- Location
- Webinars will be held via Zoom. Webinar details will be sent to all registered participants via EventBrite.
- Series/Type
- DLSPH Event
- Dates
- October 1, 2021 from 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Links
Presenter: Jeff Siegel
Jeffrey Siegel, Ph.D., is the Bahen/Tanenbaum Chair in Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto. He holds joint appointments at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the Department of Physical & Environmental Sciences. He is internationally recognized for his work on indoor air quality and is a fellow of ASHRAE and of ISIAQ. He been active in disseminating information about filtration and ventilation solutions for COVID-19.
Title: Exposing the Brain: The cognitive impacts of indoor air pollution
Poor indoor air is Canadians’ largest environmental risk, yet known chronic health consequences accumulate over a lifetime of exposure in different buildings, limiting public interest, investment, and regulatory action. Even with increased focus on indoor air because of the pandemic, it is likely that the attention will diminish over time, as it has with other indoor hazards. However, exposures to indoor contaminants also negatively influence cognitive function and high-level decision making. These influences, although currently poorly understood, offer a sustained model for indoor air improvement with the costs for such improvements covered by the economic benefits from cognitive function improvements in environments such as schools and office buildings. This presentation discusses the current state of research on cognitive function impacts including research on carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds, and emissions from essential oil diffusers with a particular focus on understanding the fundamental connections between indoor exposures and neurocognitive processes.