to Prevent the Next Health Crisis "Pandemic has called for immediate actions to improve indoor air quality to stop the transmission of virus." said Professor Yuguo Li, Chair Professor of Building Environment, the University of Hong Kong during the forum. With poorly ventilated indoor spaces being the key factor for transmission of virus, Li believes that indoor ventilation equipment, exhaust ventilation systems and air filtration in Hong Kong's public areas or buildings should be improved and regulated to prevent the next pandemic, should another highly contagious respiratory virus emerge. Building a Healthy Indoor Environment Through Technology, Built Environments and Policy Advocacy While citizens' health is posed to threat due to poor indoor air quality, there is a consensus that a better use of technology, green buildings and policy enactment could work in synergy and build a healthy indoor environment. CAN's initiatives aim to transform data and research analysis into actions, making a shift in people's behavior and attitudes to create an ideal indoor environment. Collecting real-time data has therefore become one of the focuses of the forum, with technology playing a vital role. Using the CASHK project as an example, CAN employed a mobile application to instantly record the school's daily AQHI level, share the data and issue alerts when needed on the platform. This could help schools in taking prompt and...