Our latest podcast episode focuses on indoor workplace air pollution, and the need for a greater understanding of the dangers this poses, and tighter regulations to safeguard employees.

Produced in partnership with Zehnder Clean Air Solutions, the discussion is led by two industry experts. William Burrows is the company’s North West England and Ireland Project Lead, and regularly undertakes site visits to ascertain air quality in logistics and manufacturing environments, among other sectors, making recommendations on how to improve air flow and protect staff.

Having spent years educating the public on healthy living, Born In Bradford played an instrumental role in securing support for a new Clean Air Zone. Our latest podcast explains how.

In this month’s Air Quality News Podcast we look at an area that is central to the effective implementation of a Clean Air Zone. There are a number of Clean Air Zones operational now, with more in the pipeline. However, community engagement is a key part of getting this right for any Council.

Our interviewee is Professor Rosie McEchan, who is Director of the ‘Born in Bradford’ initiative and she explains how they supported the Council in this important work.

A special episode of the Air Quality News podcast is now live, in partnership with Dyson.

Air Quality News‘ Chloe Coules sat down with Matt Jennings, Category Director of Environmental Care at Dyson, to discuss the importance of indoor air quality and dispel some common myths about the air in our homes and workplaces.

Jennings joined Dyson as a design engineer in 2013, where he worked on the first range of air purifiers the company produced. He then took over as the product lead for Dyson Zone air-purifying headphones.

As Category Director for Environmental Care at Dyson, the research and development function responsible for air purifiers, cooling fans, heaters, and humidifiers, Jennings is responsible for the future of Dyson’s homes and business indoor air purification solutions, furthering the firm’s involvement in air quality research and supporting air quality education.

This podcast explores why it is important to differentiate between indoor and outdoor air quality, and why indoor air quality often does not get as much attention as its counterpart. Jennings also explains how people can find out what air pollutants are present in their homes & workplaces, and discusses whether modern-day air purifiers are effective at dealing with indoor air pollution.

‘It’s really important for people to continue to grow awareness of indoor air quality because it can be so damaging to our health,’ Jennings says.

In this episode, editor Chloe Coules speaks to Vincent McInally, Environment and Air Quality Manager at Transport Scotland about the newly introduced Low Emission Zones in four major Scottish cities.

Vincent led on work to develop the Low Emission Zones on behalf of Scottish Ministers. ‘What is really different about the Scottish Low Emission Zones compared with probably anywhere else is that there is no ability to pay and enter,’ explains McInally.

‘If your vehicle is non complaint, you should not be bringing it in. If you do get found within a zone in a non-complaint vehicle and it’s not exempt, you get given a fixed penalty notice and that’s £60 when you first get caught.’

When asked why Transport Scotland has taken a non-charging approach, Vincent tells Chloe: ‘We did not want to see businesses or particularly wealthy individuals looking on this as just a cost they could incur to bring in a high-polluting vehicle.’

Vincent also tells Air Quality News what impact we can expect the Low Emission Zones to have on air quality in Scotland.

‘Nobody expects the low emission zones to be the silver bullet that will do everything, and all the local authorities are aware of that. They are probably the single most important or significant action that any of these local authorities will have taken to reduce pollution since the Clean Air Act came in and they were able to ban the burning of coal in the cities, this will be the single most important measure since then,’ argues McInally.

‘I think it will be as significant as the lead being removed from petrol in terms of the difference we should see with [the Low Emission Zones] being introduced in these cities,’ he adds.

This podcast is brought to you in association with Vortex IOT, who are now part of Marston Holdings. Together, they are offering end-to-end decarbonising solutions that reduce air pollution for their clients. For more information please visit www.vortexiot.com