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Key figures on indoor air quality

Written by Pierre Alexandre Deveau | Mar 27, 2023 10:13:59 AM

Indoor air quality is a vast area of expertise, and numerous figures circulate on the internet about it. Whether you are a journalist, scientist, or simply curious to learn more about the air you breathe, JVD presents today a compilation of key figures related to indoor air quality (IAQ).
 
IAQ concentration figures

  • Indoor air is 10 times more polluted than outdoor air, according to OQAI.

  • There are more than 5,000 pollutants in indoor air, according to Isabella Annesi-Maesano, a professor of environmental epidemiology.

  • A European standard establishes the ideal humidity level in the air of a dwelling between 30 and 70%, but French doctors have agreed to tighten this guideline value to between 40 and 60%.
     
IAQ health figures

  • One in three people is allergic in France in 2023, according to the WHO, and soon one in two by 2050.

  • More than three out of four children breathe air that negatively impacts their health in France, according to UNICEF.

  • There are 12 times fewer risks of coronavirus contamination in a classroom equipped with an air purifier, according to a project led by engineer Bert Blocken (KU Leuven/TU Eindhoven), virologist Marc Van Ranst (KU Leuven), and Leen Peeters (Th! Nk E).

  • Living within 50 meters of a road axis increases the risk of developing asthma by 180%, according to Dr. Laurent Nicod, head of the pulmonology department at the University Hospital of Vaud (Switzerland).

  • Nosocomial infections represent approximately 750,000 infections per year and would be the direct cause of 4,000 deaths in France, according to INSERM.

  • Each year in France, nearly 40,000 deaths are attributable to exposure of people aged 30 and over to fine particles (PM2.5), according to Santé Publique France.

  • In 2019, air pollution caused approximately 9 million premature deaths worldwide, according to The Lancet Planetary Health.
      
IAQ behavioral figures

  • 80% of our time is spent indoors, according to the Ministry of Ecological Transition.

  • On average, 15,000 liters of air are breathed per day per person, according to Recosanté.

  • According to the Canadian Lung Association, the average adult breathes more than 900 times per hour.

  • On average, 16% of hotel guests complain about unpleasant odors in these establishments, according to Coach Omnium.

  • If possible, open windows in your premises for at least 5 to 10 minutes a day to achieve CO2 levels below 800ppm (recommended threshold value) for a frequented space (meeting room, open spaces). 

  • HEPA air purifiers can improve productivity by up to 11% in an indoor space thanks to their beneficial effects on air quality, according to the Ministry of Solidarity and Health.

     

  • Short-term sick leave decreases by 10% when indoor air pollutants are reduced by half in workspaces, according to a study by REHVA.

     

  • The cost of absenteeism due to poor indoor air quality is estimated at €450 per year per employee, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.

  • The cost of urban pollution is €1,200 per inhabitant per year in the Lyon and Grenoble agglomerations, according to INSERM and CNRS.

 
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