UCL researchers present research to WHO task force on the health aspects of air pollution

In this study, the research team developed a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate the population exposure to PM_2.5 from household air pollution (both dirty fuels and cleaner fuels) across global countries for different urban and rural settings.

In collaboration with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (Dr James Milner ) and by using a comparative risk assessment (CRA) approach, they also estimated the attributable death rate (per 100,000 population) due to personal exposure in urban and rural settings (62 countries mainly in low-income and middle-income countries).

The research team found that there is significant difference in PM_2.5 household air pollution between rural and urban settings, with rural settings exposed to much higher level of pollution than urban settings. This highlights the inequality in both energy access and health. Thus, switching to cleaner fuels/stove technology not only reduces HAP exposure but also diminishes urban-rural health inequalities.

The WHO has developed two digital tools to assess the impacts of air pollution on health and climate change (from building level to city level and regional). Research team member Nahid Mohajeri noted,  

“The tools are very simple to use and are primarily developed for educational purposes (for A-level or high school students) but the tools have also been used at advanced level. I would like to introduce these tools to students in our SBBER programme in the relevant modules. The students can use the tools for hands-on activities or projects/coursework in case it is relevant to the topic.

The research is led by Dr Nahid Mohajeri and Prof Mike Davies from the UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering in collaboration with Shih-Che Hsu, Prof Ian Hamilton, and Dr Harry Kennard from the UCL Energy Institute, as well as Dr James Milner of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Prof Agust Gudmundsson, Dr Jonathon Taylor and Dr Gregor Kiesewetter. 

Links

• Read the first publication from the project.
• Learn more about the AIRQ+ tool.
• Learn more about the work of Nahid Mohajeri.
• Learn more about the work of Mike Davies.

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