Belgium - the main principles of the law on indoor air quality

Belgium - The main principles of the law on indoor air quality

The law of 6 November 2022 on the improvement of indoor air quality in closed spaces accessible to the public pursues four general objectives:

• - to define good air quality reference levels that are indicative and not mandatory.
• - to encourage operators to take into account the existing air quality situation in their premises and seek to improve it:
  • by measuring the indoor air quality, e.g. with a CO₂ meter
  • ​by carrying out a risk analysis describing the premises and the activities taking place there and making an inventory of possible sources of indoor air pollution and the air treatment systems present and used (ventilation and air purification equipment); and
  • by implementing an action plan describing the actions envisaged with the aim of implementing an approach, possibly in stages, to achieve indoor air quality corresponding to the reference levels.
• - to ensure transparency with regard to the people who frequent an establishment as to the level of indoor air quality that can be guaranteed, through the introduction of a certification and labelling system. 
• - to create a platform on indoor air quality to broaden the existing scientific knowledge, advise policymakers and raise public awareness, through collaboration between relevant industries, the authorities, manufacturers and installers of ventilation and air purification devices, and the scientific community. 

• The Minister of Public Health Belgium and the FPS Public Health launched this platform during a Kick-Off Meeting on 12 October 2022.
  
  The law provides a definition of closed spaces accessible to the public:

  • Closed space = indoor space closed off from its environment by walls, doors or doorways and fitted with a ceiling or floor;
  • Accessible to the public = space whose access is not limited to the family sphere or purely to the professional sphere.

  The law establishes two reference levels, indicative of indoor air quality, which are targets that each operator should aim to achieve when making investments to improve indoor air quality:

• Reference Level A:

  • the concentration of CO₂ in a room is less than 900 ppm (which means that CO₂ represents 0.09% of the volume of the air considered), or
  • the minimum ventilation and air purification flow rate is 40 m³ per hour per person, including at least 25 m³ per hour per person of ventilation with outside air.

  Reference Level B:

  • the concentration of CO₂ in a room is less than 1,200 ppm (which means that CO₂ represents 0.12% of the volume of the air considered), or
  • the minimum ventilation flow rate with outside air is 25 m³ per hour per person.
• The higher the ventilation flow rates, the higher the air replacement and so the lower the concentrations of viruses and other pollutants in the room.
  The measurement of the CO₂ concentration in the air is an indicator of the air replacement rate in the room.
  As a reminder, these good air quality reference levels are indicative and not mandatory.

You can read more regarding air quality guidlines in Belgium here...