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Air Quality and health

Theme Leaders:

Dr. Marie Coggins
School of Physics
Phone: 353-91-495056
Fax: 353-91-750584
email: marie.cogginsnuigalway.ie

Dr. Miriam Byrne
Phone: 353-91-493394
Fax: 353-91-750584
email: miriam.byrnenuigalway.ie

Air quality is considered to be an important determinant of human health. In the developed world, people spend up to 90% of their time indoors, and thus the European Commission and by the World Health Organisation have prioritised indoor air quality as an area requiring further research. Exposure to indoor air pollutants has been linked to the development or exacerbation of chronic respiratory illnesses such as asthma, allergies and COPD, and cardiovascular disease. Microorganisms (and their cellular components) in the air are an integral element of indoor air quality that may contribute to the development of acute respiratory infection in addition to chronic lung disease. The prevalence of many chronic respiratory diseases has increased in Western Europe the past few decades (THADE, 2004). In accurately estimating an individual or population exposure to air pollution, it is important to take account of the composition of inhaled air during time spent indoors, the generation of air pollution indoors (e.g. through smoking, fuel burning, etc), and the process of infiltration into buildings of air pollution of outdoor origin. In recent years there has been much emphasis on improving the energy performance of Irish homes and workplaces; although lower building air exchange rates are more energy efficient, there is the question whether or not reduced air infiltration into a building could result in poor indoor air quality.

People

Dr. Miriam Byrne School of Physics Phone: (091) 49 3394; Email: miriam.byrnenuigalway.ie ——— Research interests include assessment (through measurement and modeling) of human exposure to environmental and occupational airborne contaminants; including radioactive particles from nuclear accidents, tobacco smoke particles, vehicular emissions.

Dr. Marie Coggins  School of Physics Phone: (091) 49 5056; Email: marie.cogginsnuigalway.ie ——— Research interests include measurement of environmental and occupational hazards. Currently working with the Pharmaceutical industry on the development of chemical control and containment designs

Prof. B. Gerard Loftus Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences Phone: (091) 544475; Email: gerard.loftusnuigalway.ie ——— Gerard Loftus has been Professor of Paediatrics at NUI Galway since 1988. He was an undergraduate at UCD and undertook postgraduate training in paediatrics in Dublin and London, including research in Paediatric respiratory disease. The topic of his MD thesis was Asthma in Pre-School Children .His areas of clinical and research interest are diabetes and respiratory disease, particularly Asthma. He has over 40 scientific articles published in peer reviewed journals, 70 abstracts, 1 book and several review articles. Current research interests include the influence of atmospheric pollution on acute asthma in children. Professor Loftus has served on Comhairle na nOspideal, The National Task Force on Medical Staffing, and as chair of the Postgraduate Medical and Dental Board, the Health Services Expert Advisory Group on Children, and the National Steering group on implementation of Newborn Screening for Cystic Fibrosis. He is a member of Governing Authority, and is serving his third term as Dean of the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science at NUI Galway.

 

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