HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – February 7, 2024 –
The Clean Air Network (CAN) today hosted the Clean Air for Schools and Beyond forum, attracting nearly 100 representatives and leaders from the local government, social welfare, education, health and of architecture and brought together twelve speakers from industry and academia to address the prospects and challenges facing Hong Kong’s indoor environment.
Patrick Fung, CEO of Clean Air Network delivered the opening speech of the forum
Growing concerns about indoor air quality post-pandemic have highlighted the opportunity to educate and promote related research. With this in mind, CAN 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 air quality monitoring network and provide a personalized action plan for eight participating primary schools in the densely populated Sham Shui Po and Tuen Mun districts.
To facilitate discussions, CAN organized the “Clean Air For Schools and Beyond” forum which served as a platform to present CASHK findings and expand awareness of indoor air and green buildings to a wider audience beyond schools. Sharing knowledge and experiences gained through this project has inspired individuals, organizations and policy makers to take action and create green and healthy indoor environments across Hong Kong.
Indoor air quality affects the health and cognitive development of schoolchildren
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 CAS level (level 7 or higher) compared to CAS monitoring stations. air quality closest to the government that 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 classrooms were high, averaging around 1,100 ppm per term, with some classrooms reaching unhealthy levels 50% of the time (up to 3,000 ppm of CO2). With such high CO2 levels, it allows bacteria and viruses to remain in the air, increasing the risk of infectious diseases. Students may experience a reduction of up to 80% in cognitive function.
Dr. Zhi Ning, professor at the Environment Institute, Division of Environment and Sustainable Development, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said at the forum: “Real-time data provides more fluid and more effective ways to support indoor environmental research, which could naturally empower on the education and advocacy front to expand the air quality monitoring network and encourage behavior change in schools .
Patrick Fung, CEO of Clean Air Network, said: “The past two years have been a valuable journey and successful experiment for us to expand the initiative and stimulate discussions around the indoor environment in Hong Kong. We are encouraged to gradually move towards education. schools and communities about 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 preventing the next health crisis
“The pandemic required immediate actions to improve indoor air quality to stop the transmission of the virus.” said Professor Yuguo Li, Chair Professor of Building Environment at the University of Hong Kong at the forum. As poorly ventilated indoor spaces are the key factor in virus transmission, Li believes that indoor ventilation equipment, exhaust ventilation systems and air filtration in public spaces or buildings in Hong Kong should be improved and regulated to prevent the next pandemic, should a new, highly contagious respiratory disease occur. the virus appears.
Building a healthy indoor environment through technology, built environments and policy advocacy
While the health of citizens is at risk due to poor indoor air quality, there is a consensus that better use of technology, green buildings and adoption of policies could work synergistically and create an environment healthy interior.
CAN initiatives aim to turn research data and analysis into action, changing people’s behavior and attitudes to create an ideal indoor environment. Real-time data collection has therefore become one of the focuses of the forum, with technology playing an essential role. Using the CASHK project as an example, CAN used a mobile application to instantly record the school’s daily CAS level, share the data and issue alerts when needed on the platform. This could help schools take quick, proactive steps to improve indoor humidity, temperature and air circulation. Wilson Ip, Director of Engineering at Kins Engineering, also spoke about fresh air unit technology and how his system can bring fresh air indoors, reducing people’s reliance on air conditioners, and briefly explained common misconceptions about using air conditioners to reduce indoor temperature and humidity. He said traditional air conditioning systems may not be able to effectively control indoor humidity and exhaust impurities outside, but people tend to deal with humidity by lowering the air conditioning temperature level, thus forming a vicious circle on air circulation. However, the fresh air unit allows us to control the circulation of indoor and outdoor air and effectively exhaust contaminants and moisture trapped inside, thereby providing fresh air to the room and saving energy at the same time.
In terms of energy savings, carbon emissions and rising temperatures, these factors are closely linked to air quality. Ar. Dr Tong Ip, founder of Tony Ip Green Architects, pointed out that residential density in Hong Kong is high and buildings account for two-thirds of carbon emissions. Yet, aging buildings and property management operations are important factors in improving the indoor environment. Zero carbon, health and well-being are two key elements of green building. Different standards, such as BEAMPlus and Construction Industry Council Green Product Certification, can be used to accurately evaluate the energy saving effect and carbon emissions of buildings. These indicators not only provide reliable numbers for monitoring green building performance, but they also provide goals and standards for an optimal indoor environment. Considering the challenges posed by aging buildings, old hazardous building materials and real estate management, Ip highlighted the importance of Hong Kong in promoting various criteria for green management of buildings and properties, as well as timely monitoring. real, in order to create a fresh and safe indoor atmosphere.
Melanie Yuen, partner at DLA Piper, agreed that Hong Kong should pass legislation to strengthen monitoring of indoor air quality. She pointed out that the city’s indoor air quality is only regulated through indirect policies, such as the “Buildings Ordinance”, “Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance” and “L ‘Ordinance on safety and health at work’. Related programs, such as the “Indoor Air Quality Certification System for Offices and Public Places”, adopted in 2003, are purely voluntary, and their inspection criteria, timeliness and extent of Monitoring data all need to be improved. Meanwhile, there are few rules or laws to support the actual operation and implementation of indoor air quality improvement initiatives. She suggested that Hong Kong could learn from the practices of neighboring Asian regions. For example, South Korea has rather strict and in-depth regulations. Its “Indoor Air Quality Control Act” sets indoor air quality standards in certain public establishments, including subway stations, museums and new multi-family homes. They also impose fines on facilities that do not meet criteria, mandate the installation of indoor ventilation and air purification devices, and require managers of public facilities to conduct monitoring and annual reporting.
Patrick Fung, CEO of Clean Air Network, concluded: “Encouraging indoor air quality in Hong Kong is essential, but this requires the full collaboration of the local government and people from all walks of life, from collecting real-time data, education and promotion of behavior changes and policies. In fact, there is sufficient evidence to support education and legislation to improve indoor air quality in Hong Kong. Finally, the discussion in the forum will not stop there. We aim to engage further in in-depth discussions with other sectors and audiences at future events.
The forum also included several lecture sessions exploring various aspects of indoor air quality and green buildings. Sessions covered topics such as the relationship between clean air and decarbonization, lessons learned from the indoor air crisis during the pandemic, obstacles and solutions to greening existing buildings and the environment built, new perspectives and approaches for Hong Kong by revisiting the needs and implications. for better indoor environments for all, achieving future-ready buildings and built environments, and the path forward to enabling green and healthy indoor environments in Hong Kong.
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