Sudbury, Ont., researchers want to help people improve their indoor air quality

Researchers from Laurentian University are working with the Greater Sudbury Public Library to help people understand how they can improve the air quality in their homes.

Since October, six library branches in Greater Sudbury, Ont., have lentout carbon dioxide (CO2) monitors to anyone who wants them.

People exhale CO2 when they breathe, and measuring its concentration in indoor spaces can tell a person a lot about air quality.

"Because we exhale carbon dioxide when we breathe, by measuring the concentration of CO2 in an indoor area, we can get an idea of how much exhaled air is in that space that we could re-breathe in," said Pierre Dubuc, the citizen service centre lead with the Valley East Library branch in Sudbury, in a written statement.

Alison Godwin, an associate professor with Laurentian's School of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, said poor CO2 values have an impact on brain function.

"And there are some less strong links to some other health outcomes like bone density and kidney function," she said.

Godwin said measuring indoor air quality has also become more important due to the prevalence of airborne diseases like COVID-19.

Godwin is the co-research lead on the project with the library system, which includes Laurentian's Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health (CROSH).

She said their goal isn't to collect data on people's indoor air quality, but instead to see if they can educate people about how they can improve it.

People who borrow a CO2 monitor from their local library can also choose to complete a Google Form for the research project.

The survey encourages participants to measure their air quality in different rooms. At the end they are asked if they've gained knowledge about indoor air quality and how they can improve it.

Godwin said it's those final questions that are of interest to her team.

"It's the knowledge transfer piece," she said. "Are we able to impact the broader community's understanding of how to impact air quality in their homes?"

Godwin said they would like to expand the program to businesses as well, so they can understand how to improve their indoor air quality.