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Healthy Indoor Environments: Air Quality in Sustainable Public and Healthcare...
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Healthy Indoor Environments: Air Quality in Sustainable Public and Healthcare Buildings

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Health, Well-Being and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 14 August 2026 | Viewed by 1975

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Agnieszka Trusz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Sanitary Biology and Ecotechnology Group, Department of Environmental Biology and Atmospheric Protection, Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Pl. Grunwaldzki 9, Building D2, Room 228 / Room 019a, 50-384 Wrocław, Poland
Interests: indoor air quality (IAQ); microbiological safety and bioaerosols; sustainable indoor environmental design; HVAC systems and filtration technologies; biological water stability and biofilm formation; microbial risk assessment (QMRA); UV-C disinfection; antimicrobial resistance in the environment; environmental biotechnology; microbial ecology and air–water–surface interactions in built environments

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The quality of indoor air has become a key research and societal issue, especially in the context of sustainable building design, health-oriented architecture, and pandemic resilience. Growing evidence demonstrates that microbiological pollutants, bioaerosols, HVAC system inefficiencies, and building materials contribute to health risks, particularly in public buildings and healthcare facilities. As sustainability standards for indoor environments evolve, interdisciplinary approaches are necessary to improve indoor air quality (IAQ), reduce microbial risk, and align architectural design with public health.

This Special Issue aims to gather original research and review papers addressing the complex interrelations among indoor air microbiology, environmental engineering, and sustainable building practices. The focus is on developing evidence-based strategies for assessing and improving IAQ in various public-use facilities—from hospitals to schools and offices—highlighting both technical and biological perspectives.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to

  • Indoor air monitoring and modeling in diverse building types;
  • Microbial communities and airborne microbiomes (bioaerosols);
  • QMRA (Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment) methods for indoor exposures;
  • HVAC system performance and disinfection strategies (UV-C, filtration);
  • Building certification and IAQ-related standards (LEED, WELL, BREEAM);
  • Smart IAQ monitoring technologies (sensors, IoT);
  • Interdisciplinary designs for health-oriented indoor environments;
  • Environmental comfort and its relation to health and productivity.

Original research articles and reviews are welcome.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Agnieszka Trusz
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • indoor air quality (IAQ)
  • microbiological risk and bioaerosols
  • sustainable design
  • building management
  • environmental comfort
  • indoor air pollutants
  • HVAC systems and filtration
  • building certification (LEED, WELL, BREEAM)
  • healthy buildings
  • QMRA methods and microbial surveillance

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 5835 KB  
Article
Case Study of Dense Hazardous Gas Dispersion in Large Indoor Spaces: Ventilation Layout Analysis with Modeling
by Jacek Hendiger, Marta Chludzińska and Piotr Ziętek
Sustainability 2025, 17(24), 11367; https://doi.org/10.3390/su172411367 - 18 Dec 2025
Viewed by 744
Abstract
The safety of large indoor workspaces hinges on ventilation layout and airflow organization, particularly for dense contaminants that pool near the floor. This qualitative, full-scale case study evaluates chlorine (Cl2) capture using supporting CFD and visualization experiments in a 20 × [...] Read more.
The safety of large indoor workspaces hinges on ventilation layout and airflow organization, particularly for dense contaminants that pool near the floor. This qualitative, full-scale case study evaluates chlorine (Cl2) capture using supporting CFD and visualization experiments in a 20 × 13 × 9 m hall. Four exhaust arrangements—low, mid, high, and all levels combined—were tested under two modes: a single grille at 12,000 m3/h and three co-located grilles at 4000 m3/h each (total 12,000 m3/h), with and without an auxiliary supply (2000 m3/h). Removal performance was sensitive to exhaust elevation: low-level extraction consistently confined the plume near the floor, while distributing the same total flow across three levels achieved comparable or improved capture; mid/high extraction was less effective. A practical extraction radius of ≈5 m was identified, and the auxiliary supply improved outcomes only when steering the plume toward the low grille. CFD results showed that, regardless of the lower grille’s duty, the inlet concentration at the low grille was about twice that at the middle grille and more than four times that at the upper grille; in the three-grille configuration, the upper grille received negligible contaminant. These full-scale findings provide geometry-first guidance for dense-gas control in high-ceiling, large-volume spaces. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Healthy Indoor Environments: Air Quality in Sustainable Public and Healthcare Buildings)
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Review

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42 pages, 1005 KB  
Review
Air Pollution in Public Transport Microenvironments: A Global Scoping Review of Exposure, Methods, and Gaps
by Juan J. Pacheco Tovar, Ana G. Castañeda-Miranda, Harald N. Böhnel, Rodrigo Castañeda-Miranda, Luis A. Flores-Chaires, Remberto Sandoval-Aréchiga, Jose R. Gomez-Rodriguez, Alejandro Rodríguez-Trejo, Sodel Vazquez-Reyes, Margarita L. Martinez-Fierro and Salvador Ibarra Delgado
Sustainability 2026, 18(9), 4615; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18094615 - 6 May 2026
Viewed by 795
Abstract
Air pollution associated with public transport systems constitutes a critical yet highly heterogeneous component of urban exposure and represents an important challenge for sustainable urban mobility and environmental health governance. Commuters and transport workers are frequently subjected to pollutant concentrations that exceed those [...] Read more.
Air pollution associated with public transport systems constitutes a critical yet highly heterogeneous component of urban exposure and represents an important challenge for sustainable urban mobility and environmental health governance. Commuters and transport workers are frequently subjected to pollutant concentrations that exceed those reported by ambient background monitoring networks. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of the global scientific literature on air quality in public transport microenvironments—including buses, bus stops, terminals, and underground stations—through a multidimensional analytical framework that considers climatic classification, socio-economic context, meteorological drivers, transport microenvironment typology, sampling strategies, analytical techniques, and exposure metrics. A large body of peer-reviewed studies published worldwide was examined to identify dominant patterns, methodological trends, and persistent knowledge gaps. Across regions, the evidence consistently reports elevated concentrations of particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10, and ultrafine particles) and traffic-related gaseous pollutants, particularly within confined or poorly ventilated environments and during peak traffic periods. Marked geographical, climatic, and socio-economic imbalances are evident, with most studies conducted in temperate and tropical climates and in countries with very high or high Human Development Index, whereas arid, continental, and low-HDI regions remain substantially underrepresented. From a methodological perspective, the literature is dominated by short- to intermediate-term monitoring campaigns relying on active sampling, mobile measurements, and increasingly calibrated low-cost sensors, while long-term stationary observations and standardized integrative monitoring frameworks remain scarce. Although advanced analytical approaches—such as chemical characterization, environmental magnetism, receptor modeling, computational fluid dynamics, and inhaled dose assessment—are increasingly applied, their systematic integration remains limited. Overall, this review reveals persistent methodological, geographical, and conceptual gaps and highlights the urgent need for standardized, interdisciplinary, and long-term monitoring strategies to improve exposure assessment and support evidence-based mitigation policies and sustainable urban transport planning aimed at reducing health risks associated with public transport-related air pollution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Healthy Indoor Environments: Air Quality in Sustainable Public and Healthcare Buildings)
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