BiB INGENIOUS
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding the Sources, Transformations and Fates of Indoor Air Pollutants (INGENIOUS)
IRAS ID
322462
Contact name
Rosie McEachan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 5 months, 31 days
Research summary
Efforts to reduce air pollution have mainly focused on the outdoors although, in the UK, we spend 90% of our time indoors which can also be polluted. Indoor air pollution comes in many forms, from gases, like carbon dioxide (CO2), to particulate matter (PM) such as dust. Poor indoor air has been linked to lung diseases including asthma and cancer. The BiB INGENIOUS study will measure air pollution in 325 homes over a 2-4-week period using sensors which will measure common air pollutants such as CO2, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in personal care and cleaning products, and PM created during cooking. In 150 homes, we will install additional monitors for more intensive VOC and PM measurement for three days, and in 10 homes airborne dust samplers will be installed for one month. We will also ask 10 families to keep the sensor and place a tray which collects naturally settled dust for additional 11 months to capture seasonal variation in indoor air pollution. On the first home visit, a researcher will examine building characteristics (e.g. room size) and outdoor microenvironment (e.g. busy roads), and parents will complete a survey about their home (e.g. use of extractor fans). During the monitoring period, families will complete a diary on behaviours (e.g. cooking, cleaning) and health symptoms (e.g. wheezing, coughing). At the end of the period, parents will complete a detailed health and behaviour questionnaire and collect their and their child’s urine samples. We will explore how behaviours and building characteristics influence indoor air pollution, and how pollution relates to health symptoms. We will conduct interviews with 60 parents to explore their thoughts about indoor air pollution and wood burning. We will use the information collected to develop an intervention to reduce indoor air pollution and test this later in the study.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Bradford Leeds Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/YH/0288
Date of REC Opinion
11 Jan 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion