The indoor air quality observatory - outcomes of a decade of research and perspectives

For over a decade now, the OQAI — Observatoire de la qualité de l’air intérieur [French observatory for indoor air quality] — has been leading research into indoor air quality and occupant comfort in living spaces: housing, schools, offices, leisure spaces. The objective is to gain insight into patterns of pollution and occupant discomfort in order to root out the causes, evaluate the health risks, and issue policy recommendations. Further to a national-scale survey on dwellings, OQAI has launched two new national-scale campaigns focused on indoor air quality and comfort in schools and office buildings. A national system for collecting indoor air quality and occupant comfort data on newly-built or retrofitted energy-efficient buildings has been deployed since 2013. The OQAI also continues to press ahead with its work on indoor air quality indexes and participate to the evaluation of the health-impact of emerging pollutants such semi-volatile organic compounds.