YouTube video by Al Haddrell

Watch Photo exhibition highlights reality of Canadians with long COVID Video Online, on GlobalNews.ca

Join global leaders, policymakers, scientists and health experts for Healthy Indoor Air: A Global Call to Action – the inaugural High-Level Side Event on indoor air quality, to take place on the sidel...

Violet Affleck, the daughter of Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck, has now advocated for the return of mask mandates to help protect the vulnerable, during a speech at a UN event in New York.

This chapter describes the evidence of the effects of indoor air quality (IAQ) on learning of children and gives an overview of the size of the effects expected. The results from the published experiments on the effects of classroom air quality on the performance of...

Indoor air quality (IAQ) in classrooms is a crucial factor in the growing health of children as they spend significant amounts of time in school. The present work examines indoor air quality in school classrooms, the relationship between indoor air and outdoor air, and a possible risk to children’s learning. Four IAQ parameters, particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), carbon dioxide (CO2), temperature, and relative humidity, are assessed using a sensor-based device. Measurements were taken inside classrooms with windows open for non-air conditioner rooms, closed for air-conditioner rooms, and on the street outside the school boundary. Results indicate the exceedance of particulate matter concentrations beyond the thresholds set by the World Health Organization (WHO). Furthermore, the mean concentration of CO2 is high for the air conditioner room, and relative humidity was identified as slightly higher for one school classroom. Employing the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) model, the research analyzes the respiratory deposition dose (RDD) of PM2.5. It evaluates associated non-carcinogenic risks using the hazard quotient (HQ). Notably, the study reveals that the HQ in all classrooms surpassed the critical value of 1, indicating an elevated risk of bronchial diseases among students. Additionally, the Multiple Path Particle Dosimetry analysis suggests a higher deposition of PM in the lungs, with a predominant occurrence within the respiratory tract, particularly notable in younger children than adolescents. It concludes that urgent interventions are needed to improve school IAQ conditions, particularly in traffic-congested areas.

In educational environments such as school classrooms, indoor air quality has a significant impact on the health and learning ability of children and adolescents. This study investigates how to optimally place and operate two air purifiers in a national standard-size classroom to improve air quality uniformly and effectively. Ten cases were analyzed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, considering various placements and airflow directions of air purifiers. The air purification performance was evaluated by monitoring changes in the concentrations of major pollutants in the classroom, including PM2.5 and CO2, and the airflow distribution and average air age index were applied to evaluate the airflow circulation. The results showed that when the air purifiers were placed symmetrically to minimize mutual discharge airflow interference, pollutant removal and airflow uniformity were maximized. Case 3, where the air purifiers were placed at opposite corners of the classroom to circulate air throughout the classroom, showed the best performance. This study provides a systematic approach and analysis results to optimize indoor air quality in classrooms and contribute to student health and learning environments.

TORONTO — Restaurants are under pressure as consumers steer away from dining out, while rising operational costs squeeze profit margins, a new report shows. Three in four Canadians are eating out less...

Picture a typical family gathering today. Most people have moved on from masking: kids run around freely, aunts and uncles chat over snacks, and only a couple of family members still choose to wear we...

YouTube video by More Perfect Union

How many cigarettes did you smoke because of air pollution?

Berkeley Earth uses global air pollution data to dervive the equivalence between the health impacts of fine particulate air pollution and cigarette smoking.

The home page of the Canadian Aerosol Transmission Coalition – a group of individuals sharing their knowledge and expertise to help guide government leaders and public health officials with their deci...