Health

Breath of fresh air: Lidia Morawska on the case for mandatory air quality standards

09:30 am on 25 September 2024

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Photo: Supplied: QUT

Professor Lidia Morawska is an world-renowned expert in air quality, whose work during the Covid pandemic helped recognise the virus' airborne transmission.

For that, she was named as one of Time Magazine's most influential people in 2021.

But she says the job isn't over - and that all buildings must be designed with air quality in mind. She equates the situation to that in the 1800s when cities began organising for clean water and centralised sewerage systems.

Professor Moraswka's most recent research details a blueprint for indoor air quality standards - and calls for them to be mandatory.

She's in New Zealand to speak to a summit hosted by the Facilities Management Association of New Zealand, which has this morning released research showing improved air quality in our offices and schools could bring a billion dollar economic boost by reducing sickness.