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Tag Archives: air pollution
We spend 90% of our time indoors—and indoor air can be teeming with irritants that trigger allergies and asthma. Get the facts about allergies and asthma and what you can to do relieve symptoms in your facility.
It didn’t look like a study in air pollution. It only took a few minutes, year after year after year. Once a year, select students in schools across southern California, were taken out of class, marched down to a gym or empty classroom and were met by a researcher. There, they were asked to blow into a spirometer, which measured lung capacity, and were asked a series of mundane questions about their living environment. Then they got their height and weight checked before heading back to class.
Little did they know the data collected from all those children—12,000 kids in all—created the framework for the most extensive study into the effects of air pollution.
Air Pollution effects growing lungs
The USC Children’s Health Study found that children living in the towns most effected by air pollution were five times as likely to have weakened lung capacity—20 percent weaker—than kids living in towns and cities where air pollution was less prevalent. That diminished lung capacity meant long-term health problems.
What’s more, researchers found their original hypothesis was incorrect.
At the start of the study, they thought ozone, a component of the air pollution and thick smog that blankets southern California, would be a prime cause of stunted lung development in the children. However, they found there were a combination of tiny airborne pollutants—small as PM2.5—and nitrogen dioxide from car exhausts to blame also.
Long term implications & treatments
The study has had far-reaching implications on air pollution and has affected everything from manufacturing regulations to environmental policy. It also has created significant awareness regarding outdoor and indoor air quality. In fact, given that indoor air has been proven to be between two to five times more polluted than outdoor air, one might argue that concerns about indoor air quality should be even greater.
Luckily, there is a way to significantly decrease those concerns. The complete line of AeraMax Professional commercial-grade air purifiers can effectively and efficiently remove PM2.5 airborne pollutants—like germs, allergens, bacteria, viruses and volatile organic compounds—from enclosed spaces, drastically improving indoor air quality. The purifiers use a unique four-stage filtration system that traps these particles, removing 99.97 percent of pollutants from indoor air.
The AeraMax Professional purifiers employ patented EnviroSmart™ Technology that senses sound, motion and odors in a room, automatically adjusting to optimize performance. So, the units work only when required, conserving energy and maximizing operations while working in the background to improve the lives and health of occupants.
In recent years, all sorts of companies have focused their attention on the environment—and some have intensified efforts to correct the ills of poor air quality due to global air pollution. Now, home furnishing giant IKEA is stepping into the indoor air quality arena in a most unusual way.
Introducing GUNRID
The company has developed a fabric curtain that helps reduce air pollution when exposed to light—both sunlight and indoor lighting. Called the GUNRID, the curtain is coated with a mineral-based treatment that acts almost like photosynthesis, breaking down surface pollutants to reduce indoor air pollution. Given that indoor air is two to five times more polluted than outdoor air—which itself is quite polluted—any measure of help in helping poor air quality is a boon.
“For me, it’s important to work on products that solve actual problems and are relevant to people. Textiles are used across homes and by enabling a curtain to purify the air, we are creating an affordable and space-saving air purifying solution that also makes the home more beautiful,” says Mauricio Affonso, Product Developer at IKEA Range & Supply.
In addition, the company is also committed to reducing air pollution in its manufacturing processes. IKEA is exploring ways to turn rice straw, a rice harvesting residue that contributes to air pollution because it is typically burned for disposal, into a renewable material source for future products.
Still, the company acknowledges that these are small steps. “We know that there is no single solution to solve air pollution,” says Lena Pripp-Kovac, Head of Sustainability at Inter IKEA Group. “We work long term for positive change, to enable people to live healthier and more sustainable lives.”
What can you do about poor air quality now?
Currently, there’s a more proven—and significant—solution to poor air quality. The complete line of AeraMax Professional air purifiers uses a four-stage filtration system employing hospital-like True HEPA filtration to eliminate 99.97 percent of airborne contaminants, including viruses, germs, bacteria, odors and volatile organic compounds, from enclosed indoor spaces. The units also have a unique sensing system, which continually monitors the air, adjusting to clean air when necessary for the ultimate in set-it-and-forget-it convenience.
When business owners hear that indoor air is two to five times more polluted than outdoor air—which is already heavily polluted—they think the solution lies in focusing on the building’s HVAC system. But that may not solve the problem of poor air quality.
Here’s why:
HVAC systems recirculate
HVAC systems work because they recirculate air. But they don’t do a thing about cleaning the air. Filters can trap very large particles, but things like volatile organic compounds (VOCs), germs, bacteria and allergens pass right through typical HVAC filters. That doesn’t alleviate the problem of poor air quality inside buildings.
Business owners and facility managers may think installing HEPA filters in existing HVAC systems will do the trick. It won’t. That’s because HEPA filters designed specifically for HVAC systems are bulky, and while they do a better job of trapping germs in the direct area near the intake, these thick filters drag down HVAC efficiency, significantly reducing airflow. So, HVAC will work harder, break down more often and still not solve the poor air quality problem. Additionally, these modifications to existing HVAC systems do nothing for areas that aren’t near the intakes.
Perhaps most importantly, HVAC systems spread germs farther and faster through recirculation. In essence, HVAC systems are air movers, not air improvers. There just isn’t enough efficiency in HVAC systems, because they are designed first and foremost to push air throughout buildings. Also, HVAC systems focus on the entirety of buildings, pushing air at the same rate throughout. That means indoor air quality problem areas will be ignored.
For improvement in IAQ, focus on cleaning instead of moving the air
Instead of recirculating poor air, building managers and business owners need to focus on removing it. In our opinion, the best way to do that is by installing AeraMax Professional air purifiers. These commercial-grade systems use hospital-type True HEPA filtration to effectively, quickly and efficiently remove 99.97 percent of airborne contaminants, like germs, bacteria, smoke, odors, allergens and VOCs, from indoor air. The four-stage filtration systems work automatically, because the units sense when poor air is present, adjusting to remove the bad air.
And, AeraMax Professional offers an array of different units to accommodate a variety of room sizes—and even have portable units so specific areas can be targeted on the fly, by moving the purifier into offending areas.
