Indoor air quality, a major concern for office workers

IAQ in Office Buildings - A Major Health Concern

As more and more organizations became aware of the importance of healthy and productive indoor environments, the demand for good indoor air quality (IAQ) for office buildings increased exponentially in the last decade.

Scientific evidence indicates that indoor environments sometimes can have concentrations of pollutants that are much higher than levels found outside. The air inside homes and office buildings can be two to five times more polluted than the outdoor air and in some extreme situations up to one hundred times. During the cold season when homes, schools and offices are sealed up to conserve energy, the health and comfort issues associated with poor indoor air quality multiply exponentially.

Today, people are spending nearly 90% of their time indoors, exposing themselves to higher concentrations of pollutants for extended periods of time. The pollutants in our indoor environment can increase the risk of illness and have significant economic consequences for companies due to high loss of work time and performance, linked to health issues.

Health effects often include irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, and allergy-type symptoms. While these symptoms are usually short-term, and disappear when the source of pollution is removed, more serious conditions such as asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonia, Sick Building Syndrome (SBS), Building-Related Illness (BRI) and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) can affect some individuals after exposure.

The quality of indoor air is affected both by the pollutants inside the workplace and outdoor sources. Some of the major indoor pollution sources include building materials, furnishings, biological contaminants, cleaning and personal care products, office equipment, HVAC systems and humidification devices. Outdoor pollutants are mainly generated by the exhaust fumes from vehicles, chemicals and odors from production facilities and industrial plants and dust and particles from nearby construction sites.

In general, Indoor air quality problems in office buildings can be resolved by providing sufficient clean air and by eliminating major sources of contamination within the building.

Quatro Air Technologies (1.877.978.2876) offers complete air purification solutions to help improve the air quality in office environments. Using a multi-stage filtration system, our versatile and cost-effective air purifiers offer enhanced protection against a wide range of airborne pollutants including chemical compounds, gases, odors and particles.

The AF Series Air Purifiers for Home an Office Environments [Download PDF brochure]

Clean Air for Healthy Schools

Excited, nervous or a little scared and maybe a little sad that summer is over, the students have returned to school.

While most people are aware that outdoor air pollution can affect their health, only a small percentage realize that poor indoor air quality can also have significant health effects.

Students, teachers and school staff spend a great deal of time inside schools buildings. Over the past decades, the indoor air pollution in schools has increased steadily due to numerous factors such as aging buildings, tighter maintenance budgets, inadequate ventilation, and increased usage housekeeping supplies.

With a higher density of occupants for the same floor space when compared to typical office buildings, schools require adequate indoor air quality in order to create a favorable environment for students and staff.

Children are particularly affected by exposure to air pollutants as their bodies are still developing. Symptoms, such as headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, sinus congestion, coughing, sneezing, dizziness, nausea, and irritation of the eye, nose, throat and skin are frequently associated with poor indoor air quality.

Inappropriate indoor air quality is also linked to reduced productivity of the staff due to discomfort, sickness, or absenteeism.

The typical indoor air pollutants common to schools are:

• Biological contaminants (mold, dust mites, pet dander, pollen, etc.);
• Dust
• Fine particulate matter
• Lead (Pb)
• Nitrogen oxides (NO, NO2)
• Carbon dioxide (CO2)
• Carbon monoxide (CO)

In order to lower the concentration of indoor air pollutants and minimize the exposure risks for school occupants, Health Canada proposes six basic control strategies:

1. Source Management.

   It is the most effective control method and includes source removal, source substitution, and source isolation.

2. Local Exhaust.

   It involves the removal of individual sources of pollutants before they can disperse into the indoor air, by venting the contaminated air directly outside. (Examples: restrooms, kitchens, science labs, housekeeping storage rooms, printing and duplicating rooms, and vocational/ industrial areas such as welding booths.

3. Ventilation.

   Helps dilute the concentration of noxious fumes in the air by introducing cleaner outdoor air into the building.

4. Exposure Control.

   It involves adjusting the time and location of use in order to minimize the exposure of school occupants to intentionally released air contaminants. (Example: the best time for maintenance work such as painting, carpentry, masonry, welding is on Friday after school is dismissed; the ventilation system would then help reduce the air contaminants over the weekend).

5. Air Cleaning.

   It involves the filtration of particles from the air using air purification units, stand-alone or attached to the existing ventilation system.

6. Education.

   The school occupants must be provided with information about the sources and effects of contaminants, and about the proper operation of the ventilation system.

AF Series Air Purifiers

Equipped with multistage filtration systems including pre-filters, HEPA filters and chemical filters, Quatro Air’s powerful air purifiers are designed to remove a wide range of indoor air pollutants.

Take a look at our AF Series air purifiers (PDF format) and talk to one of our air quality experts about your indoor air quality concerns. 1.877.978.2876

3D Printers and Indoor Air Quality

3D Desktop Printer
MakerBot Replicator2

Ideal for rapid prototyping and small scale manufacturing, the 3D printing technology is expanding rapidly fueled by the development of low-cost desktop 3D printers.

3D printing (or Additive manufacturing) is an additive process known as molten polymer deposition (MPD) where very thin layers of thermoplastic are melted successively deposited on a baseplate by a computer controlled heated nozzle. As the thermoplastic hardens, the baseplate moves to the next layer, and the process continues until the desired 3D object is created.

There are several types of thermoplastics suitable for this process (polyvinyl alcohol - PVA, polycarbonate - PC, high-density polyethylene - HDPE) but most desktop 3D printers utilize either acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or polylactic acid (PLA).

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is a tough thermoplastic with a very good impact resistance and shock absorbance. In the 3D printing process the acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) prints at approximately 220 °C nozzle temperature and 80 °C baseplate temperature.

Polylactic acid or polylactide (PLA) is a thermoplastic derived from organic renewable sources such as corn starch and it prints at nozzle temperatures of about 180 °C and room temperature for the baseplate.

Recent studies on thermal processing of thermoplastics indicate that both gases and particles are emitted during the manufacturing processes. The main byproducts of the ABS thermal decomposition include carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide and a variety of volatile organics (VOC), all being well-known health hazards.

Another potential concern is the ultrafine particles (UFP), particles less than 100nm generated during the 3D printing process.

The authors of the “Ultrafine particle emissions from desktop 3D printers” study conducted a series of measurements on UFP concentrations resulting from the operation of several desktop 3D printers operating in a small office. The results indicated both ABS and PLA thermoplastics emit relatively high concentrations of ultrafine particles (UFP) and proper filtration is recommended.

UFPs are the main constituent of airborne particulate matter and due to their ability to penetrate deep within the lung and deposit in head’s airways, are a major health concern.

Quatro Air SPL-400
Multipurpose Source Capture Air Purifier

Experimental studies have shown that ultrafine particles are capable to pass through skin, enter the bloodstream from the lungs and cross cellular membranes. It was also indicated that the toxicity could increase as the particle size decreases due to increased surface area.

Even if components of certain UFPs are not very toxic, exposure to high concentrations may cause oxidative stress, inflammatory mediator release, and could induce lung disease and other systemic effects.

With a fast growing user base and sold without proper filtration, the 3D printers could expose the operators to serious health hazards.
Backed by 20 years of experience in air purification systems, Quatro Air Technologies (1.877.978.2876) offers a wide range of high efficiency source capture fume extractors designed remove airborne contaminants and create a healthy work environment.

Advanced Air Purification for healthcare facilities, isolation rooms and infection control areas

MedicAir

Advanced Air Filtration
for Healthcare Facilities

When an emergency situation arises, there is no time to waste.

Working closely with healthcare professionals allowed Quatro Air’s engineers to understand their strict requirements and design a highly efficient air purification system that can be deployed in less than 15 minutes and transform any room*  into an emergency negative pressure isolation environment.

The MedicAir series is the result of this cooperation and it is the only mobile unit available in the medical field that will automatically adjust the airflow to maintain a predetermined pressure setting. The MedicAir air purification units were successfully tested in a Quebec healthcare facility, in various scenarios such as: emergency room, isolation room, dialysis unit, pediatric ward and regular rooms. During the deadly SARS outbreak of 2003, the MedicAir air purifiers proved their capabilities, hundreds of units being shipped to hospitals around the world in order to help contain the spreading of the virus.

The MedicAir’s highly customized microprocessor control system eliminates the need for hospital personnel to constantly monitor the pressure and manually adjust the speed settings to maintain it at a predefined level. The MedicAir unit was capable to detect minute changes in pressure (e.g. the opening the door) and to compensates immediately by increasing the speed of the fan. The unit will automatically maintain negative pressure as well as guarantee a minimum of 12 air changes per hour*.

Engineered for high efficiency and equipped with a wide array of features, the MedicAir advanced air purification system meets and exceeds the requirements of any healthcare facility.

MedicAir Features:

• Automatic control of room pressure via VFD code protected, tamper proof controls.
• System inlet at breathing zone level in order to capture viruses as soon as possible
• Certified HEPA filters (99.97%) are LaserBlue gel sealed; guarantee zero filter bypass of contaminated air.
• Germicidal UV lamps
• Microprocessor control ensures minimum airflow to maintain negative room pressure.
• Visual and audible alarms when room pressure not achieved.
• Safety Filter Check; unique feature that prevents the unit from operating without filters.
• 2 decontamination ports.
• 4 heavy-duty rubber 2” wheels, 2 lockable,  for increased mobility and stability.
• Whisper quiet operation; noise level below 54dbA.
• Fans located on the clean side of the unit ensuring a maintenance-free fan/motor/control section
• Fast and easy deployment
• CSA (US) approved to medical standard

With over 60 units operating in various healthcare facilities in Quebec, MedicAir has proved to be one of the best solutions for negative pressure air purification systems.

[Download MedicAir brochure]

Talk to one of our specialists today to determine which MedicAir unit best suits your needs.
Quatro Air Technologies, 1.877.978.2876
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(* Rooms as large as 2500 cubic feet as per CDC.)