Australia needs better regulation and practice regarding indoor air quality and ventilation in buildings, a former state premier and leader in building regulation says.

Speaking at the recent Building Ventilation Sumit hosted by the Air Conditioning and Mechanical Contractors Association of Australia (AMCA), Ted Bailleu, former Victorian Premier and Chair of the Victorian Government’s former Cladding Taskforce, said action was needed to imporove air quality and ventilation in buildings and on transport.

According to Bailleu, the past decade has revealed not only buildings which are unsafe but also many which are detrimental to public health.

Speaking of the latter, he said problems include poor indoor air quality, inadequate ventilation, HVAC systems which are not fit for purpose and use recycled rather than fresh air, sealed windows and a lack of standards, monitoring, enforcement and accountability.

In addition, a focus on airtightness for energy saving purposes has seen many buildings sealed up without allowing for adequate ventilation.

Unlike cladding or structural disasters, the effect of this is not visible through photographs.

Moreover, Bailleu says that with some exceptions, governments efforts to improve indoor air quality and ventilation have been inadequate.

Indeed, whilst measures to contain and manage COVID have been proactive across many areas (vaccination, contact tracing, mask mandates etc.), those to prevent transmission through ventilation and indoor air quality management have been mostly lacking.

The exception is in Victoria, where Bailleu says the state has at least ‘had a crack’ in its education settings through deployment of air filters across most schools.

According to Bailleu, the lack of action in this area has occurred even as more has become known about the largely airborne nature of COVID transmission especially in crowded and poorly ventilated spaces.

It has also been the case as several countries elsewhere have stepped up.

Places such as the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Japan and some states in the US have introduced mandatory air quality monitors in restaurants, cafes and bars, he says.

Going forward, Bailleu would like action across both broad policy and within individual buildings and public transport.

Speaking of the broader level, he says the following are needed:

• A shift in paradigm and thinking to recognise the importance of air quality management. This issue needs to be elevated and openly discussed in public.
• Government leadership at the Commonwealth level which is reciprocated by the states. This would include a national campaign on air quality management spearheaded by a national taskforce. It would also include dedicated ministerial responsibility, budgets and staff for air quality management within both Commonwealth and state governments along with public health being a priority in building and planning policies.
• Stepped up efforts regarding monitoring and risk analysis for air quality management. This includes safe building audits for public buildings, large office buildings and public transport. It also involves air quality management considerations being incorporated into corporate risk profiling.
• Clear provision of air quality information to building managers, owners and occupants, including by providing simple information via standardised dashboards in buildings, on public transport and in motor vehicles.
• Requiring buildings to have ‘ventilation passports’ as a condition of operating in a similar way to how vaccine passports are currently needed to enter some settings.

Meanwhile, at the individual asset level, measures could include:

• Simple and low-cost actions such as switching HVAC systems to 100 percent fresh air, increasing the number air changers per hour, installation of CO2 monitors, installing HEPA air filters in high load rooms, opening windows and doors, unsealing hopper windows and assessing rooms for ‘dead air’ spots which require particular focus.
• Measures which require a little more support and investment such as monitoring and updating HVAC systems along with training for building occupants to acquaint them with realities of air quality systems and replacing sealed windows with openable sashes.
• More extensive measures potentially requiring greater cost. These may include building upgrades, new windows, new or additional HVAC systems, monitors and alarms and appointing ventilation wardens. At a regulatory level, such measures may also include modifications to codes, standards and regulations as well as better compliance and enforcement.

Bailleu says benefits associated with aforementioned measures should not be underestimated.

In addition to slowing the spread of COVID, these include arresting the spread of other airborne viruses and bacteria, reducing absenteeism, improving public health, saving lives and mitigating liabilities and risk.

As legal cases and concerns mount, he says courts, lawyers and insurers will emerge as a key driver for change.

Bailleu says the importance of action should not be underestimated.

“We need to have people back in our office buildings and our CBD districts in a safe way,” he said.”

“Unsafe buildings kill – we have seen that at Grenfell. But tragically, unhealthy buildings kill more.

“That ought to be the motivation for us to do more.”