Tag Archives: allergens

Climate Change

Climate change has really done a number on the US this winter: Southern California has been deluged by torrential rains, the East Coast has been hit with summer-like weather, and tornados—usually seen in late spring and early summer—have cropped up in February in the Midwest. And in the Southeast? Winter meant nothing, with Atlanta experiencing an average temperature increase of nine degrees; New Orleans had an eight-degree uptick and Charlotte had almost a ten-degree increase.

Allergy Seasons Starting Sooner

All that wet and warm weather means one thing: allergy seasons will start sooner and will be prolonged, because in some areas, allergy producing blooms emerged in late February. In fact, according to the National Allergy Bureau, tree pollen is already a problem, with reports of high concentrations throughout the South and into the farthest tip of Florida.

With such an early start to the season, people are already experiencing allergy symptoms. According to Thomas Johnson, MD, of Allergy and Asthma Care of Florida, in Ocala, FL, sufferers should get tested to determine exactly what pollens they are allergic to, before getting medication or trying over-the-counter remedies.

Additionally, people can track pollen counts at the National Allergy Bureau website (www.aaaai.org/nab) to minimize exposure and start treatment before the allergy season hits hardest.

What to do at Home?

At home, allergy sufferers should consider:

  • Doing outdoor activities after it rains, or in the evening, when pollen counts are generally lower
  • Avoiding hanging clothes outside to air dry
  • Showering after outdoor activities to remove any clinging pollen.
  • Frequently washing eyes to remove contact with airborne allergens.

What to do at Work?

At work, employees who are allergy sufferers should ensure that doors and windows are kept closed, and should talk with facility managers about ways to remove allergens from the indoor air.

Facility managers themselves should understand that allergens are brought in from outdoors in a number of ways: from fresh air being pumped into facilities; on the clothing of people coming in from outdoors; and by opened windows.

AeraMax Professional Fights Allergy Season

Key to helping alleviate sufferers’ symptoms is ridding the air of allergen spores to begin with, by using AeraMax® Professional commercial-grade air purification. Each AeraMax Professional unit removes up to 99.97 percent of airborne contaminants, like germs and allergens, from indoor air, greatly reducing the triggers for seasonal allergies. Indeed, helping allergy sufferers requires facility managers to “clean for health,” using air purification as a foundation for fighting allergy season.

 

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The Problem

Some governments have been known to avoid the persistent problem of poor air quality, but a recent decision in Britain could possibly set the (low) standard.

Seems the British government has identified a large number of “hotspots” for pollution in the idyllic peninsula of Cornwall. The cause: major roadways in close proximity to villages and towns mean a heavy concentration of diesel fumes.

A Radical Solution

But instead of tackling the pollution problem with restrictions, heavy-vehicle taxes, the construction of an overpass to eliminate the proximity to affected villages or other measures, the government is planning on relocating residents. That’s right—instead of treating the problem, the government is considering moving the people affected by the problem.

The Cornwall Council says relocating families is a cheaper alternative to building an overpass and is floating the idea of developing an area farther from pollution sources for residents in the towns of Camborne, Pool, Redruth, Bodmin, Tideford, Gunnislake, St Austell, Truro and Camelford. Another option is removing people from homes closest to the roadway, bulldozing the homes and widening the road to reduce traffic backups and standing traffic.

Lost in the announcement is the fact that the government isn’t addressing poor air quality; instead, it is avoiding the problem with a plan that uproots lives without eliminating pollution. Critics have suggested taxes on diesel vehicles as an incentive to drive less, a law to migrate drivers of such vehicles to cleaner alternatives and restrictions on travel in the area. Still, the council is seriously considering the relocation as a “best option.”

Aeramax Professional a True Pollution Solution

The move in Britain is similar to instances when people avoid addressing the root of indoor air quality issues, opting instead to mask odors or simply boost HVAC outputs. Instead, cleaning the indoor air is the only effective way to increase air quality. And we think the most effective solution is installing AeraMax® Professional commercial-grade air purifiers in shared indoor spaces. Our complete line is designed to remove up to 99.97 percent of airborne contaminants, like germs, allergens, bacteria and volatile organic compounds from indoor air, offering a true pollution solution for facility managers.

