Air quality coalition to launch Global Open Air Quality Standards
A coalition of major players in the air quality field have come together to standardise the way the world talks about indoor air quality, developing transparent air quality standards that can be understood anywhere.
Given that the world currently measures in μg/m3, ppm or ppb and has a variety of Air Quality Indexes setting a variety of Air Quality standards, the arrival of a unified standard is long overdue, and this is where GO AQS comes in.
The Global Open Indoor Air Quality Standards – developed by scientists, public health professionals and air quality experts – will set clear, easy-to-understand thresholds for air quality indoors.
The intention is that GO AQS is launched in December, by which time the thresholds will have been finalised: ‘We remain committed to working collaboratively with all stakeholders to finalise a version of GO AQS that is both effective and feasible for the industry,’ the group explain in their launch press release. ‘Therefore the coalition is currently finalising the GO AQS standards and developing educational materials to facilitate their global implementation.’
The GO AQS guidelines will classify thresholds into 1-hour, 8-hour, 24-hour, and 1-year mean values, ensuring protection against both short-term spikes in pollutants and long-term exposure.
The standards will be available in two tiers. The GO IAQS Starter offers a basic compliance framework requiring minimal investment. It focusses solely on PM2.5 and CO2, both of which can be accurately measured with low cost sensors.
The second tier, GO IAQS Ultimate, will also include thresholds for carbon monoxide, ozone and formaldehyde.
‘GO AQS aims to be a valuable tool for the public, private sector, and academia alike,’ they explain. ‘Organisations that adopt these standards can enhance the health and well-being of their employees and customers, while simultaneously reducing their environmental footprint. This initiative also supports broader sustainability goals by promoting healthier indoor environments.’
The main committee members at GO AQN are: Christos D. Argyropoulos (EUC, Cyprus), Mazen Jamal (Spacium Consulting, Sweden), Nathan Wood (Farmwood Ltd, BESA, MNIBME, UK) Rohit Chakraborty (UKHSA, UK) and Sotirios Papathanasiou (See The Air, Spain).
The committee is supported by a number of Advisory Experts (including the UK’s Prof. Catherin Noakes and Prof. Prashant Kumar).
GO AQS are focussing on indoor air for now, but intend to turn their attention to ambient air quality in the future.
