Imposing improved ventilation and other forms of disease control on public buildings could save the UK economy billions of pounds each year by preventing deterioration in health and its social impact, according to a report.
This is the first study to comprehensively assess the health, social and economic costs of airborne infections, including Covid. Even without a pandemic, seasonal respiratory illnesses cost the UK around £ 8 billion a year due to interruptions and sick days, according to a report from the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers. In the event of another severe pandemic over the next 60 years, public spending could reach £ 23 billion a year.
However, introducing improved ventilation in all buildings that require it could save at least £ 3 billion a year – a figure that could be higher, as the calculation does not include broader estimates of improvements in health and well-being, such as increased vigilance and productivity as a result of improved air quality.
The biggest gains can be made by improving ventilation and other forms of infection control in public buildings such as schools, hospitals and community buildings, including libraries and nursing homes, where a higher proportion of transmission is observed.
“Yes, it costs money and yes, there are some difficulties, but the benefits are there from an economic point of view,” said Kat Knox, a professor of environmental engineering for buildings at the University of Leeds, who contributed to the report. “The pandemic has warned us about the risks around the corner and we need better buildings to help us live with Covid and future diseases. Now is the time to fundamentally upgrade our internal environment. ”
The report, commissioned by Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Valance in 2021, contains eight recommendations for consolidating the resistance to infections in building regulations and improving the health of the internal environment.
“Probably the biggest change is that we need to improve our game in terms of meeting the standards for safe and healthy performance of buildings,” said Professor Sean Fitzgerald of the University of Cambridge, a member of the working group that drafted the report.
Although new buildings must meet certain air quality and ventilation standards during their design and construction, they are not necessarily inspected to ensure that fans, filters and windows continue to operate as intended or if the use of the building has changed over time.
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The report was welcomed by Valance, as well as those who fought to improve air quality during the pandemic.
Valance said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has clearly shown how important infrastructure and the environment are for our health. I hope that this report promotes the coordinated system-wide approach, cooperation and innovation needed between government, academia and industry to bring about the recommended transformational change.
Dr Stephen Griffin, a virologist at the University of Leeds and a member of the Independent Sage, said: “We need to achieve the same kind of standards for air as we do for water. We no longer tolerate dirty water because we know how harmful cholera was. Let’s do the same with the air. “
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