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You know those TV commercials pushing probiotics, the ones claiming there’s good microorganisms in your stomach that battle the bad? Well, that’s what healthcare professionals call the Human Microbiome, a balance of microorganisms in internal organs that both regulate health and cause illness. Researchers have for years been mapping the Human Microbiome, much like in the way that predecessors mapped the Human Genome. The idea: by mapping out the microorganisms living in humans, healthcare professionals may be able to see patterns or affect change in the body by modifying the overall mix.

Now, researchers at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) are attempting to map a microbiome for manmade environments, like office buildings, in the hopes that they can understand how microbial environments affect human health.

As part of its study, NAS is looking at the ways different microbials invade built environments, as well as how humans impact these environments, like workplaces. By better understanding the interplay of people and environments, the researchers hope to determine how to influence these environments—like what kinds of building materials, ventilation systems and construction techniques would create positive microbiomes. The final report is expected to be released sometime this year.

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At the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show, the focus was on the “Internet of Things:” the interconnectivity of devices with lifestyles and constant feedback via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. So, you now have refrigerators that can alert you when you’re running low on milk, or home security systems that also change lighting to fit your mood.

One company, Plume Labs, introduced a wearable air quality monitor for the general public at CES. Called Flow, the device is meant to crowdsource data on air quality and monitor pollution as a person goes about their workday and evening. The thinking: With more data, consumers can make informed decisions about pollution solutions.

The monitor resembles a perforated tube with a leather-like strap that allows you to affix it to your backpack, clothing, a stroller, your bike…you name it. By taking it with you, and syncing it to an app—naturally—you’d get a readout of particulate matter and dust levels, nitrogen oxide from car emissions, ozone and volatile organic compound levels, as well as outside temperature and humidity.

Because other people around your area will also have continuous readings from their Flow devices, the app will aggregate crowd-sourced data to provide maps of problem areas, as well as places with better air.

Flow could become a good way to see what’s happening in the air around you, which is a perfect transition to actually combatting bad air, like installing AeraMax® Professional air purifiers in workplaces.

Flow will be launched nationwide later this year; pricing is yet to be determined.

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The Problem

When it comes to air pollution, there’s bad, and then there’s Beijing bad. The air quality was so poor in the major Chinese city during the fourth quarter of 2016 that officials took the unusual step of grounding air flights from the Beijing airport. The reason: Pilots couldn’t see the runway on landing approach, even from only a few hundred feet in the air.

Credit: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

The Cause

Officials attributed the heavy smog to a number of factors, including automobile exhaust, a drop in temperatures that resulted in increased use of wood-burning stoves and fireplaces, a spike in humidity that kept smog in place, and the coal-burning factories and plants in the area.

Worst yet, Beijing wasn’t the only hotspot. In the Sichuan province, more than 20,000 people were stuck at that local airport one day after flights were grounded because of heavy smog.

The Solution

In an effort to limit these instances, Beijing is experimenting with as new police force, which is tasked with tracking down environmental offenders. So, the new squad will be on the lookout for people burning garbage, organic fuel like wood or moss or barbequing in the open. In addition, the local government has pledged to close the city’s coal-fired energy plant, reducing coal consumption by 30 percent. Officials also want to removed older vehicles from the road, and improve some road conditions, which kick up dust from use.

Still, issues remain. In the region, regulatory violations are openly flaunted by companies, with industries continuing production even when told to cease because of pollution concerns. There’s no word whether the new police squad will enforce industrial regulations.

All this comes at a time when Chinese workers are becoming more anxious about pollution levels, with sales of personal filtration masks and novelty “fresh air” canisters at an all-time high.

Credit: The Washington Post

AeraMax PRO combats bad air

To this end, AeraMax Professional has redoubled efforts to bring commercial-grade air filtration systems to more Chinese companies, in a move to improve overall indoor air quality. AeraMax Professional air purifiers have been proven to remove up to 99.97 percent of airborne contaminants from indoor spaces, making them a perfect way to combat bad air coming in.

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