The first of this year's CORT Autumn/Winter lecture series took place on Wednesday 11th October at 2 pm.
We were delighted to be joined for this event by two expert speakers who shared their insights and experience of the impact of CO in school settings. ‘Education, Ventilation, Information: improving air quality in our schools’.
Nikki James Zellner is a school and CO safety activist and mum of two from the USA. Nikki shared with us her very personal experience of being the parent of a child exposed to CO.
In February 2020, Nikki experienced first-hand the impact that gaps in CO safety can have on a community when her children, alongside close to 80 others, were poisoned by CO in their commercial daycare setting. Nikki's presentation not only shared her story but also shone a light on interesting points of data discovered in her post-event research and how she fought the law for safer schools in Virginia (US)…and won.
Our second presenter, Nicola Carslaw is a Professor of Indoor Air Chemistry in the Department of Environment and Geography, at the University of York.
Nicola has worked in the field of air pollution for over 30 years. Along with her group, she studies the indoor air pollution that can arise following cooking and cleaning activities, emissions from building and furnishing materials, and breath and skin emissions from people.
As well as these UK projects, she led ~200 scientists in a European network project called INDAIRPOLLNET, which will shape indoor air quality research in Europe over the coming years.
Finally, she is a member of the UK Department of Health’s Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution (COMEAP) and is a member of the Academy of Fellow of the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate.
Through Nicola's extensive work, she has analysed the impact that indoor air quality in schools can have on the health and outcomes of children and young people.
Watch back the full lecture below: