Grasping the Severity of Hazardous AQI

An Air Quality Index (AQI) exceeding 300 is termed \"Hazardous.\" At this extreme, there's a health warning of emergency conditions. The entire population is likely to be severely affected.

\n\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

HEALTH RECOMMENDATIONS
How to protect from Hazardous pollution
\n \n $\"Mask$ \n Wear a mask outdoors and indoors GET A MASK\n \n \n	\n \n $\"Air$ \n Run an air purifier GET AN AIR PURIFIER\n \n \n
\n \n $\"Monitor$ \n Close your windows to avoid dirty outdoor air GET A MONITOR\n \n \n	\n \n $\"Exercise$ \n Avoid outdoor exercise \n \n

\n

Protective Measures for Hazardous Air Quality

When air quality is hazardous, everyone is at high risk of experiencing strong irritation and negative health effects that could trigger respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses.

Avoid exercise and remain indoors. Avoid outdoor exercise. It is advisable to wear a pollution mask outdoors and indoors as well. Air purifiers should be turned on. Heed every local health advisory, and ensure homes are sealed effectively against the polluted air.

Join the movement!

Get a monitor and contribute to air quality data in your city

BECOME A CONTRIBUTOR

How can I protect myself when air quality is hazardous?

\nGet a free air quality app for real-time air quality alerts and forecasts and consistently monitor your air quality.
Help increase the amount of ground-level monitors by becoming an air quality contributor. Contribute to your community’s outdoor air quality data.
Shut doors and windows and set the HVAC to recirculate mode.
Stay indoors; if you do need to go outdoors, wear a KN95/FFP2 mask. Note that “Hazardous” pollution levels require a mask even when indoors.Run a high-performance air purifier to filter pollutants, particles, gases, and other contaminants.

How to best protect from air pollution?

Reduce your air pollution exposure

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n $\"Mask\"$ \n

Face Mask

\n $\"HPP\"$ \n

Air Purifier

\n $\"AV$ \n

Air quality monitors

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Award-winning, medical-grade & gas/odor filtration for medium to large rooms.

IQAir's top-selling room air purifier, featuring advanced HyperHEPA filtration for particles of all sizes and V5-Cell filtration for gases and odors. Excellent for allergens, bacteria¹, dust, viruses² and VOCs. Covers up to 1125 sq. ft.

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The public should greatly reduce outdoor exertion. While the broader population might still be largely unaffected, sensitive groups are at much greater health risk and should be very cautious. They should avoid all outdoor activity. How can I protect myself when air quality is unhealthy for sensitive groups? Get a free air quality app for real-time air quality alerts and forecasts and consistently monitor your air quality. Help increase the amount of ground-level monitors by becoming an air quality contributor. Contribute to your community’s outdoor air quality data. Shut doors and windows and set the HVAC to recirculate mode. Sensitive groups should stay indoors; if you do need to go outdoors, wear a KN95/FFP2 mask. Run a high-performance air purifier to filter pollutants, particles, gases, and other contaminants","

Understanding the \"Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups\" AQI Range

An Air Quality Index (AQI) between 101-150 is deemed \"Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups.\" Sensitive groups include:

Children
The Elderly
Pregnant People
People with cardiac and pulmonary diseases

\n\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

HEALTH RECOMMENDATIONS
How to protect from Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups pollution
\n \n $\"Mask$ \n Wear a mask outdoors and indoors GET A MASK\n \n \n	\n \n $\"Air$ \n Run an air purifier GET AN AIR PURIFIER\n \n \n
\n \n $\"Monitor$ \n Close your windows to avoid dirty outdoor air GET A MONITOR\n \n \n	\n \n $\"Exercise$ \n Reduce outdoor exercise \n \n

Protective Measures for Sensitive Groups

When air quality is unhealthy for sensitive groups, everyone is at risk for eye, skin, and throat irritation, as well as respiratory problems. The public should greatly reduce outdoor exertion.

While the broader population might still be largely unaffected, sensitive groups are at much greater health risk and should be very cautious. They should avoid all outdoor activity.

How can I protect myself when air quality is unhealthy for sensitive groups?

Get a free air quality app for real-time air quality alerts and forecasts and consistently monitor your air quality.
Help increase the amount of ground-level monitors by becoming an air quality contributor. Contribute to your community’s outdoor air quality data.
Shut doors and windows and set the HVAC to recirculate mode.
Sensitive groups should stay indoors; if you do need to go outdoors, wear a KN95/FFP2 mask.
Run a high-performance air purifier to filter pollutants, particles, gases, and other contaminants

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High-performance, comfortable mask with tight seal for better protection.

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A kitten rescue in Ontario needed a powerful clean air solution fast – and found it. Learn more about the essential role of clean air in shelters.

","Nestled in a small town near Cornwall, Canada, Tiny but Mighty Kitten Rescue serves as a lifeline for abandoned and vulnerable kittens (1). For nearly eight years, rescue founder Mellissa has worked tirelessly to save and nurture the most fragile feline lives in the region. Yet despite Mellissa’s dedication to maintaining a clean environment for those in her care, animal rescues must always contend with a formidable health challenge. Poor air quality impacts both kittens and the humans who care for them. Thanks to advanced air purification technology, the rescue now breathes easier—literally and figuratively. Mission built on compassion Mellissa’s journey to creating Tiny but Mighty began with heartbreak. As a volunteer at her local animal shelter, she learned of the euthanasia of kittens deemed too young to care for. Unwilling to accept this outcome, she founded her own kitten-focused rescue in 2017. “I had so many dreams about saving these kittens. Something told me to just do it myself—start my own rescue.” “I had so many dreams about saving these kittens. They wouldn’t let up,” Mellissa shared. “Something told me to just do it myself—start my own rescue.” Mellissa provides a safe space for kittens to grow and thrive until they find their carefully screened forever homes. Today, the rescue operates solely on donations and community support. “It’s such an incredible community. People do come through to support what I’m doing, so it’s incredible.” But running a rescue isn’t without its challenges, and one significant one she uncovered was air quality. Nova the kitten enjoying toys at the Tiny but Mighty Kitten Rescue. Good air quality: Essential in animal rescues Caring for kittens in any enclosed environment presents unique challenges. Despite her meticulous cleaning habits, Mellissa found air quality to be a problem. “The dust is crazy. The kittens will go in their litter box and sneeze.” There would still be dust, odors, and allergens in the space “even though I use 99% dust-free litter.” Mellissa explained. “It’s great compared to some I’ve tried, but the dust is crazy. The kittens will go in their litter box and make little sneezes.” This poor air quality not only affected visitors but also had potential health implications for the kittens and Mellissa herself. Dust mites, microscopic creatures that feed on animal’s dead skin, can cause year-round allergic reactions in both cats and humans, including sneezing, runny and itchy noses, watery eyes, and even rashes. Components of pet dander can also act as an allergen, triggering similar reactions. Determined to find a solution to her dust problem, she began her search for an air purifier that could meet the rescue’s unique needs. Life changing air cleaning solution Determined to tackle the persistent dust and allergens, Mellissa sought an air purifier that could truly meet the unique demands of her rescue. After years of frustration with a previous model, she knew she needed a solution that could handle constant activity, fine dust particles, and odors effectively. Mellissa recalled, “The dust was still spreading throughout the house, and I thought, ‘this is just not enough.’” That’s when Mellissa’s father suggested looking into IQAir’s HealthPro Plus XE. Intrigued by its reputation for advanced filtration capabilities, Mellissa decided to give it a try—and the results were immediate and noticeable. The HealthPro Plus XE is equipped with HyperHEPA filtration, capable of capturing particles as small as 0.003 microns—100 times smaller than most air purifiers can filter. This efficiency, proven to remove particles far smaller than bacteria or viruses, combined with gas-phase filtration to eliminate odors, made it an ideal solution for the rescue’s air quality challenges. “The kittens aren’t sneezing anymore. The air purifier has had a huge impact,” Mellissa shared. The HealthPro Plus XE at work next to Leia the cat. Not only did she see a dramatic improvement in the air quality for the kittens, but visitors also noticed the difference. The previously lingering food and litter odors were gone. “I definitely don’t smell that anymore,” Mellissa said. “I’m really impressed.” “The kittens aren’t sneezing anymore. The air purifier has had a huge impact.” When it comes to daily use, Mellissa has found a setup that works perfectly for the rescue’s needs. During cleaning, she runs the fan at its highest setting, ensuring dust and particles are quickly filtered out. For everyday operation, she adjusts the fan to levels 2 or 3, which run quietly enough not to disturb the kittens at night. Looking ahead For Mellissa, clean air ensures a brighter future for Tiny but Mighty Kitten Rescue. She intends to continue providing even more kittens with a safe haven before transitioning to loving homes. The cleaner air and lack of odor in the rescue has already improved adoption visits, a critical step in finding forever homes for the kittens. Mellissa emphasizes her desire to address the root cause of ownerless kittens—unspayed and neutered animals in the population. She hopes to get the word out to more pet owners about the crucial role of spaying and neutering their animals. As she warns, “the cat overpopulation is so crazy here. Spay and neuter your cats, spay and neuter your dogs to help lower those populations.” Conclusion Tiny but Mighty Kitten Rescue’s story underscores the profound difference clean air technology can make in transforming lives—both human and animal. For Mellissa, investing in air purification wasn’t just about solving a nuisance; it was about creating a healthier, more inviting space where kittens could thrive and visitors could feel comfortable. By addressing the often-overlooked issue of air quality, she has set a powerful example for other rescues, shelters, and even individual pet owners facing similar challenges.","

Nestled in a small town near Cornwall, Canada, Tiny but Mighty Kitten Rescue serves as a lifeline for abandoned and vulnerable kittens (1). For nearly eight years, rescue founder Mellissa has worked tirelessly to save and nurture the most fragile feline lives in the region.

Yet despite Mellissa’s dedication to maintaining a clean environment for those in her care, animal rescues must always contend with a formidable health challenge. Poor air quality impacts both kittens and the humans who care for them.

Thanks to advanced air purification technology, the rescue now breathes easier—literally and figuratively.

Mission built on compassion

Mellissa’s journey to creating Tiny but Mighty began with heartbreak. As a volunteer at her local animal shelter, she learned of the euthanasia of kittens deemed too young to care for. Unwilling to accept this outcome, she founded her own kitten-focused rescue in 2017.

“I had so many dreams about saving these kittens. Something told me to just do it myself—start my own rescue.”

“I had so many dreams about saving these kittens. They wouldn’t let up,” Mellissa shared. “Something told me to just do it myself—start my own rescue.”

Mellissa provides a safe space for kittens to grow and thrive until they find their carefully screened forever homes. Today, the rescue operates solely on donations and community support. “It’s such an incredible community. People do come through to support what I’m doing, so it’s incredible.”

But running a rescue isn’t without its challenges, and one significant one she uncovered was air quality.

Nova the kitten enjoying toys at the Tiny but Mighty Kitten Rescue.

Good air quality: Essential in animal rescues

Caring for kittens in any enclosed environment presents unique challenges. Despite her meticulous cleaning habits, Mellissa found air quality to be a problem.

“The dust is crazy. The kittens will go in their litter box and sneeze.”

There would still be dust, odors, and allergens in the space “even though I use 99% dust-free litter.” Mellissa explained. “It’s great compared to some I’ve tried, but the dust is crazy. The kittens will go in their litter box and make little sneezes.”

This poor air quality not only affected visitors but also had potential health implications for the kittens and Mellissa herself. Dust mites, microscopic creatures that feed on animal’s dead skin, can cause year-round allergic reactions in both cats and humans, including sneezing, runny and itchy noses, watery eyes, and even rashes.

Components of pet dander can also act as an allergen, triggering similar reactions.

Determined to find a solution to her dust problem, she began her search for an air purifier that could meet the rescue’s unique needs.

Life changing air cleaning solution

Determined to tackle the persistent dust and allergens, Mellissa sought an air purifier that could truly meet the unique demands of her rescue. After years of frustration with a previous model, she knew she needed a solution that could handle constant activity, fine dust particles, and odors effectively.

Mellissa recalled, “The dust was still spreading throughout the house, and I thought, ‘this is just not enough.’”

That’s when Mellissa’s father suggested looking into IQAir’s HealthPro Plus XE. Intrigued by its reputation for advanced filtration capabilities, Mellissa decided to give it a try—and the results were immediate and noticeable.

The HealthPro Plus XE is equipped with HyperHEPA filtration, capable of capturing particles as small as 0.003 microns—100 times smaller than most air purifiers can filter. This efficiency, proven to remove particles far smaller than bacteria or viruses, combined with gas-phase filtration to eliminate odors, made it an ideal solution for the rescue’s air quality challenges.

“The kittens aren’t sneezing anymore. The air purifier has had a huge impact,” Mellissa shared.

$\"\"$

The HealthPro Plus XE at work next to Leia the cat.

Not only did she see a dramatic improvement in the air quality for the kittens, but visitors also noticed the difference. The previously lingering food and litter odors were gone. “I definitely don’t smell that anymore,” Mellissa said. “I’m really impressed.”

“The kittens aren’t sneezing anymore. The air purifier has had a huge impact.”

When it comes to daily use, Mellissa has found a setup that works perfectly for the rescue’s needs. During cleaning, she runs the fan at its highest setting, ensuring dust and particles are quickly filtered out. For everyday operation, she adjusts the fan to levels 2 or 3, which run quietly enough not to disturb the kittens at night.

Looking ahead

For Mellissa, clean air ensures a brighter future for Tiny but Mighty Kitten Rescue. She intends to continue providing even more kittens with a safe haven before transitioning to loving homes.

The cleaner air and lack of odor in the rescue has already improved adoption visits, a critical step in finding forever homes for the kittens.

Mellissa emphasizes her desire to address the root cause of ownerless kittens—unspayed and neutered animals in the population. She hopes to get the word out to more pet owners about the crucial role of spaying and neutering their animals. As she warns, “the cat overpopulation is so crazy here. Spay and neuter your cats, spay and neuter your dogs to help lower those populations.”

Conclusion

Tiny but Mighty Kitten Rescue’s story underscores the profound difference clean air technology can make in transforming lives—both human and animal.

For Mellissa, investing in air purification wasn’t just about solving a nuisance; it was about creating a healthier, more inviting space where kittens could thrive and visitors could feel comfortable. By addressing the often-overlooked issue of air quality, she has set a powerful example for other rescues, shelters, and even individual pet owners facing similar challenges.

","cleaner-air-healthier-kittens-iqair-supports-tiny-but-mighty-rescue","gid://shopify/Article/997882986870","onlineStoreUrl","https://shop-gl-eur.iqair.com/blogs/news/cleaner-air-healthier-kittens-iqair-supports-tiny-but-mighty-rescue","2025-01-27T04:00:00Z",[611,612],"Cleaner air, healthier kittens: Tiny but Mighty Kitten Rescue",{"_65":606,"_210":607,"_208":608,"_211":609,"_213":610},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/396322505078","Cat resting next to air purifier.","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0677/4059/8571/articles/KittenRescue_Desk_520x500_b51e6557-89fd-41e0-a21b-816616233043.jpg?v=1739826680",520,271,"Pets","Success Stories",{"_52":311},{"_67":63},"In the slender West African nation of Gambia, Dr. Sunkaru Touray of Permian Health Lung Institute is leading an unprecedented initiative to illuminate the invisible dangers of air pollution through the strategic deployment of low-cost air quality monitors. A vision born from necessity Dr. Touray, a pulmonologist and critical care physician originally from Kartong, The Gambia, was profoundly affected by the respiratory issues he encountered while practicing in New Mexico. These issues, often linked to hydrocarbon exposure and environmental pollutants, spurred him to address similar problems in Gambia, where air quality data is scarce. \"There's a significant data gap in Africa when it comes to understanding our air,\" Dr. Touray noted. Recognizing the parallels between New Mexico and Gambia, Dr. Touray envisioned the Permian Health Clean Air Initiative. This initiative aims not only to collect data but to empower Gambians with knowledge, enabling them to make informed decisions about their health and advocate for cleaner air. “There’s a significant data gap in Africa when it comes to understanding our air.” –Dr. Sunkaru Touray, Founder, Permian Health The journey of Permian Health Permian Health's mission is clear: to democratize access to air quality data in Gambia by installing low-cost air quality monitors throughout the country. The team selected IQAir’s AirVisual outdoor monitors for this critical work. “These devices are proven to be reliable, user-friendly, and can operate on solar power,” Dr. Touray said. “They also have 4G LTE connectivity,” which make the monitors ideally suited for Gambia's diverse environments—from the bustling streets of Banjul to the rural countryside. \"The goal,\" Dr. Touray explained, \"is not just to collect data but to empower our communities with knowledge so they can make informed decisions about their health and advocate for cleaner air.\" Highlighting areas of concern: Brikama’s air quality Brikama stands as a poignant example of the challenges faced across Gambia. Known for its bustling markets and as a hub for both commerce and community life, the town also grapples with air quality issues that pose risks to its residents. By placing monitors in strategic locations, including the busy highway through Brikama, Permian Health is mapping pollution levels and raising awareness among the local population about the air they breathe daily—while simultaneously acting as a testament to the potential of grassroots air monitoring networks in challenging regions. Dr. Touray said, \"As we look to the future, the lessons learned from Brikama will inform our expansion strategies to other regions facing similar challenges. Our success in achieving nationwide coverage, with Brikama as a keystone in our network, exemplifies the scalable model of Permian Health Clean Air Initiative.” “The goal is not to just collect the data but to empower our communities with knowledge so they can make informed decisions about their health.” Local feedback has been largely positive. According to Dr. Touray, real-time access to air quality monitor information has improved local understanding of the dangers of poor air quality, especially during the dry, dusty Harmattan season typically experienced from November to March. Permian Health has collaborated with local groups such as the Brikama Nema Diaspora Group (BRIND) and Karamie’s Health clinic to install sensors in key areas, allowing residents and medical professionals to access real-time air quality data. Pioneering work on the ground To date, the Permian Health air quality network has grown to 14 sensors, achieving nationwide coverage with an air quality sensor in all regions of The Gambia—proof of the project's rapid scalability and success. The project has successfully installed air quality monitors in various locations, including urban areas and industrial sites. These monitors provide real-time data on pollutants like PM2.5, which pose the greatest threat to human health, offering invaluable insights into the air pollution across different regions of Gambia. \"We have sensors in the most densely populated areas,” Dr. Touray said. \"Through the process of collecting PM 2.5 data in Gambia and identifying pollution hotspots, we educate the public about air quality and its impact on public health—and also communicate the importance of installing air quality sensors as a means to make a change.\" This foundational work sets the stage for enhanced accuracy and credibility in air quality monitoring, as underscored by a pivotal development in the project's journey. “The recent addition of a reference-grade monitor donated by MetOne marks a significant leap in our capacity for precision and validation of the data collected by our existing sensor network,” Dr. Touray said. However, maintaining and expanding the network can be impeded by dust accumulation on solar panels during the Harmattan season, unreliable power supplies, and other issues. ‘While we have made significant progress in addressing some of these challenges, connectivity and maintenance in remote areas remain ongoing hurdles in our efforts to maintain and expand the sensor network efficiently,’ Dr. Touray explained. Uniting minds and garnering accolades To raise awareness about their work, Permian Health has created a promotional video which serves as a powerful tool to inform and engage the public about their project. A key milestone for the project was the establishment of the first air quality conference in Gambia, bringing together stakeholders from the government, academia, and civil society to discuss the findings and implications of the collected data. \"This conference was a pivotal moment for us, marking the beginning of a national conversation on air quality,\" reflects Dr. Touray. This national conversation is already making a policy impact. The Ministry of Health has issued public health advisories several times since the air quality sensors were deployed, raising air quality awareness in communities around the country. Dr. Touray emphasizes the importance of partnering with the Gambian government to leverage their data for national air quality standards and planning. \"Working closely with governmental bodies is crucial for our success,\" Dr. Touray notes, highlighting his strong connections within the National Environment Agency, which have been supportive of their endeavors. With the NEA, Permian Health was able to release their first air quality report based on initial installations. This sets the table for future updates from newly installed sensors. Additionally, the project's recent recognition by the Energy Policy Institute of the University of Chicago with an Air Quality Award underscores the global acknowledgment of their impactful work. This prestigious award will enable Permian Health to scale their network further. Currently, there are 22 low-cost sensors deployed, and Gambia will, for the first time ever, have a reference monitor to assist in enhancing air quality monitoring and assessment. Hopes for the Future Thanks to their recent Air Quality award, Permian Health acquired an additional 10 sensors, bringing the total to 26 sensors across The Gambia. Six new sensors have been deployed to NEA headquarters, two major health centers with support from the Ministry of Health, and in housing developments in partnership with Gambia’s largest real estate company, TAF Africa Global. The remaining sensors will be deployed to the National Stadium, Gambia International Airport, the Seaport in Banjul, and a major intersection as soon as final government approvals are processed. Dr. Touray envisions a future where every Gambian has access to air quality information, enabling them to protect themselves and their families from air pollution. Furthermore, he hopes to leverage the data collected to advocate for stronger environmental policies and regulations in Gambia. “We’re not just collecting data for the sake of it. We want to drive change.” \"We're not just collecting data for the sake of it. We want to drive change,\" says Dr. Touray. \"Our ultimate goal is for Gambia to set national air quality standards, informed by the comprehensive data we've gathered.\" A key step toward this goal is the second Clean Air Conference, which Permian Health is organizing in partnership with the NEA. The event will bring together stakeholders, including officials from the ministries of Health, Environment, Transport, and Education, to develop a national air quality work plan. According to Dr. Touray, Permian Health is conducting an inventory assessment to determine the key sources of pollution, such as waste burning, reliance on charcoal and firewood for cooking, and transport-related emissions. \"Looking ahead, we aim to strengthen our collaboration with the NEA and the Ministry of Health, to expand and maintain our sensor network.\" \"We plan to enhance public awareness campaigns, especially during high-risk periods, to better inform the community about air quality concerns. We would also like to engage more with local TV stations for them to display air quality and weather information from our network. Conclusion Dr. Sunkaru Touray's work with Permian Health exemplifies innovative activism. The project not only addresses air quality data gaps but also empowers communities to tackle air pollution—an issue that transcends borders. Dr. Touray's mission goes beyond air quality monitoring; it's about transforming the quality of public health around the world.","

In the slender West African nation of Gambia, Dr. Sunkaru Touray of Permian Health Lung Institute is leading an unprecedented initiative to illuminate the invisible dangers of air pollution through the strategic deployment of low-cost air quality monitors.

A vision born from necessity

Dr. Touray, a pulmonologist and critical care physician originally from Kartong, The Gambia, was profoundly affected by the respiratory issues he encountered while practicing in New Mexico. These issues, often linked to hydrocarbon exposure and environmental pollutants, spurred him to address similar problems in Gambia, where air quality data is scarce. \"There's a significant data gap in Africa when it comes to understanding our air,\" Dr. Touray noted.

Recognizing the parallels between New Mexico and Gambia, Dr. Touray envisioned the Permian Health Clean Air Initiative. This initiative aims not only to collect data but to empower Gambians with knowledge, enabling them to make informed decisions about their health and advocate for cleaner air.

\n
“There’s a significant data gap in Africa when it comes to understanding our air.”
\n
–Dr. Sunkaru Touray, Founder, Permian Health
\n

The journey of Permian Health

Permian Health's mission is clear: to democratize access to air quality data in Gambia by installing low-cost air quality monitors throughout the country. The team selected IQAir’s AirVisual outdoor monitors for this critical work. “These devices are proven to be reliable, user-friendly, and can operate on solar power,” Dr. Touray said. “They also have 4G LTE connectivity,” which make the monitors ideally suited for Gambia's diverse environments—from the bustling streets of Banjul to the rural countryside.

\"The goal,\" Dr. Touray explained, \"is not just to collect data but to empower our communities with knowledge so they can make informed decisions about their health and advocate for cleaner air.\"

Highlighting areas of concern: Brikama’s air quality

Brikama stands as a poignant example of the challenges faced across Gambia. Known for its bustling markets and as a hub for both commerce and community life, the town also grapples with air quality issues that pose risks to its residents. By placing monitors in strategic locations, including the busy highway through Brikama, Permian Health is mapping pollution levels and raising awareness among the local population about the air they breathe daily—while simultaneously acting as a testament to the potential of grassroots air monitoring networks in challenging regions.

$\"\"$

Dr. Touray said, \"As we look to the future, the lessons learned from Brikama will inform our expansion strategies to other regions facing similar challenges. Our success in achieving nationwide coverage, with Brikama as a keystone in our network, exemplifies the scalable model of Permian Health Clean Air Initiative.”

\n
“The goal is not to just collect the data but to empower our communities with knowledge so they can make informed decisions about their health.”
\n

Local feedback has been largely positive. According to Dr. Touray, real-time access to air quality monitor information has improved local understanding of the dangers of poor air quality, especially during the dry, dusty Harmattan season typically experienced from November to March.

Permian Health has collaborated with local groups such as the Brikama Nema Diaspora Group (BRIND) and Karamie’s Health clinic to install sensors in key areas, allowing residents and medical professionals to access real-time air quality data.

Pioneering work on the ground

To date, the Permian Health air quality network has grown to 14 sensors, achieving nationwide coverage with an air quality sensor in all regions of The Gambia—proof of the project's rapid scalability and success. The project has successfully installed air quality monitors in various locations, including urban areas and industrial sites. These monitors provide real-time data on pollutants like PM2.5, which pose the greatest threat to human health, offering invaluable insights into the air pollution across different regions of Gambia. \"We have sensors in the most densely populated areas,” Dr. Touray said. \"Through the process of collecting PM 2.5 data in Gambia and identifying pollution hotspots, we educate the public about air quality and its impact on public health—and also communicate the importance of installing air quality sensors as a means to make a change.\"

This foundational work sets the stage for enhanced accuracy and credibility in air quality monitoring, as underscored by a pivotal development in the project's journey. “The recent addition of a reference-grade monitor donated by MetOne marks a significant leap in our capacity for precision and validation of the data collected by our existing sensor network,” Dr. Touray said.

However, maintaining and expanding the network can be impeded by dust accumulation on solar panels during the Harmattan season, unreliable power supplies, and other issues.

‘While we have made significant progress in addressing some of these challenges, connectivity and maintenance in remote areas remain ongoing hurdles in our efforts to maintain and expand the sensor network efficiently,’ Dr. Touray explained.

Uniting minds and garnering accolades

To raise awareness about their work, Permian Health has created a promotional video which serves as a powerful tool to inform and engage the public about their project.

A key milestone for the project was the establishment of the first air quality conference in Gambia, bringing together stakeholders from the government, academia, and civil society to discuss the findings and implications of the collected data.

\"This conference was a pivotal moment for us, marking the beginning of a national conversation on air quality,\" reflects Dr. Touray.

This national conversation is already making a policy impact. The Ministry of Health has issued public health advisories several times since the air quality sensors were deployed, raising air quality awareness in communities around the country.

Dr. Touray emphasizes the importance of partnering with the Gambian government to leverage their data for national air quality standards and planning. \"Working closely with governmental bodies is crucial for our success,\" Dr. Touray notes, highlighting his strong connections within the National Environment Agency, which have been supportive of their endeavors.

With the NEA, Permian Health was able to release their first air quality report based on initial installations. This sets the table for future updates from newly installed sensors.

Additionally, the project's recent recognition by the Energy Policy Institute of the University of Chicago with an Air Quality Award underscores the global acknowledgment of their impactful work. This prestigious award will enable Permian Health to scale their network further.

Currently, there are 22 low-cost sensors deployed, and Gambia will, for the first time ever, have a reference monitor to assist in enhancing air quality monitoring and assessment.

Hopes for the Future

Thanks to their recent Air Quality award, Permian Health acquired an additional 10 sensors, bringing the total to 26 sensors across The Gambia.

$\"\"$

Six new sensors have been deployed to NEA headquarters, two major health centers with support from the Ministry of Health, and in housing developments in partnership with Gambia’s largest real estate company, TAF Africa Global. The remaining sensors will be deployed to the National Stadium, Gambia International Airport, the Seaport in Banjul, and a major intersection as soon as final government approvals are processed.

Dr. Touray envisions a future where every Gambian has access to air quality information, enabling them to protect themselves and their families from air pollution. Furthermore, he hopes to leverage the data collected to advocate for stronger environmental policies and regulations in Gambia.

\n
“We’re not just collecting data for the sake of it. We want to drive change.”
\n

\"We're not just collecting data for the sake of it. We want to drive change,\" says Dr. Touray. \"Our ultimate goal is for Gambia to set national air quality standards, informed by the comprehensive data we've gathered.\"

A key step toward this goal is the second Clean Air Conference, which Permian Health is organizing in partnership with the NEA. The event will bring together stakeholders, including officials from the ministries of Health, Environment, Transport, and Education, to develop a national air quality work plan.

According to Dr. Touray, Permian Health is conducting an inventory assessment to determine the key sources of pollution, such as waste burning, reliance on charcoal and firewood for cooking, and transport-related emissions. \"Looking ahead, we aim to strengthen our collaboration with the NEA and the Ministry of Health, to expand and maintain our sensor network.\"

\"We plan to enhance public awareness campaigns, especially during high-risk periods, to better inform the community about air quality concerns. We would also like to engage more with local TV stations for them to display air quality and weather information from our network.

Conclusion

Dr. Sunkaru Touray's work with Permian Health exemplifies innovative activism. The project not only addresses air quality data gaps but also empowers communities to tackle air pollution—an issue that transcends borders.

Dr. Touray's mission goes beyond air quality monitoring; it's about transforming the quality of public health around the world.

","permian-health-air-quality-crusade-in-gambia","gid://shopify/Article/998083264886","https://shop-gl-eur.iqair.com/blogs/news/permian-health-air-quality-crusade-in-gambia","2025-03-24T10:03:00Z",[627,628,612],"Revealing the Invisible: Permian Health’s air quality crusade in Gambia",{"_65":624,"_210":625,"_208":626,"_211":309,"_213":310},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/407094034806","Man working on pole","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0677/4059/8571/articles/PermianHealth_Desk_A_82dc4964-aaa3-4053-96ec-1d5218eb3bd9.jpg?v=1754470616","Community","Featured Contributor",{"_52":311},{"_67":63},"WWF Pakistan is tackling air pollution with IQAir. Learn how real-time data is driving change across the country.","

WWF Pakistan is tackling air pollution with IQAir. Learn how real-time data is driving change across the country.

","In Pakistan, severe air pollution silently impacts public health and well-being nationwide. Yet, due to a dire lack of air quality data, air quality monitors, and public awareness, the scale of the threat remains largely unseen. In 2024, Pakistan was the third most polluted country in the world, with an average PM2.5 concentration of 73.7 μg/m3 and exceeding the World Health Organization’s recommended annual guideline of 5 μg/m3 by 14.7 times. Numerous cities experienced poor air quality, with high average PM2.5 concentrations measured for Islamabad (52.4 μg/m3), Rawalpindi (65.8 μg/m3), Faisalabad (88.8 μg/m3), Peshawar (91.0 μg/m3), and Lahore (102.1 μg/m3) – all exceeding the WHO recommended guideline by ten times or more. Recognizing the urgency of this crisis, WWF-Pakistan has taken significant steps to address air pollution using IQAir’s air quality monitoring technology. WWF-Pakistan has successfully deployed stations across Pakistan and published data to IQAir’s AirVisual platform, establishing the country’s largest air quality monitoring network. With this initiative, WWF-Pakistan is transforming how the country understands and confronts this invisible threat. \"We have successfully reached the goal of installing AirVisual Outdoor sensors in 15 of our offices across Pakistan,\" said WWF-Pakistan’s Research Officer, Muhammad Huzaifa who led this initiative in Pakistan. As of now, WWF-Pakistan has air monitoring stations located in key regions like Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Multan, and Peshawar. They provide real-time data that is accessible to both policymakers and the public. \"We are excited to say that we’ve published the data from these stations to IQAir’s platform, where communities can see their local air quality in real-time.” Why Pakistan Needs Reliable Air Quality Data Pakistan's urban centers, such as Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi, frequently grapple with thick layers of smog. While this is a visible reminder of air pollution, the more dangerous pollutants often remain unseen and unmonitored. One of the greatest challenges in Pakistan has been the need for more reliable, public air quality data. \"Our air quality network provides crucial air quality data in some of Pakistan’s most polluted regions and are often ranked among the top 10 most polluted cities in the world\" Huzaifa explained. WWF-Pakistan, the nation’s largest environmental organization, has been addressing critical environmental issues since 1970. Originally focused on protecting wildlife and ecosystems, the organization’s scope has broadened to include tackling climate change, protecting vulnerable habitats, and securing vital resources like freshwater. Now, through their air quality monitoring initiative, they are addressing one of the most pressing health and environmental crises facing Pakistan. “Unfortunately, there is little public air quality data available,” Huzaifa noted. “This information vacuum has left policymakers and citizens unprepared to tackle the pollution crisis.” WWF-Pakistan’s initiative helps fill this gap, ensuring the public has access to real-time, localized air quality data. With real-time data now available, citizens, governments, and policymakers can work together to implement solutions, reduce pollution and improve health outcomes across the country. Building Pakistan's National Air Quality Network WWF-Pakistan’s initiative, which involves installing air quality sensors in key cities across the country, marks a critical step in Pakistan’s battle against air pollution. By coordinating 15 monitoring stations under one national initiative, WWF-Pakistan now operates the country’s largest organized air quality monitoring network, making real-time data accessible to both citizens and policymakers. Partnering with IQAir adds both credibility and precision to the project. \"IQAir's AirVisual air quality monitors are globally recognized for their accuracy and ability to track even the smallest fluctuations in air quality,\" said Huzaifa. \"IQAir's technology is built to withstand all sorts of weather and having it in place ensures that people will trust the data.\" This transparency is essential for mobilizing both community efforts and policy interventions, as reliable information is crucial to driving meaningful change. Using Air Quality Data to Combat Pollution in Pakistan With the sensors online and data flowing into the IQAir platform, WWF-Pakistan's live contributor profile showcases the impact of their work, allowing anyone to monitor air quality in real-time. This transparency empowers citizens and policymakers alike to take informed action, using reliable data to drive meaningful change across the country. Explore WWF-Pakistan’s profile to see the live data from their monitoring stations across Pakistan. \"Data isn’t just a tool for awareness—it’s the foundation for meaningful action,\" Nazifa Butt, Director Climate Action and Sustainability WWF-Pakistan emphasized. “Now that we have the data, we have something to report and base our decisions on.” Nazifa emphasized the importance of storytelling. “We’re going to have to tell two parts of the story,” she explained, pointing out how data can not only expose alarming trends but also inspire communities to push for change—through policies, advocacy, and local initiatives. With 18,800 followers across its national network, WWF-Pakistan is sharing that data every day with citizens who urgently need real-time air quality information to help protect themselves from pollution. Pakistan's Long-Term Pollution Solutions WWF-Pakistan envisions a future where every region of the country has access to real-time, accurate air quality data. \"Each sensor we deploy is a step closer to a healthier, more sustainable Pakistan,\" Nazifa explained. By providing access to this data, WWF-Pakistan aims to foster a culture of proactive health management, where individuals and communities can take the steps necessary to protect themselves from pollution. The air quality data being gathered is more than just numbers—it’s a lifeline for communities struggling with the dangers of polluted air. “Our initiative is laying the foundation for a National Clean Air Research Centre,\" Huzaifa said. \"This will be a hub for research and data-driven policies, enabling us to tackle pollution with innovative strategies.\" “Each sensor we deploy is a step closer to a healthier, more sustainable Pakistan.” In October 2024, WWF-Pakistan warned that Lahore’s air quality posed a terrible threat to public health, recommending a number of changes to government policy including helping farmers manage crop waste, expanding mass transit, and improving zoning laws to reduce industrial pollution away from residents. It also noted that low-cost air quality monitoring systems could be used to uncover air pollution hotspots along traffic routes. Armed with that information, governments could restrict heavy transport vehicles or develop alternate routes to avoid congestion (1). Beyond their air quality monitoring project, the WWF-Pakistan team oversees more than 60 active environmental protection initiatives in FY 2025 across the country, ranging from clean water access and forest preservation to sustainable infrastructure development. These efforts, working in tandem with the air quality monitoring network, are all part of WWF's broader mission to protect the planet's natural environment and create a future where both people and nature can thrive in harmony. Conclusion WWF-Pakistan's initiative is a testament to the transformative power of air quality data, technology, and collective will in addressing one of today’s most pressing challenges. And by increasing the footprint of air quality monitors across the country, innovative solutions to persistent pollution problems can be put into play. As this vital work advances, it invites everyone to contribute to the cause—because in the fight for clean air, every voice and every action matters. “This initiative,” Nazifa said, “lays the foundation for what we envision as Pakistan’s future air quality innovation hub. It will serve as a hub for developing strategies and methods to tackle air pollution, aligning efforts across governmental and non-governmental sectors, both locally and internationally, in the fight against climate change.”","

In Pakistan, severe air pollution silently impacts public health and well-being nationwide. Yet, due to a dire lack of air quality data, air quality monitors, and public awareness, the scale of the threat remains largely unseen.

In 2024, Pakistan was the third most polluted country in the world, with an average PM2.5 concentration of 73.7 μg/m3 and exceeding the World Health Organization’s recommended annual guideline of 5 μg/m3 by 14.7 times. Numerous cities experienced poor air quality, with high average PM2.5 concentrations measured for Islamabad (52.4 μg/m3), Rawalpindi (65.8 μg/m3), Faisalabad (88.8 μg/m3), Peshawar (91.0 μg/m3), and Lahore (102.1 μg/m3) – all exceeding the WHO recommended guideline by ten times or more.

Recognizing the urgency of this crisis, WWF-Pakistan has taken significant steps to address air pollution using IQAir’s air quality monitoring technology. WWF-Pakistan has successfully deployed stations across Pakistan and published data to IQAir’s AirVisual platform, establishing the country’s largest air quality monitoring network. With this initiative, WWF-Pakistan is transforming how the country understands and confronts this invisible threat.

\"We have successfully reached the goal of installing AirVisual Outdoor sensors in 15 of our offices across Pakistan,\" said WWF-Pakistan’s Research Officer, Muhammad Huzaifa who led this initiative in Pakistan.

As of now, WWF-Pakistan has air monitoring stations located in key regions like Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Multan, and Peshawar. They provide real-time data that is accessible to both policymakers and the public. \"We are excited to say that we’ve published the data from these stations to IQAir’s platform, where communities can see their local air quality in real-time.”

Why Pakistan Needs Reliable Air Quality Data

Pakistan's urban centers, such as Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi, frequently grapple with thick layers of smog. While this is a visible reminder of air pollution, the more dangerous pollutants often remain unseen and unmonitored. One of the greatest challenges in Pakistan has been the need for more reliable, public air quality data.

\"Our air quality network provides crucial air quality data in some of Pakistan’s most polluted regions and are often ranked among the top 10 most polluted cities in the world\" Huzaifa explained.

WWF-Pakistan, the nation’s largest environmental organization, has been addressing critical environmental issues since 1970. Originally focused on protecting wildlife and ecosystems, the organization’s scope has broadened to include tackling climate change, protecting vulnerable habitats, and securing vital resources like freshwater. Now, through their air quality monitoring initiative, they are addressing one of the most pressing health and environmental crises facing Pakistan.

“Unfortunately, there is little public air quality data available,” Huzaifa noted. “This information vacuum has left policymakers and citizens unprepared to tackle the pollution crisis.” WWF-Pakistan’s initiative helps fill this gap, ensuring the public has access to real-time, localized air quality data.

With real-time data now available, citizens, governments, and policymakers can work together to implement solutions, reduce pollution and improve health outcomes across the country.

Building Pakistan's National Air Quality Network

WWF-Pakistan’s initiative, which involves installing air quality sensors in key cities across the country, marks a critical step in Pakistan’s battle against air pollution. By coordinating 15 monitoring stations under one national initiative, WWF-Pakistan now operates the country’s largest organized air quality monitoring network, making real-time data accessible to both citizens and policymakers.

Partnering with IQAir adds both credibility and precision to the project. \"IQAir's AirVisual air quality monitors are globally recognized for their accuracy and ability to track even the smallest fluctuations in air quality,\" said Huzaifa. \"IQAir's technology is built to withstand all sorts of weather and having it in place ensures that people will trust the data.\" This transparency is essential for mobilizing both community efforts and policy interventions, as reliable information is crucial to driving meaningful change.

Using Air Quality Data to Combat Pollution in Pakistan

With the sensors online and data flowing into the IQAir platform, WWF-Pakistan's live contributor profile showcases the impact of their work, allowing anyone to monitor air quality in real-time. This transparency empowers citizens and policymakers alike to take informed action, using reliable data to drive meaningful change across the country. Explore WWF-Pakistan’s profile to see the live data from their monitoring stations across Pakistan.

\"Data isn’t just a tool for awareness—it’s the foundation for meaningful action,\" Nazifa Butt, Director Climate Action and Sustainability WWF-Pakistan emphasized. “Now that we have the data, we have something to report and base our decisions on.”

Nazifa emphasized the importance of storytelling. “We’re going to have to tell two parts of the story,” she explained, pointing out how data can not only expose alarming trends but also inspire communities to push for change—through policies, advocacy, and local initiatives.

With 18,800 followers across its national network, WWF-Pakistan is sharing that data every day with citizens who urgently need real-time air quality information to help protect themselves from pollution.

Pakistan's Long-Term Pollution Solutions

WWF-Pakistan envisions a future where every region of the country has access to real-time, accurate air quality data.

\"Each sensor we deploy is a step closer to a healthier, more sustainable Pakistan,\" Nazifa explained. By providing access to this data, WWF-Pakistan aims to foster a culture of proactive health management, where individuals and communities can take the steps necessary to protect themselves from pollution.

The air quality data being gathered is more than just numbers—it’s a lifeline for communities struggling with the dangers of polluted air. “Our initiative is laying the foundation for a National Clean Air Research Centre,\" Huzaifa said. \"This will be a hub for research and data-driven policies, enabling us to tackle pollution with innovative strategies.\"

“Each sensor we deploy is a step closer to a healthier, more sustainable Pakistan.”

In October 2024, WWF-Pakistan warned that Lahore’s air quality posed a terrible threat to public health, recommending a number of changes to government policy including helping farmers manage crop waste, expanding mass transit, and improving zoning laws to reduce industrial pollution away from residents.

It also noted that low-cost air quality monitoring systems could be used to uncover air pollution hotspots along traffic routes. Armed with that information, governments could restrict heavy transport vehicles or develop alternate routes to avoid congestion (1).

Beyond their air quality monitoring project, the WWF-Pakistan team oversees more than 60 active environmental protection initiatives in FY 2025 across the country, ranging from clean water access and forest preservation to sustainable infrastructure development. These efforts, working in tandem with the air quality monitoring network, are all part of WWF's broader mission to protect the planet's natural environment and create a future where both people and nature can thrive in harmony.

Conclusion

WWF-Pakistan's initiative is a testament to the transformative power of air quality data, technology, and collective will in addressing one of today’s most pressing challenges. And by increasing the footprint of air quality monitors across the country, innovative solutions to persistent pollution problems can be put into play.

As this vital work advances, it invites everyone to contribute to the cause—because in the fight for clean air, every voice and every action matters.

“This initiative,” Nazifa said, “lays the foundation for what we envision as Pakistan’s future air quality innovation hub. It will serve as a hub for developing strategies and methods to tackle air pollution, aligning efforts across governmental and non-governmental sectors, both locally and internationally, in the fight against climate change.”

","revealing-the-invisible-wwf-pakistan","gid://shopify/Article/997495079286","https://shop-gl-eur.iqair.com/blogs/news/revealing-the-invisible-wwf-pakistan","2025-11-12T17:43:03Z",[627,628,612],"Revealing the Invisible: WWF-Pakistan’s mission for clean air",{"_65":642,"_210":643,"_208":644,"_211":309,"_213":310},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/410126352758","WWF Team standing Next to Solar Panel","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0677/4059/8571/articles/AQL_PakistanContributor_Desk_A_a18d7b5d-29f7-4e70-ad5d-e0c4f15aebc6.jpg?v=1762969386",{"_52":311},{"_67":63},"Discover how Tedy Mwendwa's air quality monitoring project in Nairobi is bridging critical gaps in Africa's air quality data. Learn more.","

Discover how Tedy Mwendwa's air quality monitoring project in Nairobi is bridging critical gaps in Africa's air quality data. Learn more.

","“Every day, I witness the severe impact of poor air quality on my community,” Tedy Mwendwa explained. “Using my expertise in electrical engineering, I felt compelled to create change.” In the heart of Africa, amidst bustling cities and vibrant rural landscapes, Mwendwa is pioneering a movement for cleaner air in Kenya. With a professional foundation in electrical engineering and a passion for environmental stewardship, Mwendwa's deployment of a low-cost air quality sensor in Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi, marks a pivotal step in revealing and addressing pollution and bridging critical gaps in Africa’s air quality data. Nairobi's leap towards cleaner air In late 2021, Mwendwa established an air quality station. Set up along one of Nairobi’s busy thoroughfares, the station gathers data on pollutants from sources like vehicular exhaust and biomass burning. \"It's about leveraging technology to unveil the hidden dangers of pollution.” “It's about leveraging technology to unveil the hidden dangers of pollution,” Mwendwa said. “Empowering our community with this data is crucial for driving action and advocating for sustainable solutions. Without data, we remain in the dark.” Local expertise, global resources drive innovation Building on the foundation of community-driven air monitoring, the project has taken a step forward. It now hosts East Africa’s first Monster Aerosol System (a platform that houses advanced aerosol analyzers), featuring a Time-of-Flight Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (TOF-ACSM). This technology provides real-time, high-resolution data on airborne particles—including nitrates, ammonium, and chlorides—uncovering the chemical fingerprints of pollution with unprecedented precision. Paired with a black carbon monitor, the system offers a comprehensive view of airborne composition and sources. These reference-grade instruments build on the project’s original IQAir AirVisual Outdoor monitor—pairing community-level, real-time data with laboratory-grade chemical insight. The TOF-ACSM will help identify pollution sources—from mineral dust kicked up by unpaved roads and construction to organic aerosols tied to biomass burning and traffic emissions. It will also track seasonal and daily shifts in air quality, influenced by weather patterns and human activity. The initiative is expanding further with the deployment of GRIMM EDM 180 reference monitors across Nairobi, replacing older equipment to deliver faster, more accurate readings with minimal maintenance. In collaboration with the Kenya National Highways Authority (KENHA), these monitors will be placed along major highways and construction zones, ensuring data reflects the realities of urban life. These advancements are part of the NBO-CHEM Project (Nairobi Aerosol Chemistry and Monitoring Initiative), an effort funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and led by Prof. Daniel M. Westervelt, Dr. Godwin Opinde, and Tedy Mwendwa. By combining local expertise with state-of-the-art scientific resources, the project aims to transform how we understand air pollution in East Africa. The challenge of air quality monitoring in Africa The new additions to the project are heartening developments towards advancing air quality understanding in East Africa. Yet, despite the increasing efforts to monitor air quality globally, Africa remains one of the most underrepresented continents in terms of air quality data. According to the 2024 World Air Quality Report, there is only one monitoring station for every 3.7 million people. While coverage has expanded to include more African countries in recent years, there are still vast areas without sufficient data. For example, countries like Niger and Sudan remain without publicly available monitoring data.Air pollution is a major health threat, causing an estimated seven million premature deaths worldwide each year. Without accurate data, it is challenging to address the sources and impacts of air pollution effectively. Grassroots efforts like Mwendwa's are crucial in filling these data gaps, providing models for further projects and inspiring broader initiatives. Harnessing technology for a healthier tomorrow Utilizing an AirVisual Outdoor air quality monitor, Mwendwa’s station gathers critical real-time data. “The AirVisual sensor was easy to deploy and requires little maintenance, even in our somewhat extreme conditions with limited resources,” he said.The project, though small, is already making a difference in the community. “By sharing a link to the AirVisual Platform and using the app, we can easily get our data to students nationwide, enabling them to conduct their own research on pollution,” he said. The data has also been used to inform parents with small children of the effects of poor air quality. \"They need to understand that this data can help give them a better life,\" Mwendwa said. Cultivating environmental consciousness Mwendwa envisions a future where air quality stations span Africa, fostering a culture of environmental awareness and proactive health management. “The data my station is gathering empowers students to conduct community research, highlighting pollution's impact and fostering greater understanding,” he said. “This awareness can significantly influence the general population.\"Mwendwa plans further collaborations with local governments, communities, and international bodies, with this initial project laying a foundation for sustainable environmental policies and practices. “Our goal is to illuminate the unseen threats of pollution through technology,” he said. “Providing our community, and beyond, with this data, equips them to advocate for sustainable solutions essential for a healthier future. Without data, we are navigating blindly.” “Providing our community with this data equips them to advocate for sustainable solutions essential for a healthier future.” Conclusion From a low-cost sensor to a full NBO-CHEM reference hybrid network, Mwendwa’s project shows how local leadership and modern tools can accelerate Kenya’s clean-air progress. The project is an invitation to communities and policymakers to engage in a similar quest for healthier environments.Mwendwa's efforts symbolize more than geographic growth—they embody the momentum of a global movement dedicated to clean air. His work exemplifies uniting technology, data, and collective engagement to tackle one of our era's most pressing challenges.Achieving cleaner air is a communal endeavor, demanding innovation and cooperation. Mwendwa's project is a rallying cry to all, inviting participation in crafting a healthier, sustainable future for generations to come.","

“Every day, I witness the severe impact of poor air quality on my community,” Tedy Mwendwa explained. “Using my expertise in electrical engineering, I felt compelled to create change.”

In the heart of Africa, amidst bustling cities and vibrant rural landscapes, Mwendwa is pioneering a movement for cleaner air in Kenya. With a professional foundation in electrical engineering and a passion for environmental stewardship, Mwendwa's deployment of a low-cost air quality sensor in Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi, marks a pivotal step in revealing and addressing pollution and bridging critical gaps in Africa’s air quality data.

Nairobi's leap towards cleaner air

In late 2021, Mwendwa established an air quality station. Set up along one of Nairobi’s busy thoroughfares, the station gathers data on pollutants from sources like vehicular exhaust and biomass burning.

\"It's about leveraging technology to unveil the hidden dangers of pollution.”

“It's about leveraging technology to unveil the hidden dangers of pollution,” Mwendwa said. “Empowering our community with this data is crucial for driving action and advocating for sustainable solutions. Without data, we remain in the dark.”

Local expertise, global resources drive innovation

Building on the foundation of community-driven air monitoring, the project has taken a step forward. It now hosts East Africa’s first Monster Aerosol System (a platform that houses advanced aerosol analyzers), featuring a Time-of-Flight Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (TOF-ACSM). This technology provides real-time, high-resolution data on airborne particles—including nitrates, ammonium, and chlorides—uncovering the chemical fingerprints of pollution with unprecedented precision. Paired with a black carbon monitor, the system offers a comprehensive view of airborne composition and sources. These reference-grade instruments build on the project’s original IQAir AirVisual Outdoor monitor—pairing community-level, real-time data with laboratory-grade chemical insight.

The TOF-ACSM will help identify pollution sources—from mineral dust kicked up by unpaved roads and construction to organic aerosols tied to biomass burning and traffic emissions. It will also track seasonal and daily shifts in air quality, influenced by weather patterns and human activity.

The initiative is expanding further with the deployment of GRIMM EDM 180 reference monitors across Nairobi, replacing older equipment to deliver faster, more accurate readings with minimal maintenance. In collaboration with the Kenya National Highways Authority (KENHA), these monitors will be placed along major highways and construction zones, ensuring data reflects the realities of urban life.

These advancements are part of the NBO-CHEM Project (Nairobi Aerosol Chemistry and Monitoring Initiative), an effort funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and led by Prof. Daniel M. Westervelt, Dr. Godwin Opinde, and Tedy Mwendwa.

By combining local expertise with state-of-the-art scientific resources, the project aims to transform how we understand air pollution in East Africa.

The challenge of air quality monitoring in Africa

The new additions to the project are heartening developments towards advancing air quality understanding in East Africa. Yet, despite the increasing efforts to monitor air quality globally, Africa remains one of the most underrepresented continents in terms of air quality data. According to the 2024 World Air Quality Report, there is only one monitoring station for every 3.7 million people.

While coverage has expanded to include more African countries in recent years, there are still vast areas without sufficient data. For example, countries like Niger and Sudan remain without publicly available monitoring data.

Air pollution is a major health threat, causing an estimated seven million premature deaths worldwide each year. Without accurate data, it is challenging to address the sources and impacts of air pollution effectively. Grassroots efforts like Mwendwa's are crucial in filling these data gaps, providing models for further projects and inspiring broader initiatives.

Harnessing technology for a healthier tomorrow

Utilizing an AirVisual Outdoor air quality monitor, Mwendwa’s station gathers critical real-time data. “The AirVisual sensor was easy to deploy and requires little maintenance, even in our somewhat extreme conditions with limited resources,” he said.

The project, though small, is already making a difference in the community. “By sharing a link to the AirVisual Platform and using the app, we can easily get our data to students nationwide, enabling them to conduct their own research on pollution,” he said. The data has also been used to inform parents with small children of the effects of poor air quality. \"They need to understand that this data can help give them a better life,\" Mwendwa said.

Cultivating environmental consciousness

Mwendwa envisions a future where air quality stations span Africa, fostering a culture of environmental awareness and proactive health management. “The data my station is gathering empowers students to conduct community research, highlighting pollution's impact and fostering greater understanding,” he said. “This awareness can significantly influence the general population.\"

Mwendwa plans further collaborations with local governments, communities, and international bodies, with this initial project laying a foundation for sustainable environmental policies and practices. “Our goal is to illuminate the unseen threats of pollution through technology,” he said. “Providing our community, and beyond, with this data, equips them to advocate for sustainable solutions essential for a healthier future. Without data, we are navigating blindly.”

“Providing our community with this data equips them to advocate for sustainable solutions essential for a healthier future.”

Conclusion

From a low-cost sensor to a full NBO-CHEM reference hybrid network, Mwendwa’s project shows how local leadership and modern tools can accelerate Kenya’s clean-air progress. The project is an invitation to communities and policymakers to engage in a similar quest for healthier environments.

Mwendwa's efforts symbolize more than geographic growth—they embody the momentum of a global movement dedicated to clean air. His work exemplifies uniting technology, data, and collective engagement to tackle one of our era's most pressing challenges.

Achieving cleaner air is a communal endeavor, demanding innovation and cooperation. Mwendwa's project is a rallying cry to all, inviting participation in crafting a healthier, sustainable future for generations to come.

","revealing-the-invisible-kenya","gid://shopify/Article/607976751403","https://shop-gl-eur.iqair.com/blogs/news/revealing-the-invisible-kenya","2025-12-01T04:00:00Z",[628,612],"Revealing the Invisible: Boosting air quality awareness in Kenya",{"_65":658,"_210":659,"_208":660,"_211":309,"_213":310},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/415907709302","Nairobi-city-smog","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0677/4059/8571/articles/AQL_Revamp_Kenya_Clean_Air_Desktop_e5ca2c63-ae6e-4f33-85d4-be4ab18dbeb7.jpg?v=1779905059",{"_101":590,"_83":713,"_11":714,"_73":715,"_594":715,"_75":716,"_77":717,"_67":718,"_65":719,"_600":720,"_114":-5,"_79":721,"_81":722,"_71":723,"_85":724},{"_101":590,"_83":697,"_11":698,"_73":699,"_594":699,"_75":700,"_77":701,"_67":702,"_65":703,"_600":704,"_114":-5,"_79":705,"_81":706,"_71":707,"_85":708},{"_101":590,"_83":682,"_11":683,"_73":684,"_594":684,"_75":685,"_77":686,"_67":687,"_65":688,"_600":689,"_114":-5,"_79":690,"_81":691,"_71":692,"_85":693},{"_101":590,"_83":665,"_11":666,"_73":667,"_594":667,"_75":668,"_77":669,"_67":670,"_65":671,"_600":672,"_114":-5,"_79":673,"_81":674,"_71":675,"_85":676},{"_52":311},{"_67":63},"Learn more how scented candles release harmful chemicals into the air — even when unlit — and can harm your health.","Are scented candles bad for you?Burning a scented candle is a popular way to create a pleasant ambiance at home. Scents such aslavender, jasmine, and sandalwood can be relaxing and invigorating. During the holidays, many people find the warm glow and aroma of pine, gingerbread, or cinnamon makes a room feel more festive.Unfortunately, most mass-produced scented candles can have a negative impact on indoor air quality. From the wax to the wick to the fragrance itself, the average scented candle can release harmful chemicals into the air — even when unlit.From the wax to the wick to the fragrance itself, the average scented candle can release harmful chemicals into the air — even when unlit.So while you and your family may enjoy the fragrance of scented candles in your home, they may be harmful to your health. Read on to learn why some candles are bad for you.Paraffin waxAre paraffin wax candles safe? In what way can wax be harmful?According to a 2017 study in the International Journal of Tropical Disease and Health, paraffin candles emit pollutants that can threaten human health and shouldn’t be burned in enclosed areas (1).Most candles are made from paraffin, a petroleum byproduct. To create paraffin wax candles, petroleum waste is chemically bleached, deodorized, and made into wax. When burned, paraffin wax can release toxicvolatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air, including known carcinogens like: alkenes acetone benzene toluene These are the same chemicals found in diesel fuel emissions and are known to cause allergies, asthma attacks, and skin problems.A 2005 study published by the University of South Florida showed that candles made of paraffin wax emit low levels of benzene even when they are not lit (2).Is burning candles bad for you?In addition to releasing toxic chemicals, burning paraffin wax produces soot composed of particulate matter such as, PM2.5 and ultrafine particles that can remain suspended in the air for hours. According to the University of South Florida study, ultrafine soot particles are similar to diesel exhaust in both their size and composition. They penetrate deeply into the lungs and are absorbed into the blood stream (3).A 2000 study conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency showed that soot emissions from candles are significantly higher after wax breakthrough occurs and when a candle is smoldering (4).Ultrafine particles are associated with severe health issues, including: allergies asthma COPD (5) respiratory tract infections heart attacks strokes cancer So, are candles bad for your health? Not all candles produce the same amount of air pollutants. A 2002 study published in theJournal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society found that soywax, much like beeswax candles, burned at a significantly lower rate and resulted in less soot than paraffin candles (6).Chemical fragrancesAnother problem with scented candles is that the chemicals they use to create a pleasing aroma are generally far from wholesome.Most scented candles use synthetic fragrances and dyes that give off dangerous VOCs even at room temperature.Most scented candles use synthetic fragrances and dyes that give off dangerous VOCs even at room temperature. Commonly emitted VOCs related to the scent in candles include (7): formaldehyde petroleum distillates limonene alcohol esters These harmful chemicals can cause health problems, such as: headaches dizziness allergy symptoms asthma attacks respiratory tract infections cancer Cored wicksMany candles have cored wicks made from cotton that are wrapped around a metal support. The design helps keep the wick from falling over into the wax. This is especially useful for scented candles because the fragrance oils soften the wax and allow non-cored wicks to go limp.Are candles toxic? If they have lead in them, possibly. Lead was once commonly used in cored candlewicks — especially in candles imported from overseas. However, after determining that these wicks could present a lead poisoning hazard to young children, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission banned the manufacture and sale of all candles with lead-core wicks in 2003 (8). Zinc and tin have been used as a substitute since the ban.All metal-core wicks release trace amounts of heavy metals into the air when they are burned.However, all metal-core wicks release trace amounts of heavy metals into the air when they are burned. Wicks with zinc and tin cores can still release small amounts of lead particles (9,10).Safer alternativesTo limit soot stains and poor air quality in your home, you should avoid or restrict the use of candles (11).If you still crave the pleasant ambiance and aroma of scented candles, here are safer ways to scent the air: Use essential oils for fragrance.Essential oils can be placed in a diffuser or in bathwater to create a desired aroma. Simmer spices.Place spices such as cinnamon sticks, cloves, and nutmeg in a pot of water and let it simmer on the stove. Create potpourri.Dried items such as flowers, berries, fruit rinds, wood chips, and spices can be placed in bowls or fabric bags and placed around your home. The takeawayLighting scented candles may seem like a relaxing way to enjoy your home. But burning scented candles releases VOC pollutants and worsens your home’s indoor air quality. Although fragrances from safer alternatives like essential oils can be pleasant, trulyclean air smells like nothing at all.","

Are scented candles bad for you?

Burning a scented candle is a popular way to create a pleasant ambiance at home. Scents such aslavender, jasmine, and sandalwood can be relaxing and invigorating. During the holidays, many people find the warm glow and aroma of pine, gingerbread, or cinnamon makes a room feel more festive.

Unfortunately, most mass-produced scented candles can have a negative impact on indoor air quality. From the wax to the wick to the fragrance itself, the average scented candle can release harmful chemicals into the air — even when unlit.

From the wax to the wick to the fragrance itself, the average scented candle can release harmful chemicals into the air — even when unlit.

So while you and your family may enjoy the fragrance of scented candles in your home, they may be harmful to your health. Read on to learn why some candles are bad for you.

Paraffin wax

Are paraffin wax candles safe? In what way can wax be harmful?

According to a 2017 study in the International Journal of Tropical Disease and Health, paraffin candles emit pollutants that can threaten human health and shouldn’t be burned in enclosed areas (1).

Most candles are made from paraffin, a petroleum byproduct. To create paraffin wax candles, petroleum waste is chemically bleached, deodorized, and made into wax. When burned, paraffin wax can release toxicvolatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air, including known carcinogens like:

alkenes
acetone
benzene
toluene

These are the same chemicals found in diesel fuel emissions and are known to cause allergies, asthma attacks, and skin problems.

A 2005 study published by the University of South Florida showed that candles made of paraffin wax emit low levels of benzene even when they are not lit (2).

Is burning candles bad for you?

In addition to releasing toxic chemicals, burning paraffin wax produces soot composed of particulate matter such as, PM2.5 and ultrafine particles that can remain suspended in the air for hours. According to the University of South Florida study, ultrafine soot particles are similar to diesel exhaust in both their size and composition. They penetrate deeply into the lungs and are absorbed into the blood stream (3).

A 2000 study conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency showed that soot emissions from candles are significantly higher after wax breakthrough occurs and when a candle is smoldering (4).

Ultrafine particles are associated with severe health issues, including:

allergies
asthma
COPD (5)
respiratory tract infections
heart attacks
strokes
cancer

So, are candles bad for your health? Not all candles produce the same amount of air pollutants. A 2002 study published in theJournal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society found that soywax, much like beeswax candles, burned at a significantly lower rate and resulted in less soot than paraffin candles (6).

Chemical fragrances

Another problem with scented candles is that the chemicals they use to create a pleasing aroma are generally far from wholesome.

Most scented candles use synthetic fragrances and dyes that give off dangerous VOCs even at room temperature.

Most scented candles use synthetic fragrances and dyes that give off dangerous VOCs even at room temperature. Commonly emitted VOCs related to the scent in candles include (7):

formaldehyde
petroleum distillates
limonene
alcohol
esters

These harmful chemicals can cause health problems, such as:

headaches
dizziness
allergy symptoms
asthma attacks
respiratory tract infections
cancer
\n\n\t

Cored wicks

Many candles have cored wicks made from cotton that are wrapped around a metal support. The design helps keep the wick from falling over into the wax. This is especially useful for scented candles because the fragrance oils soften the wax and allow non-cored wicks to go limp.

Are candles toxic? If they have lead in them, possibly. Lead was once commonly used in cored candlewicks — especially in candles imported from overseas. However, after determining that these wicks could present a lead poisoning hazard to young children, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission banned the manufacture and sale of all candles with lead-core wicks in 2003 (8). Zinc and tin have been used as a substitute since the ban.

All metal-core wicks release trace amounts of heavy metals into the air when they are burned.

However, all metal-core wicks release trace amounts of heavy metals into the air when they are burned. Wicks with zinc and tin cores can still release small amounts of lead particles (9,10).

Safer alternatives

To limit soot stains and poor air quality in your home, you should avoid or restrict the use of candles (11).

If you still crave the pleasant ambiance and aroma of scented candles, here are safer ways to scent the air:

\nUse essential oils for fragrance.Essential oils can be placed in a diffuser or in bathwater to create a desired aroma.
\nSimmer spices.Place spices such as cinnamon sticks, cloves, and nutmeg in a pot of water and let it simmer on the stove.
\nCreate potpourri.Dried items such as flowers, berries, fruit rinds, wood chips, and spices can be placed in bowls or fabric bags and placed around your home.

The takeaway

Lighting scented candles may seem like a relaxing way to enjoy your home. But burning scented candles releases VOC pollutants and worsens your home’s indoor air quality. Although fragrances from safer alternatives like essential oils can be pleasant, trulyclean air smells like nothing at all.

","hidden-dangers-scented-candles","gid://shopify/Article/606869127467","https://shop-gl-eur.iqair.com/blogs/news/hidden-dangers-scented-candles","2016-12-04T22:35:53Z",[680,681],"The hidden dangers of scented candles",{"_65":677,"_210":678,"_208":679,"_211":309,"_213":310},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/405721284982","Two lit candles","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0677/4059/8571/articles/49_scented_desktop_RE_3518d342-9492-4308-82e5-ee4111074a17.jpg?v=1749633010","Health and Wellness","Popular articles",{"_52":311},{"_67":63},"They look great on your nightstand, but are they worth their salt as air purifiers? Learn more.","Himalayan salt lamps DO NOT purify indoor air.These trendy little lamps consist of a light bulb placed inside a chunk of pink Himalayan salt. They’re easily recognized by their hand-carved, often stylized shapes and dim, pinkish glow they emit when light shines through them.They’ve been gaining popularity for years, mostly because their distinct color and unique appearance make them attractive objects for interior decoration, and their glow can add a pleasing atmosphere to a room.But their recent rise in popularity as “natural” air purifiers should trouble you.A host of (often misleading) studies supporting the use of salt in treating respiratory conditions have escalated demand for these little pink things, especially within the well-primed alternative medicine market, full of people who may already be seeking home remedies for all sorts of health conditions and indoor environmental issues when modern medicine hasn’t seemed to help.And you shouldn’t buy a Himalayan salt lamp to purify your air for one major reason: they’re negative ionizers, and negative ionization is one of the most absurd air purification myths ever devised.Why are Himalayan salt lamps bad for air quality?Again, two words: negative ionization.If you ever hear the words “ionization” (in one form or another) and “air purification” in the same sentence, you should run in the opposite direction.In the context of air purification, negative ionization happens when negatively charged particles attach themselves, or “charge,” pollutant particles in the air, effectively removing them from ambient air by causing them to stick to nearby surfaces.This phenomenon also occurs in nature – know that distinct smell in the air after a thunderstorm? That’s the result of “atmospheric space charge” as air ions are generated by the electric fields of storms.1 Many air purifiers and purification devices sold in stores, including Himalayan salt lamps and a variety of “air ionizers,” artificially produce high voltage to achieve this same effect.The problem with negative ionization, though, is that it doesn’t actually remove pollutants from your indoor air – it just causes the particles to adhere themselves to nearby surfaces, where they’re easily stirred up by indoor activities like dusting, vacuuming, and ventilation.Charged particles can also stick to your respiratory tract, where charged particles can settle in your windpipe and lungs and cause even more harm that if they’d just remained in the air. Studies show that these particles can penetrate deep into your respiratory system and cause both heart and lung conditions.2The average, nightstand-sized Himalayan salt lamp generates only a small number of negative ions into the air, so you may not notice any tangible change in your air quality or health, at least immediately. But these lamps can be huge: you can buy salt lamps that weight up to 300 pounds for thousands of dollars, and their ionization effects may have a more noticeable effect on your air, especially if you live in an airtight, energy-efficient home in which indoor pollutants have a much harder time getting out.And negative ionizers have another dark secret: they can also create indoor ozone (O3).There are two main types of ozone: Stratospheric ozone: Alayer of ozone occurs naturally several miles up in the atmosphere, where it protects the surface of the earth (and people’s skin) from ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. Tropospheric ozone: Also called ground-level ozone or smog, ground-level ozone tends to develop when heat from sunlight reacts with chemicals near the ground, many of which are produced by emissions from vehicle exhaust and factory smoke. Negative ionization can generate tropospheric ozone indoors. While stratospheric ozone has no interaction with us in the lower atmosphere, ground-level ozone is far more harmful when it builds up to high levels. And perhaps one of the starkest examples of ground-level ozone is one that millions of us know very well – the smog that forms in major cities during rush hour.If you live near a freeway, dense urban center, or even at a high elevation where you can see the area around an urban area. A few hours or less after rush hour begins and the sun begins to rise, you’ll start to notice a visible layer of haze build up. This is ground-level ozone, and even though it’s a typical feature of modern life, extensive research shows that it causes a plethora of immediate symptoms, including: Coughing Wheezing Trouble breathing Stuffy nose Dizziness Tingling in arms and legs Fever3,4 Further research suggests that ozone is also responsible for long-term health problems, such as asthma, heart disease, and lung disease. Emerging studies on rats also suggest that ozone could cause seizures and blindness.So even though you may not get rush-hour levels of ozone in your home from a salt lamp, indoor ozone buildup can indeed cause some disruptive health effects if you don’t follow best practices for good Indoor Air Quality.So what’s so special about Himalayan salt?So how did someone come up with the idea that Himalayan salt lamps have any health effects at all?The story stretches back millennia. Truly authentic Himalayan salt comes from the Khewra salt reserves in the Punjab region of Pakistan. Salt mined here is thought to be millions of years old and contain numerous minerals.Salt lamps have been proposed for use in treatments for conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) because of their purported therapeutic effects on your respiratory system. This treatment even has a clinical term: halotherapy, based on an ages-old respiratory treatment technique known as speleotherapy. First used in Eastern Europe, speleotherapy consists of spending time in a salt cave, where four environmental conditions are thought to help reduce symptoms of respiratory illness:5 Stable air temperature Moderate to high humidity Presence of aerosol elements, such as sodium, potassium, and magnesium Lack of airborne pollutants Halotherapy takes the notion that salt cave environments are good for respiratory health by having people inhale small amounts of salt particles that are released into the ambient air of a controlled room to “reproduce” a salt cave’s microclimate. But there’s no conclusive evidence that either speleotherapy or halotherapy actually relieve respiratory symptoms.6Take the claims with a grain of...well, saltSo here’s the takeaway: We’re not saying you shouldn’t get a Himalayan salt lamp. Their dim glow can be quite soothing at night when you’re trying to fall asleep.But they don’t purify air. And “air purifiers” that emits ions and ozone may make your indoor air quality worse, introduce new health problems, and exacerbate existing ones.You can take many precautions to monitorand keep your indoor air clean, but buying a salt lamp isn’t one of them. Try these proven methods instead: Be aware of your indoor air quality. The AirVisual Series consists of portable air quality monitors that use cutting-edge laser technology to give you real-time measurements of key pollutants, including particulate matter. AirVisual Series also provides 72-hour historical and forecast data so that you can know exactly when and why your indoor air quality changes. Control sources of poor indoor air quality. If you’re thinking about buying a salt lamp to purify your air, chances are that you do have air quality issues that you may be able to do something about. The first step to improving your indoor indoor air quality is source control.This means eliminating individual sources of pollution or reducing their emissions. Regularly clean your HVAC system ducts. Install a whole-house air purifier into your HVAC system to reduce indoor pollutants by up to 95%. Replace water-damaged areas of your home to prevent mold and dust mites. Keep paints, solvents, and other chemicals in well-ventilated areas. Ventilate your home. Let in fresh air regularly to lower the concentrations of indoor air pollutants. This is especially important if you live in an airtight, energy-efficient home in which indoor pollutants have nowhere to go and thus build up to dangerous levels. Open doors and windows when outdoor air quality is good. Use a range hood for your stove to capture gases and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from cooking. Use an air purifier with HyperHEPA technology. The IQAir HealthPro Plusis the best air purifier for even the smallest pollutant particles, removing up to 99.5% of particulates down to 0.003 microns, like viruses and ultrafine particles from vehicle exhaust. The Atempersonal air purifier can also provide pure, pollutant-free air directly into your personal breathing zone. Sure, a salt lamp can be a nice accessory and bring some calm into your home. But there’s plenty you can do to actually keep your indoor air clean and bring yourself some peace of mind knowing that your home is a clean air sanctuary.","

Himalayan salt lamps DO NOT purify indoor air.

These trendy little lamps consist of a light bulb placed inside a chunk of pink Himalayan salt. They’re easily recognized by their hand-carved, often stylized shapes and dim, pinkish glow they emit when light shines through them.

They’ve been gaining popularity for years, mostly because their distinct color and unique appearance make them attractive objects for interior decoration, and their glow can add a pleasing atmosphere to a room.

But their recent rise in popularity as “natural” air purifiers should trouble you.

A host of (often misleading) studies supporting the use of salt in treating respiratory conditions have escalated demand for these little pink things, especially within the well-primed alternative medicine market, full of people who may already be seeking home remedies for all sorts of health conditions and indoor environmental issues when modern medicine hasn’t seemed to help.

And you shouldn’t buy a Himalayan salt lamp to purify your air for one major reason: they’re negative ionizers, and negative ionization is one of the most absurd air purification myths ever devised.

Why are Himalayan salt lamps bad for air quality?

Again, two words: negative ionization.

If you ever hear the words “ionization” (in one form or another) and “air purification” in the same sentence, you should run in the opposite direction.

In the context of air purification, negative ionization happens when negatively charged particles attach themselves, or “charge,” pollutant particles in the air, effectively removing them from ambient air by causing them to stick to nearby surfaces.

This phenomenon also occurs in nature – know that distinct smell in the air after a thunderstorm? That’s the result of “atmospheric space charge” as air ions are generated by the electric fields of storms.¹ Many air purifiers and purification devices sold in stores, including Himalayan salt lamps and a variety of “air ionizers,” artificially produce high voltage to achieve this same effect.

The problem with negative ionization, though, is that it doesn’t actually remove pollutants from your indoor air – it just causes the particles to adhere themselves to nearby surfaces, where they’re easily stirred up by indoor activities like dusting, vacuuming, and ventilation.

Charged particles can also stick to your respiratory tract, where charged particles can settle in your windpipe and lungs and cause even more harm that if they’d just remained in the air. Studies show that these particles can penetrate deep into your respiratory system and cause both heart and lung conditions.²

The average, nightstand-sized Himalayan salt lamp generates only a small number of negative ions into the air, so you may not notice any tangible change in your air quality or health, at least immediately. But these lamps can be huge: you can buy salt lamps that weight up to 300 pounds for thousands of dollars, and their ionization effects may have a more noticeable effect on your air, especially if you live in an airtight, energy-efficient home in which indoor pollutants have a much harder time getting out.

And negative ionizers have another dark secret: they can also create indoor ozone (O₃).

There are two main types of ozone:

\nStratospheric ozone: Alayer of ozone occurs naturally several miles up in the atmosphere, where it protects the surface of the earth (and people’s skin) from ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.
\nTropospheric ozone: Also called ground-level ozone or smog, ground-level ozone tends to develop when heat from sunlight reacts with chemicals near the ground, many of which are produced by emissions from vehicle exhaust and factory smoke.

Negative ionization can generate tropospheric ozone indoors. While stratospheric ozone has no interaction with us in the lower atmosphere, ground-level ozone is far more harmful when it builds up to high levels. And perhaps one of the starkest examples of ground-level ozone is one that millions of us know very well – the smog that forms in major cities during rush hour.

If you live near a freeway, dense urban center, or even at a high elevation where you can see the area around an urban area. A few hours or less after rush hour begins and the sun begins to rise, you’ll start to notice a visible layer of haze build up. This is ground-level ozone, and even though it’s a typical feature of modern life, extensive research shows that it causes a plethora of immediate symptoms, including:

Coughing
Wheezing
Trouble breathing
Stuffy nose
Dizziness
Tingling in arms and legs
Fever^3,4\n

Further research suggests that ozone is also responsible for long-term health problems, such as asthma, heart disease, and lung disease. Emerging studies on rats also suggest that ozone could cause seizures and blindness.

So even though you may not get rush-hour levels of ozone in your home from a salt lamp, indoor ozone buildup can indeed cause some disruptive health effects if you don’t follow best practices for good Indoor Air Quality.

So what’s so special about Himalayan salt?

So how did someone come up with the idea that Himalayan salt lamps have any health effects at all?

The story stretches back millennia. Truly authentic Himalayan salt comes from the Khewra salt reserves in the Punjab region of Pakistan. Salt mined here is thought to be millions of years old and contain numerous minerals.

Salt lamps have been proposed for use in treatments for conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) because of their purported therapeutic effects on your respiratory system. This treatment even has a clinical term: halotherapy, based on an ages-old respiratory treatment technique known as speleotherapy. First used in Eastern Europe, speleotherapy consists of spending time in a salt cave, where four environmental conditions are thought to help reduce symptoms of respiratory illness:⁵

Stable air temperature
Moderate to high humidity
Presence of aerosol elements, such as sodium, potassium, and magnesium
Lack of airborne pollutants

Halotherapy takes the notion that salt cave environments are good for respiratory health by having people inhale small amounts of salt particles that are released into the ambient air of a controlled room to “reproduce” a salt cave’s microclimate. But there’s no conclusive evidence that either speleotherapy or halotherapy actually relieve respiratory symptoms.⁶

Take the claims with a grain of...well, salt

So here’s the takeaway: We’re not saying you shouldn’t get a Himalayan salt lamp. Their dim glow can be quite soothing at night when you’re trying to fall asleep.

But they don’t purify air. And “air purifiers” that emits ions and ozone may make your indoor air quality worse, introduce new health problems, and exacerbate existing ones.

You can take many precautions to monitorand keep your indoor air clean, but buying a salt lamp isn’t one of them. Try these proven methods instead:

\nBe aware of your indoor air quality. The AirVisual Series consists of portable air quality monitors that use cutting-edge laser technology to give you real-time measurements of key pollutants, including particulate matter. AirVisual Series also provides 72-hour historical and forecast data so that you can know exactly when and why your indoor air quality changes.
\nControl sources of poor indoor air quality. If you’re thinking about buying a salt lamp to purify your air, chances are that you do have air quality issues that you may be able to do something about. The first step to improving your indoor indoor air quality is source control.This means eliminating individual sources of pollution or reducing their emissions.\n\n\t
- Regularly clean your HVAC system ducts. Install a whole-house air purifier into your HVAC system to reduce indoor pollutants by up to 95%.
- Replace water-damaged areas of your home to prevent mold and dust mites.
- Keep paints, solvents, and other chemicals in well-ventilated areas.
\n\n\t
\nVentilate your home. Let in fresh air regularly to lower the concentrations of indoor air pollutants. This is especially important if you live in an airtight, energy-efficient home in which indoor pollutants have nowhere to go and thus build up to dangerous levels.\n\n\t
- Open doors and windows when outdoor air quality is good.
- Use a range hood for your stove to capture gases and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from cooking.
\n\n\t
\nUse an air purifier with HyperHEPA technology. The IQAir HealthPro Plusis the best air purifier for even the smallest pollutant particles, removing up to 99.5% of particulates down to 0.003 microns, like viruses and ultrafine particles from vehicle exhaust. The Atempersonal air purifier can also provide pure, pollutant-free air directly into your personal breathing zone.

Sure, a salt lamp can be a nice accessory and bring some calm into your home. But there’s plenty you can do to actually keep your indoor air clean and bring yourself some peace of mind knowing that your home is a clean air sanctuary.
\n\n

","himalayan-salt-lamp-debunked","gid://shopify/Article/606869356843","https://shop-gl-eur.iqair.com/blogs/news/himalayan-salt-lamp-debunked","2019-06-17T13:49:29Z",[312,680,681],"Himalayan salt lamps: Worth their salt?",{"_65":694,"_210":695,"_208":696,"_211":309,"_213":310},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/406288400758","Why are Himalayan salt lamps bad for air quality?","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0677/4059/8571/articles/AQL_HimalayanSalt_061419_750_ebdb5244-3cb4-49a7-b887-47de5134ba96.jpg?v=1751543557",{"_52":311},{"_67":63},"How can you know what air purifier manufacturers to trust? Let's look more critically at air purification.","The home air purifier market has undergone many shifts and starts in its decades-long history as an affordable solution for indoor air quality. Along with those shifts have been seemingly ground breaking advancements in filtration technologies that may seem like the next revolution in air purification. But not all air purifiers safely clean the air. Not all air purifiers safely clean the air. Let's take an evidence-based approach to the industry and separate the fact from the fiction. What should I look for in an air purifier? Before we examine the various air purifiers on the market with a critical eye, it’s essential to have a solid understanding of what does make a good air purifier. 1. HEPA filters are the standard for the industry. What is a HEPA filter? High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters capture airborne particles from moving air using a dense, random arrangement of fibers. HEPA filters use the physics of particles moving through air to yank them out of the air flow. Their operation is simple but extremely effective, and HEPA filters are now standard issue for almost every air purifier on the market. But it wasn’t always that way. Air purifiers have been around for well over a century. The first air purification systems appeared in the 1850s in charcoal-based masks used by coal miners. They were designed to keep toxic dust out of their lungs. The technology was so successful that, less than twenty years later, respirators were added to these types of masks to protect firefighters from breathing in smoke chemicals and pollutants (1). Beginning in the 1940s, the United States Atomic Energy Commission started experimenting with high-efficiency particulate arrestance, better known now as HEPA, as a method of shielding soldiers from atomic radiation on World War II battlefields (2). HEPA filters did nothing to filter radiation particles, but researchers quickly learned that HEPA filters could filter out many harmful pollutants. In 1963, Manfred and Klaus Hammes, the founders of IQAir, introduced the world’s first residential air filter based on HEPA technology, helping reduce indoor pollution as well as chronic asthma symptoms. Not long after, HEPA became so widespread that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) required that all filters sold under the name “HEPA” must filter at least 99.97% of airborne particles down to 0.3 microns (3). Since then, HEPA air purification has become the standard for the air purification industry. HEPA is now thrown around as a generic term for air filters, but HEPA filters continue to filter 99.97% of particles down to 0.3 microns. The HyperHEPA filter builds upon the HEPA model to create even more efficient filtration systems. Many manufacturers, including IQAir, have built upon the HEPA model to create even more efficient filtration systems. IQAir’s patented HyperHEPAfilter is one such filter. HyperHEPA filters remove 99.5% of particles down to 0.003 microns, which are 100 times smaller than the DOE’s required 0.3-micron particle size. 2. Not all air purifier designs are created equal. All air purifier manufacturers know that their filters need to live up to this HEPA standard. But long-standing, strict guidelines around air filters can provide a false sense of security in HEPA. To advertise an air purifier as HEPA, it only needs to contain HEPA paper, the paper used to construct a HEPA filter. Whether the air purifier’s Total System Efficiency meets HEPA requirements is another story. In fact, most HEPA air purifiers are not tested for total efficiency (4). The hidden factor at work here is leakage. Despite the high efficiency of many HEPA filters, the housing designs of many air purifiers are not airtight. This means that dirty, unfiltered air passes around the HEPA filter through tiny openings, cracks, and space around the frame of the HEPA filter itself or between the frame and the purifier housing (5). So even though many air purifiers claim that their HEPA filters remove nearly 100% of particles from the air that passes through them, they’re only telling part of the story. In some cases, the actual efficiency of the whole air purifier design, with leakage considered, is closer to 80% or less (6). Even though many air purifiers claim that their HEPA filters remove nearly 100% of particles from the air that passes through them, the actual efficiency of the whole air purifier design, with leakage considered, is closer to 80% or less. Some air purifier manufacturers have resolved this issue with designs that are built to minimize or eliminate leakage. IQAir uses patented 3D UltraSeal knife-edge-in-groove sealing between the filter frame and the purifier housing to guarantee the full efficiency of our HyperHEPA filtration media. 3. Concerned about gas and odors? Go beyond HEPA. While HyperHEPA filters are great at getting particles out of the air, they do NOT take gases and odors out of the air. Unlike particles, the molecules that comprise gases, odors, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are not solid and will float through even the densest HyperHEPA filters. That’s where activated carbon filters come in. How do these filters work? It’s simpler than you might think: Chunks of carbon material (like charcoal) are exposed to high concentrations of oxygen. Countless pores open on the carbon surface, increasing the carbon surface area enormously. At this point, a pound of activated carbon can have the same surface area as 100 football fields. Several pounds of activated carbon are arranged in a flat “bed” and packaged in a proprietary filter design (such as IQAir’s V5 Cell gas and odor control filter). Air passes through the activated carbon bed. Gas, chemical, and VOC molecules are adsorbed into the carbon pores, meaning that they chemically bond to the extensive charcoal surface area. Activated carbon adsorption is the go-to method of filtration for gases as well as chemical pollutants from vehicle emissions and combustion processes (7)(8). Activated carbon adsorption is the go-to method of filtration for gases as well as chemical pollutants from vehicle emissions and combustion processes. Some air purifiers are designed to maximize activated carbon in case you’re more concerned about, for example, gases from cooking or odors from pets than about particle pollution in your home. IQAir’s GC MultiGas is built for such a purpose—while carbon filters generally use a few pounds of carbon, the GC MultiGas contains 12 pounds of activated carbon as well as impregnated alumina, providing well over 1200 football fields worth of surface area for gas and VOC molecules to adsorb to. The takeaway Now you know that the elements of a good air purifier are: HyperHEPA media for particle filtration No system leakage due to sealed filter and purifier housing Activated carbon for gas and odor filtration But we're not done yet. Just as important to know is what not to look for in an air purifier. What should I avoid in an air purifier? When considering air purifiers, some people wonder about their effectiveness and even potential risks. Question often arise, such as \"Do air purifiers work?\" or \"Are air purifiers effective?\" The answer is that while some air cleaning methods can remove particles and pollutants from the air, their capabilities are often limited. But it's not just about effectiveness. People also ask, \"Are air purifiers bad for you?\" This concern arises from potential hidden costs to your health. It's important to be aware of inefficiencies and any potential risks associated with the air purifier you're considering before making a purchase. So, if you're in the market for an air purifier, remember to ask yourself whether it will be effective at removing pollutants and particles from the air, and whether it poses any risks to your health. Ionizer air purifiers Ionizers are purported to purify air by sending out negatively charged ions (anions) that attract positively charged pollution particles (cations), causing them to leave the air and stick to surfaces like ceilings, walls, and furniture. Many popular air purifiers use ionization technology, also called negative ionization, as a central component of their operation. Research suggests that ionizers can help stop potentially infectious molds and bacteria from spreading in sterile environments like dental clinics and hospitals (9)(10). But there are two critical downsides to ionization (11)(12): Ionizer air purifiersdon’t get rid of pollutants. Particles charged by negative ions aren’t removed from the air—they merely stick to surfaces nearby. This includes surfaces inside your airways, such as your windpipe and alveoli, the sacs of air in your lungs. Pollutant build-up can cause heart, lung, and other respiratory conditions. Ionizer air purifierscan generate harmful ozone. Ionizers produce ozone (O3) that can build up to dangerous levels indoors. At even low levels, indoor ozone can irritate your airways, trigger asthma attacks, damage your olfactory bulb (the organ that helps your brain process odors), and even be fatal at high concentrations. Indoor ozone can irritate your airways, trigger asthma attacks, damage your olfactory bulb, and even be fatal at high concentrations. Verdict Don't buy an ionizer air purifier.They don’t remove particles from the air, and the ozone they produce can have harmful side effects, even if the purifier claims that they only charge the particles “a little bit.” Ozone Generators It’s worth saying again: ozone is TERRIBLE for you, especially indoor ozone build-up. The health concerns are serious enough that in 2017, California banned the use of ozonehome air purifiers (13). Ozone generators use a process called corona discharge to release ozone molecules into the air. When an ozone molecule intermingles with a particle or gas molecule, an ozone atom clings to the other molecule and blows it up in a process known as oxidation. Oxidation in the atmosphere after a lightning strike is also what makes the air smell so distinct after a thunderstorm. However, ozone generators do little to clean air and are quite bad for you. Here’s just a short (and far from complete) list of reasons why (14)(15)(16)(17)(18): Ozone can take years to fully clear even a small room of gases. Ozone reactions can introduce ultrafine particles (UFPs) into the air.UFPs can get into your lungs and your bloodstream, causing heart disease and even stunting lung development in children. Indoor ozone levels can rise five to ten times above recommended limits,which range from 0.05 to 0.1 parts per million (ppm), because of a lack of ventilation and in combination with outdoor ozone that seeps indoors.To put this in perspective, those who are sensitive to ozone, such as children, people with asthma, and pets, start experiencing health effects at only 0.01 ppm. Even a “safe” ozone generator that emits a small amount of ozone can quickly trigger potentially life-threatening ailments like asthma attacks. Verdict Don’t buy an ozone generator. They’re NOT air purifiers. Not only do they fail to clean your air, they hurt you and the most vulnerable in your home: your children and your pets. UV Light Purifiers Ultraviolet (UV) light is often used to disinfect equipment in hospitals and prevent the spread of harmful strains of bacteria and viruses (19)(20). One of the most common UV purification methods is called ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, or UVGI. In UVGI, intense UV lights are shined on bacteria and viruses, damaging their DNA beyond repair. Bacterial cells and viruses then shut themselves down because they can no longer function. This is called apoptosis, or programmed cell death, which effectively destroys their ability to cause infections (21). But UV air purification isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Here’s why(22) (23) (24) (25) (26): Bacteria and viruses need to be exposed to UV light for a certain amount of timebefore they’re rendered harmless: some strains need to be treated with UV for several hours in direct UV light before they’re destroyed.Home UV air purifiers don’t shine UV light on them long enough to be genuinely useful. Some bacteria can come back to life and become infectious again even after being disinfected by UV light. UV lights do nothing for pollutant particles.Air treated with UV light can still be full of harmful particulate matter, like PM10 and PM2.5. Many UV air purifiers produce ozone. UV light can burn your skin and damage your eyes. Sure, most UV purifiers block the light from shining out of the purifier, but even brief UV exposure can cause permanent skin and eye damage as well as cancer. Air treated with UV light can still be full of harmful particulate matter. Verdict Don’t buy a UV light air purifier. UV light somewhat disinfects but doesn’t purify air, and research shows that UV’s disinfection potential for air may be exaggerated. What do I do now? At this point, you should feel like you have a good sense of what’s fact and what’s fiction when it comes to a truly effective air purification system. So, what should you do now, armed with your knowledge of what makes a good air purifier? You have a multitude of options for maximizing your indoor air quality: Get a HyperHEPA air purifier. Patented HyperHEPA filtration technology removes 99.5% of pollutant particles down to 0.003 microns, the smallest particles in existence. Use advanced gas-phase filtration. Patented V5 Cell gas and odor control filters, used in HealthPro Series air purifiers, eliminateharmful chemicals and compounds with five pounds of activated carbon. The GC MultiGas features 12 pounds of activated carbon and impregnated alumina to help protect you against indoor gases and chemicals, in addition to our powerful HyperHEPA particle filtration. Use a personal air purifier. Atem Series personal air purifiers are equipped with HyperHEPA filtration technology and a PureJet diffuser that instantly blankets you in clean air. They’re sleek, compact, and portable, allowing you to breathe virtually pure air anytime, anywhere. Install a whole-house air purifier. Your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system at home uses outdoor air to heat and cool your home, so even with an indoor air purifier, your air still might become polluted by outdoor particulates on days with poor air quality. The PerfectPro Series whole-house air purifier is equipped with the most powerful HyperHEPA filters available for a residential air purification systems. It fits seamlessly into your existing HVAC system, ensuring that air entering your home is always up to the highest possible standard of quality. Still not sure? Read about some of the misconceptions that surround air purification technology. Use our Help Me Choose tool to see what air purifier may work best for your indoor air quality needs. The most capable air purification technology is always backed by evidence-based facts and science. When it comes to choosing the best air purifier, science has got your back.","

The home air purifier market has undergone many shifts and starts in its decades-long history as an affordable solution for indoor air quality. Along with those shifts have been seemingly ground breaking advancements in filtration technologies that may seem like the next revolution in air purification.

But not all air purifiers safely clean the air.

Not all air purifiers safely clean the air.

Let's take an evidence-based approach to the industry and separate the fact from the fiction.

What should I look for in an air purifier?

Before we examine the various air purifiers on the market with a critical eye, it’s essential to have a solid understanding of what does make a good air purifier.

$\"Air$

1. HEPA filters are the standard for the industry.

What is a HEPA filter?

High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters capture airborne particles from moving air using a dense, random arrangement of fibers. HEPA filters use the physics of particles moving through air to yank them out of the air flow. Their operation is simple but extremely effective, and HEPA filters are now standard issue for almost every air purifier on the market.

But it wasn’t always that way.

Air purifiers have been around for well over a century. The first air purification systems appeared in the 1850s in charcoal-based masks used by coal miners. They were designed to keep toxic dust out of their lungs. The technology was so successful that, less than twenty years later, respirators were added to these types of masks to protect firefighters from breathing in smoke chemicals and pollutants (1).

Beginning in the 1940s, the United States Atomic Energy Commission started experimenting with high-efficiency particulate arrestance, better known now as HEPA, as a method of shielding soldiers from atomic radiation on World War II battlefields (2).

HEPA filters did nothing to filter radiation particles, but researchers quickly learned that HEPA filters could filter out many harmful pollutants.

In 1963, Manfred and Klaus Hammes, the founders of IQAir, introduced the world’s first residential air filter based on HEPA technology, helping reduce indoor pollution as well as chronic asthma symptoms. Not long after, HEPA became so widespread that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) required that all filters sold under the name “HEPA” must filter at least 99.97% of airborne particles down to 0.3 microns (3).

Since then, HEPA air purification has become the standard for the air purification industry. HEPA is now thrown around as a generic term for air filters, but HEPA filters continue to filter 99.97% of particles down to 0.3 microns.

The HyperHEPA filter builds upon the HEPA model to create even more efficient filtration systems.

Many manufacturers, including IQAir, have built upon the HEPA model to create even more efficient filtration systems. IQAir’s patented HyperHEPAfilter is one such filter. HyperHEPA filters remove 99.5% of particles down to 0.003 microns, which are 100 times smaller than the DOE’s required 0.3-micron particle size.

2. Not all air purifier designs are created equal.

All air purifier manufacturers know that their filters need to live up to this HEPA standard. But long-standing, strict guidelines around air filters can provide a false sense of security in HEPA.

To advertise an air purifier as HEPA, it only needs to contain HEPA paper, the paper used to construct a HEPA filter. Whether the air purifier’s Total System Efficiency meets HEPA requirements is another story. In fact, most HEPA air purifiers are not tested for total efficiency (4).

The hidden factor at work here is leakage. Despite the high efficiency of many HEPA filters, the housing designs of many air purifiers are not airtight. This means that dirty, unfiltered air passes around the HEPA filter through tiny openings, cracks, and space around the frame of the HEPA filter itself or between the frame and the purifier housing (5).

So even though many air purifiers claim that their HEPA filters remove nearly 100% of particles from the air that passes through them, they’re only telling part of the story. In some cases, the actual efficiency of the whole air purifier design, with leakage considered, is closer to 80% or less (6).

Even though many air purifiers claim that their HEPA filters remove nearly 100% of particles from the air that passes through them, the actual efficiency of the whole air purifier design, with leakage considered, is closer to 80% or less.

Some air purifier manufacturers have resolved this issue with designs that are built to minimize or eliminate leakage. IQAir uses patented 3D UltraSeal knife-edge-in-groove sealing between the filter frame and the purifier housing to guarantee the full efficiency of our HyperHEPA filtration media.

3. Concerned about gas and odors? Go beyond HEPA.

While HyperHEPA filters are great at getting particles out of the air, they do NOT take gases and odors out of the air.

Unlike particles, the molecules that comprise gases, odors, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are not solid and will float through even the densest HyperHEPA filters. That’s where activated carbon filters come in.

How do these filters work? It’s simpler than you might think:

Chunks of carbon material (like charcoal) are exposed to high concentrations of oxygen.
Countless pores open on the carbon surface, increasing the carbon surface area enormously. At this point, a pound of activated carbon can have the same surface area as 100 football fields.
Several pounds of activated carbon are arranged in a flat “bed” and packaged in a proprietary filter design (such as IQAir’s V5 Cell gas and odor control filter).
Air passes through the activated carbon bed.
Gas, chemical, and VOC molecules are adsorbed into the carbon pores, meaning that they chemically bond to the extensive charcoal surface area.

Activated carbon adsorption is the go-to method of filtration for gases as well as chemical pollutants from vehicle emissions and combustion processes (7)(8).

Activated carbon adsorption is the go-to method of filtration for gases as well as chemical pollutants from vehicle emissions and combustion processes.

Some air purifiers are designed to maximize activated carbon in case you’re more concerned about, for example, gases from cooking or odors from pets than about particle pollution in your home. IQAir’s GC MultiGas is built for such a purpose—while carbon filters generally use a few pounds of carbon, the GC MultiGas contains 12 pounds of activated carbon as well as impregnated alumina, providing well over 1200 football fields worth of surface area for gas and VOC molecules to adsorb to.

The takeaway

Now you know that the elements of a good air purifier are:

\nHyperHEPA media for particle filtration
\nNo system leakage due to sealed filter and purifier housing
\nActivated carbon for gas and odor filtration

But we're not done yet. Just as important to know is what not to look for in an air purifier.

What should I avoid in an air purifier?

When considering air purifiers, some people wonder about their effectiveness and even potential risks. Question often arise, such as \"Do air purifiers work?\" or \"Are air purifiers effective?\" The answer is that while some air cleaning methods can remove particles and pollutants from the air, their capabilities are often limited.

But it's not just about effectiveness. People also ask, \"Are air purifiers bad for you?\" This concern arises from potential hidden costs to your health. It's important to be aware of inefficiencies and any potential risks associated with the air purifier you're considering before making a purchase.

So, if you're in the market for an air purifier, remember to ask yourself whether it will be effective at removing pollutants and particles from the air, and whether it poses any risks to your health.

Ionizer air purifiers

Ionizers are purported to purify air by sending out negatively charged ions (anions) that attract positively charged pollution particles (cations), causing them to leave the air and stick to surfaces like ceilings, walls, and furniture.

Many popular air purifiers use ionization technology, also called negative ionization, as a central component of their operation. Research suggests that ionizers can help stop potentially infectious molds and bacteria from spreading in sterile environments like dental clinics and hospitals (9)(10).

But there are two critical downsides to ionization (11)(12):

\nIonizer air purifiersdon’t get rid of pollutants. Particles charged by negative ions aren’t removed from the air—they merely stick to surfaces nearby. This includes surfaces inside your airways, such as your windpipe and alveoli, the sacs of air in your lungs. Pollutant build-up can cause heart, lung, and other respiratory conditions.
\nIonizer air purifierscan generate harmful ozone. Ionizers produce ozone (O3) that can build up to dangerous levels indoors. At even low levels, indoor ozone can irritate your airways, trigger asthma attacks, damage your olfactory bulb (the organ that helps your brain process odors), and even be fatal at high concentrations. \n

Indoor ozone can irritate your airways, trigger asthma attacks, damage your olfactory bulb, and even be fatal at high concentrations.

Verdict

Don't buy an ionizer air purifier.They don’t remove particles from the air, and the ozone they produce can have harmful side effects, even if the purifier claims that they only charge the particles “a little bit.”

Ozone Generators

It’s worth saying again: ozone is TERRIBLE for you, especially indoor ozone build-up. The health concerns are serious enough that in 2017, California banned the use of ozonehome air purifiers (13).

Ozone generators use a process called corona discharge to release ozone molecules into the air. When an ozone molecule intermingles with a particle or gas molecule, an ozone atom clings to the other molecule and blows it up in a process known as oxidation. Oxidation in the atmosphere after a lightning strike is also what makes the air smell so distinct after a thunderstorm.

However, ozone generators do little to clean air and are quite bad for you. Here’s just a short (and far from complete) list of reasons why (14)(15)(16)(17)(18):

\nOzone can take years to fully clear even a small room of gases.
\nOzone reactions can introduce ultrafine particles (UFPs) into the air.UFPs can get into your lungs and your bloodstream, causing heart disease and even stunting lung development in children.
\nIndoor ozone levels can rise five to ten times above recommended limits,which range from 0.05 to 0.1 parts per million (ppm), because of a lack of ventilation and in combination with outdoor ozone that seeps indoors.To put this in perspective, those who are sensitive to ozone, such as children, people with asthma, and pets, start experiencing health effects at only 0.01 ppm. Even a “safe” ozone generator that emits a small amount of ozone can quickly trigger potentially life-threatening ailments like asthma attacks.

Verdict

Don’t buy an ozone generator. They’re NOT air purifiers. Not only do they fail to clean your air, they hurt you and the most vulnerable in your home: your children and your pets.

UV Light Purifiers

Ultraviolet (UV) light is often used to disinfect equipment in hospitals and prevent the spread of harmful strains of bacteria and viruses (19)(20).

One of the most common UV purification methods is called ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, or UVGI.

In UVGI, intense UV lights are shined on bacteria and viruses, damaging their DNA beyond repair. Bacterial cells and viruses then shut themselves down because they can no longer function. This is called apoptosis, or programmed cell death, which effectively destroys their ability to cause infections (21).

But UV air purification isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Here’s why(22) (23) (24) (25) (26):

\nBacteria and viruses need to be exposed to UV light for a certain amount of timebefore they’re rendered harmless: some strains need to be treated with UV for several hours in direct UV light before they’re destroyed.Home UV air purifiers don’t shine UV light on them long enough to be genuinely useful.
\nSome bacteria can come back to life and become infectious again even after being disinfected by UV light.
\nUV lights do nothing for pollutant particles.Air treated with UV light can still be full of harmful particulate matter, like PM10 and PM2.5.
Many UV air purifiers produce ozone.
\nUV light can burn your skin and damage your eyes. Sure, most UV purifiers block the light from shining out of the purifier, but even brief UV exposure can cause permanent skin and eye damage as well as cancer.

Air treated with UV light can still be full of harmful particulate matter.

Verdict

Don’t buy a UV light air purifier. UV light somewhat disinfects but doesn’t purify air, and research shows that UV’s disinfection potential for air may be exaggerated.

What do I do now?

At this point, you should feel like you have a good sense of what’s fact and what’s fiction when it comes to a truly effective air purification system.

So, what should you do now, armed with your knowledge of what makes a good air purifier? You have a multitude of options for maximizing your indoor air quality:

\nGet a HyperHEPA air purifier. Patented HyperHEPA filtration technology removes 99.5% of pollutant particles down to 0.003 microns, the smallest particles in existence.
\nUse advanced gas-phase filtration.\n
- Patented V5 Cell gas and odor control filters, used in HealthPro Series air purifiers, eliminateharmful chemicals and compounds with five pounds of activated carbon.
- The GC MultiGas features 12 pounds of activated carbon and impregnated alumina to help protect you against indoor gases and chemicals, in addition to our powerful HyperHEPA particle filtration.
\n
\nUse a personal air purifier. Atem Series personal air purifiers are equipped with HyperHEPA filtration technology and a PureJet diffuser that instantly blankets you in clean air. They’re sleek, compact, and portable, allowing you to breathe virtually pure air anytime, anywhere.
\nInstall a whole-house air purifier. Your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system at home uses outdoor air to heat and cool your home, so even with an indoor air purifier, your air still might become polluted by outdoor particulates on days with poor air quality. The PerfectPro Series whole-house air purifier is equipped with the most powerful HyperHEPA filters available for a residential air purification systems. It fits seamlessly into your existing HVAC system, ensuring that air entering your home is always up to the highest possible standard of quality.

Still not sure? Read about some of the misconceptions that surround air purification technology. Use our Help Me Choose tool to see what air purifier may work best for your indoor air quality needs.

The most capable air purification technology is always backed by evidence-based facts and science. When it comes to choosing the best air purifier, science has got your back.

","do-air-purifiers-work-air-purifier-myths-and-facts-debunked","gid://shopify/Article/606869193003","https://shop-gl-eur.iqair.com/blogs/news/do-air-purifiers-work-air-purifier-myths-and-facts-debunked","2022-01-02T14:14:32Z",[712,680,681],"Do air purifiers work? Air purifier myths and facts debunked",{"_65":709,"_210":710,"_208":711,"_211":309,"_213":310},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/408358224246","Close-up of what appears to be a room air purifier with some plants in the background (another indoor air purifying tool that has been shown to be ineffective in improving indoor air quality).","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0677/4059/8571/articles/AQL_misconceptions-about-air-purifiers_5058ed72-2e8d-4b0f-9570-93510f9f1f89.jpg?v=1758212336","Air Cleaning Technology",{"_52":311},{"_67":63},"Learn why wildfire smoke poses a health risk to people living far downwind and what you can do to help protect yourself.","When considering the dangers of wildfires, thoughts of fleeing your home while a raging wildfire rapidly approaches can easily consume your imagination. However, the number one cause of death from fires is smoke inhalation. The primary cause of death from wildfires is smoke inhalation. 50 to 80 percent of fire deaths are from smoke inhalation. Inhaling smoke damages your body in one or both of the following ways: by robbing it of oxygen through particulate matter irritation Smoke inhalation is particularly dangerous because you may not show symptoms until 24 to 48 hours after exposure. 50–80 percent of fire deaths are from smoke inhalation.1 Read on to learn how to help protect the health of yourself and your loved ones, and learn some wildfire smoke safety tips to rest assured that you’ve taken the necessary wildfire safety precautions to reduce the consequences of toxic wildfire smoke. What’s in wildfire smoke? Wildfire smoke is a mixture of thousands of individual compounds, including harmful particles and gases that pose a severe health risk to anyone (including pets) nearby and downwind from a fire. Wildfire smoke often contains: water vapor particulate matter trace minerals carbon dioxide carbon monoxide nitrogen oxides hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxide compounds that contribute to elevated ozone (O3) levels volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including acrolein and formaldehyde (potent respiratory irritants) Wildfire smoke often contains fine (PM2.5) and ultrafine particles that can be absorbed directly into your blood stream and reach any organ or area of your body. Pictured: The typical contents of wildfire smoke, including ultrafine particles (≤ 0.3 microns), PM2.5 (2.5-10 microns), acrolein, PM10 (> 10 microns), formaldehyde, carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbons. Source: IQAir Wildfire smoke composition depends upon multiple factors, including: the types of wood and vegetation burning the moisture content the fire temperature wind conditions other weather-related influences The primary pollutant threatening the health of those nearby and downwind of a wildfire is particulate matter. Wildfire smoke often contains fine (or PM2.5) and ultrafine particles. These tiny airborne particles are the most dangerous to your health. Fine particles (smaller than 2.5 microns) penetrate deeply into your lungs. The most dangerous are ultrafine particles (smaller than 0.1 microns), which represent 90% of all airborne particles. These particles are tiny and can be absorbed directly into your bloodstream. Once in your blood, they can reach any organ or area of your body. Clean the air with high-performance air filtration Learn more about our wildfire smoke air purifiers Click here Wildfire smoke and at-risk populations Most healthy adults will recover from smoke exposure. However, certain individuals are more at risk for severe health consequences, including:2 Young children. Children whose lungs are still developing are considered more vulnerable, regardless of whether they have a pre-existing condition. Pregnant women. Wildfire smoke inhalation puts pregnant women and their unborn children at a higher risk than the general population. Older adults. This population is at-risk due to an increased rate of pre-existing heart and lung disease. Anyone with a respiratory disease. Individuals with emphysema, chronic bronchitis, COPD, asthma, or another respiratory disease are at-risk. Individuals with heart disease. Circulatory diseases include high blood pressure, vascular diseases, heart failure, and cerebrovascular conditions. These conditions make sufferers susceptible to heart attacks, transient chest pain, heart failure, stroke, and sudden death from cardiac arrhythmia. Young children, pregnant women, older adults, and people with respiratory and cardiovascular pre-existing conditions may find that they experience more severe symptoms and find it harder to breathe.3 The full impact of wildfire smoke is not yet fully understood. A 2017 review in Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology found that there are still important study opportunities for exploring the long-term health implications of smoke exposure, smoke exposure recovery, and additional smoke inhalation health impacts for children.4 Exposure to smoke can be dangerous simply due to the microorganisms within the smoke. A 2020 study in Science magazine noted that microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungal spores, comprise some of the particulate matter found in smoke.5 The study theorizes that infectious disease may be spread as bacteria and fungi become part of smoke’s particulate composition. Microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungal spores, comprise some of the particulate matter found in smoke, and infectious disease may be spread as they become part of the smoke’s particulate composition. How wildfire smoke behaves Many factors affect wildfire smoke behavior, such as: weather geographical terrain the stage of the fire wind Use the live, interactive air quality map below to see how weather, wind, and location can impact the behavior of wildfire smoke near you. Windy conditions generally cause smoke to mix with larger volumes of air to lower smoke concentrations. However, strong winds also can spread fires more quickly, causing larger fires with greater impact. Regional weather can be the dominant determinant in how a fire behaves as well as how smoke affects surrounding areas. However, regional weather systems can spread fires quickly and result in larger fires with more smoke generated, creating the potential for even greater impacts. Strong regional weather systems can also dominate a fire’s behavior for days and be the determining factor of where and how smoke will affect an area. Smoke can travel for miles beyond its source. In 2020, smoke from wildfires in the Western United States drifted for nearly 5,000 miles, eventually being detected in Europe. Smoke can travel for miles beyond its source. In 2020, smoke from wildfires in the western United States drifted for nearly 5,000 miles, eventually being detected in Europe.6 Wildfire safety tips Wildfire smoke events can occur seemingly without warning. But there are steps you can take to prepare yourself using appropriate safety precautions for wildfires. Keep the air clean in your home. Keep windows and doors closed closed and seal off any openings to the outside, including vents, to help prevent outdoor smoke from getting in. When using an air conditioner, be sure to set it to re-circulate and close the fresh-air intake. Filter the air when ventilating the space. An air purifier for wildfire smoke, will help remove smoke particles of all sizes down to 0.003 microns from the indoor air and help control ozone levels. This is critical if you live in an urban area downwind (even remotely) from wildfires. Stay indoors as much as possible. This tactic is most useful in buildings that effectively stop outdoor air from getting inside. If you need to travel by car to leave or evacuate an area affected by wildfire smoke, use a car air purifier to help keep your vehicle interior air clean as you pass through smoky or polluted areas. You can also use a portable, personal air purifier to access clean air where other air filtration systems are not available. Wear a mask outdoors. Only use an air pollution mask with an N95, KN95, N100, or FFP2 rating to help. Avoid activities that further pollute the indoor air. Avoid burning candles, using the fireplace, or even vacuuming unless you own a high-performance HEPA vacuum cleaner. All of these activities can otherwise become additional sources of indoor air pollutants. Monitor your indoor air quality. Use an air quality monitor to track levels of indoor pollutants like PM2.5 and CO2 from smoke and other indoor pollution sources. Take action if indoor air pollutants rise to dangerous levels by running an air purifier, circulating fresh air through your HVAC system, or leaving your home temporarily if indoor air becomes unsafe to breathe or your home is threatened by wildfire. Use an air quality monitoring app to keep track of pollutants in your environment. The AirVisual app displays real-time hyperlocal data from over 80,000 sensors around the world. The app also tracks up to six key wildfire pollutants, such as PM2.5, CO2, and NO2, so that you have the best picture of your local air quality during a wildfire and can take action to help protect your health. Wildfires are increasing in frequency and intensity. Wildfire smoke can negatively affect your health, even if you’re far away from the actual fire. Learn to protect the health of yourself and your family, and rest assured that you’ve taken the necessary precautions. During a wildfire, it’s also important to monitor your local air quality to see how wildfire smoke will affect your outdoor air. The takeaway Wildfires are increasing in frequency and intensity. Wildfire smoke can negatively affect your health, even if you’re far away from the actual fire. And while wildfire smoke may be a warning sign of imminent fires, smoke also delivers its own set of risks for people living miles beyond the source. Though smoke pollutants carried on the wind may be invisible, their impacts are felt by those most at risk. Smoke pollutants pose health threats that range from irritation and cough to more serious respiratory and cardiac risks. By helping control smoke pollutants that threaten our indoor air quality through monitoring and air purification, it's possible to help manage wildfire smoke health risks.","

When considering the dangers of wildfires, thoughts of fleeing your home while a raging wildfire rapidly approaches can easily consume your imagination. However, the number one cause of death from fires is smoke inhalation.

The primary cause of death from wildfires is smoke inhalation. 50 to 80 percent of fire deaths are from smoke inhalation.

Inhaling smoke damages your body in one or both of the following ways:

by robbing it of oxygen
through particulate matter irritation

Smoke inhalation is particularly dangerous because you may not show symptoms until 24 to 48 hours after exposure. 50–80 percent of fire deaths are from smoke inhalation.¹

Read on to learn how to help protect the health of yourself and your loved ones, and learn some wildfire smoke safety tips to rest assured that you’ve taken the necessary wildfire safety precautions to reduce the consequences of toxic wildfire smoke.

What’s in wildfire smoke?

Wildfire smoke is a mixture of thousands of individual compounds, including harmful particles and gases that pose a severe health risk to anyone (including pets) nearby and downwind from a fire.

Wildfire smoke often contains:

\n
water vapor
\n
\n
particulate matter
\n
\n
trace minerals
\n
\n
carbon dioxide
\n
\n
carbon monoxide
\n
\n
nitrogen oxides
\n
\n
hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxide compounds that contribute to elevated ozone (O₃) levels
\n
\n
volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including acrolein and formaldehyde (potent respiratory irritants)
\n

Wildfire smoke often contains fine (PM2.5) and ultrafine particles that can be absorbed directly into your blood stream and reach any organ or area of your body.

$\"What's$

Pictured: The typical contents of wildfire smoke, including ultrafine particles (≤ 0.3 microns), PM2.5 (2.5-10 microns), acrolein, PM10 (> 10 microns), formaldehyde, carbon dioxide (CO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbons. Source: IQAir

Wildfire smoke composition depends upon multiple factors, including:

\n
the types of wood and vegetation burning
\n

\n
the moisture content
\n
\n
the fire temperature
\n
\n
wind conditions
\n
\n
other weather-related influences
\n

The primary pollutant threatening the health of those nearby and downwind of a wildfire is particulate matter. Wildfire smoke often contains fine (or PM2.5) and ultrafine particles. These tiny airborne particles are the most dangerous to your health.

Fine particles (smaller than 2.5 microns) penetrate deeply into your lungs.

The most dangerous are ultrafine particles (smaller than 0.1 microns), which represent 90% of all airborne particles. These particles are tiny and can be absorbed directly into your bloodstream. Once in your blood, they can reach any organ or area of your body.

Clean the air with high-performance air filtration
Learn more about our wildfire smoke air purifiers

Click here

Wildfire smoke and at-risk populations

Most healthy adults will recover from smoke exposure. However, certain individuals are more at risk for severe health consequences, including:²

\n
Young children. Children whose lungs are still developing are considered more vulnerable, regardless of whether they have a pre-existing condition.
\n
\n
Pregnant women. Wildfire smoke inhalation puts pregnant women and their unborn children at a higher risk than the general population.
\n
\n
Older adults. This population is at-risk due to an increased rate of pre-existing heart and lung disease.
\n
\n
Anyone with a respiratory disease. Individuals with emphysema, chronic bronchitis, COPD, asthma, or another respiratory disease are at-risk.
\n
\n
Individuals with heart disease. Circulatory diseases include high blood pressure, vascular diseases, heart failure, and cerebrovascular conditions. These conditions make sufferers susceptible to heart attacks, transient chest pain, heart failure, stroke, and sudden death from cardiac arrhythmia.
\n

Young children, pregnant women, older adults, and people with respiratory and cardiovascular pre-existing conditions may find that they experience more severe symptoms and find it harder to breathe.³

The full impact of wildfire smoke is not yet fully understood. A 2017 review in Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology found that there are still important study opportunities for exploring the long-term health implications of smoke exposure, smoke exposure recovery, and additional smoke inhalation health impacts for children.⁴

Exposure to smoke can be dangerous simply due to the microorganisms within the smoke. A 2020 study in Science magazine noted that microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungal spores, comprise some of the particulate matter found in smoke.⁵ The study theorizes that infectious disease may be spread as bacteria and fungi become part of smoke’s particulate composition.

 Microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungal spores, comprise some of the particulate matter found in smoke, and infectious disease may be spread as they become part of the smoke’s particulate composition.

How wildfire smoke behaves

Many factors affect wildfire smoke behavior, such as:

\n
weather
\n
\n
geographical terrain
\n
\n
the stage of the fire
\n
\n
wind
\n

Use the live, interactive air quality map below to see how weather, wind, and location can impact the behavior of wildfire smoke near you.

$\"placeholder$

Windy conditions generally cause smoke to mix with larger volumes of air to lower smoke concentrations. However, strong winds also can spread fires more quickly, causing larger fires with greater impact.

Regional weather can be the dominant determinant in how a fire behaves as well as how smoke affects surrounding areas. However, regional weather systems can spread fires quickly and result in larger fires with more smoke generated, creating the potential for even greater impacts.

Strong regional weather systems can also dominate a fire’s behavior for days and be the determining factor of where and how smoke will affect an area.

Smoke can travel for miles beyond its source. In 2020, smoke from wildfires in the Western United States drifted for nearly 5,000 miles, eventually being detected in Europe.

Smoke can travel for miles beyond its source. In 2020, smoke from wildfires in the western United States drifted for nearly 5,000 miles, eventually being detected in Europe.⁶

Wildfire safety tips

Wildfire smoke events can occur seemingly without warning. But there are steps you can take to prepare yourself using appropriate safety precautions for wildfires.

\n
Keep the air clean in your home. Keep windows and doors closed closed and seal off any openings to the outside, including vents, to help prevent outdoor smoke from getting in. When using an air conditioner, be sure to set it to re-circulate and close the fresh-air intake. Filter the air when ventilating the space. An air purifier for wildfire smoke, will help remove smoke particles of all sizes down to 0.003 microns from the indoor air and help control ozone levels. This is critical if you live in an urban area downwind (even remotely) from wildfires.
\n
\n
Stay indoors as much as possible. This tactic is most useful in buildings that effectively stop outdoor air from getting inside. If you need to travel by car to leave or evacuate an area affected by wildfire smoke, use a car air purifier to help keep your vehicle interior air clean as you pass through smoky or polluted areas. You can also use a portable, personal air purifier to access clean air where other air filtration systems are not available.
\n
\n
Wear a mask outdoors. Only use an air pollution mask with an N95, KN95, N100, or FFP2 rating to help.
\n
\n
Avoid activities that further pollute the indoor air. Avoid burning candles, using the fireplace, or even vacuuming unless you own a high-performance HEPA vacuum cleaner. All of these activities can otherwise become additional sources of indoor air pollutants.
\n
\n
Monitor your indoor air quality. Use an air quality monitor to track levels of indoor pollutants like PM2.5 and CO₂ from smoke and other indoor pollution sources. Take action if indoor air pollutants rise to dangerous levels by running an air purifier, circulating fresh air through your HVAC system, or leaving your home temporarily if indoor air becomes unsafe to breathe or your home is threatened by wildfire.
\n
\n
Use an air quality monitoring app to keep track of pollutants in your environment. The AirVisual app displays real-time hyperlocal data from over 80,000 sensors around the world. The app also tracks up to six key wildfire pollutants, such as PM2.5, CO₂, and NO₂, so that you have the best picture of your local air quality during a wildfire and can take action to help protect your health.
\n

$\"Google$ $\"App$ $\"Android\"$

Wildfires are increasing in frequency and intensity. Wildfire smoke can negatively affect your health, even if you’re far away from the actual fire. Learn to protect the health of yourself and your family, and rest assured that you’ve taken the necessary precautions.

During a wildfire, it’s also important to monitor your local air quality to see how wildfire smoke will affect your outdoor air.

The takeaway

Wildfires are increasing in frequency and intensity. Wildfire smoke can negatively affect your health, even if you’re far away from the actual fire. And while wildfire smoke may be a warning sign of imminent fires, smoke also delivers its own set of risks for people living miles beyond the source.

Though smoke pollutants carried on the wind may be invisible, their impacts are felt by those most at risk. Smoke pollutants pose health threats that range from irritation and cough to more serious respiratory and cardiac risks.

By helping control smoke pollutants that threaten our indoor air quality through monitoring and air purification, it's possible to help manage wildfire smoke health risks.

","how-to-protect-yourself-from-wildfire-smoke","gid://shopify/Article/606869291307","https://shop-gl-eur.iqair.com/blogs/news/how-to-protect-yourself-from-wildfire-smoke","2025-07-01T20:46:00Z",[312,728,681,313],"How to protect yourself from wildfire smoke",{"_65":725,"_210":726,"_208":727,"_211":309,"_213":310},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/415911739766","Wildfire at night in hills","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0677/4059/8571/articles/AQL_21_WildfireDesktop_a_eab3c656-163e-406c-84fa-969d40e0f981.jpg?v=1779917280","Climate",{"_101":590,"_83":815,"_11":816,"_73":817,"_594":818,"_75":819,"_77":820,"_67":821,"_65":822,"_600":823,"_114":-5,"_79":824,"_81":825,"_71":826,"_85":827},{"_101":590,"_83":800,"_11":801,"_73":802,"_594":803,"_75":804,"_77":805,"_67":806,"_65":807,"_600":808,"_114":-5,"_79":809,"_81":810,"_71":811,"_85":812},{"_101":590,"_83":784,"_11":785,"_73":786,"_594":787,"_75":788,"_77":789,"_67":790,"_65":791,"_600":792,"_114":-5,"_79":793,"_81":794,"_71":795,"_85":796},{"_101":590,"_83":769,"_11":770,"_73":771,"_594":772,"_75":773,"_77":774,"_67":775,"_65":776,"_600":777,"_114":-5,"_79":778,"_81":779,"_71":780,"_85":781},{"_101":590,"_83":753,"_11":754,"_73":755,"_594":756,"_75":757,"_77":758,"_67":759,"_65":760,"_600":761,"_114":-5,"_79":762,"_81":763,"_71":764,"_85":765},{"_101":590,"_83":735,"_11":736,"_73":737,"_594":738,"_75":739,"_77":740,"_67":741,"_65":742,"_600":743,"_114":-5,"_79":744,"_81":745,"_71":746,"_85":747},{"_52":311},{"_67":63},"Get to know the science behind air cleaning technology, and how a high-performance air purifier can capture PM2.5.","

Get to know the science behind air cleaning technology, and how a high-performance air purifier can capture PM2.5.

","Yes, air purifiers can significantly reduce indoor PM2.5 levels. Studies have shown that high-efficiency filtration can lower concentrations of fine particulate matter indoors (1). What is PM2.5? PM2.5 refers to fine airborne particles measuring 2.5 microns or smaller—small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and even enter the bloodstream. These particles come from sources like vehicle emissions, wildfire smoke, industrial pollution, and cooking. Air purifiers with high-efficiency filtration, particularly HyperHEPA filtration, are designed to capture and remove PM2.5, improving indoor air quality and reducing health risks associated with long-term exposure, such as respiratory issues, cardiovascular disease, and aggravated allergies or asthma. How PM2.5 builds up indoors PM2.5 does not need to originate indoors to affect indoor air quality. Fine particles from outdoor pollution can enter through doors, windows, ventilation systems, and small gaps in buildings. Indoor activities such as cooking, candles, smoking, and cleaning can also generate PM2.5. Because these particles are extremely small and lightweight, they can remain suspended in the air and continue circulating long after they are produced. How air purifiers reduce indoor PM2.5 Air purifiers combat PM2.5 using advanced filtration technologies. The primary filtration layer is typically a HEPA filter, which physically traps fine particles as air passes through. HyperHEPA filters are even more effective, capturing ultrafine particles down to 0.003 microns—far smaller than PM2.5—with an efficiency of at least 99.5%. This makes them effective at reducing not just PM2.5, but also ultrafine particles from sources like wildfires or vehicle exhaust. Many air purifiers also include a pre-filter to capture larger particles, extending the life of the main filter, and an activated carbon filter to address gases and odors that often accompany PM2.5 pollution. Smart purifiers with real-time air quality sensors can automatically adjust fan speeds to respond to spikes in PM2.5, helping respond to changing indoor conditions during high-pollution events like wildfires or heavy traffic periods. The health impact of reducing indoor PM2.5 Long-term exposure to PM2.5 has been linked to respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic health conditions. By lowering indoor PM2.5 levels, air purifiers help mitigate these risks, especially for vulnerable groups like children, the elderly, and those with pre-existing conditions. For maximum protection, place the purifier in rooms where you spend the most time, such as bedrooms or living areas, and run it continuously. Sealing windows and doors during high-pollution events further enhances the purifier’s effectiveness by preventing outdoor PM2.5 from entering your home. Frequently Asked Questions Can an air purifier remove all PM2.5 from indoor air?While no purifier can eliminate 100% of PM2.5, models with HyperHEPA filtration capture up to 99.5% of PM2.5 and can significantly improve indoor air quality. How quickly can an air purifier lower PM2.5 levels?Most purifiers begin reducing PM2.5 within minutes, but it may take a few hours to achieve maximum reduction, depending on room size, purifier strength, and initial pollution levels. Should I run my air purifier 24/7 to combat PM2.5?Yes. Continuous operation ensures PM2.5 levels stay low, especially in high-pollution areas or during events like wildfires. Use auto mode to balance energy use and purification. Can air purifiers help with wildfire smoke?Yes. Wildfire smoke is rich in PM2.5, and HyperHEPA air purifiers are effective at removing these particles. Close windows and run the purifier on high during smoke events for best results. Conclusion PM2.5 does not need to originate indoors to affect indoor air quality. Fine particles from outdoor pollution and everyday indoor activities can build up over time, remaining suspended in the air long after they are produced. Reducing indoor exposure often depends on a combination of source control, ventilation, and high-efficiency filtration. Air purifiers with HEPA or HyperHEPA filtration can help lower indoor PM2.5 levels, particularly during wildfire events or in areas affected by traffic and industrial pollution.","

Yes, air purifiers can significantly reduce indoor PM2.5 levels. Studies have shown that high-efficiency filtration can lower concentrations of fine particulate matter indoors (1).

What is PM2.5?

PM2.5 refers to fine airborne particles measuring 2.5 microns or smaller—small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and even enter the bloodstream. These particles come from sources like vehicle emissions, wildfire smoke, industrial pollution, and cooking.

Air purifiers with high-efficiency filtration, particularly HyperHEPA filtration, are designed to capture and remove PM2.5, improving indoor air quality and reducing health risks associated with long-term exposure, such as respiratory issues, cardiovascular disease, and aggravated allergies or asthma.

How PM2.5 builds up indoors

PM2.5 does not need to originate indoors to affect indoor air quality. Fine particles from outdoor pollution can enter through doors, windows, ventilation systems, and small gaps in buildings. Indoor activities such as cooking, candles, smoking, and cleaning can also generate PM2.5.

Because these particles are extremely small and lightweight, they can remain suspended in the air and continue circulating long after they are produced.

How air purifiers reduce indoor PM2.5

Air purifiers combat PM2.5 using advanced filtration technologies. The primary filtration layer is typically a HEPA filter, which physically traps fine particles as air passes through.

HyperHEPA filters are even more effective, capturing ultrafine particles down to 0.003 microns—far smaller than PM2.5—with an efficiency of at least 99.5%. This makes them effective at reducing not just PM2.5, but also ultrafine particles from sources like wildfires or vehicle exhaust.

Many air purifiers also include a pre-filter to capture larger particles, extending the life of the main filter, and an activated carbon filter to address gases and odors that often accompany PM2.5 pollution. Smart purifiers with real-time air quality sensors can automatically adjust fan speeds to respond to spikes in PM2.5, helping respond to changing indoor conditions during high-pollution events like wildfires or heavy traffic periods.

The health impact of reducing indoor PM2.5

Long-term exposure to PM2.5 has been linked to respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic health conditions.

By lowering indoor PM2.5 levels, air purifiers help mitigate these risks, especially for vulnerable groups like children, the elderly, and those with pre-existing conditions.

For maximum protection, place the purifier in rooms where you spend the most time, such as bedrooms or living areas, and run it continuously. Sealing windows and doors during high-pollution events further enhances the purifier’s effectiveness by preventing outdoor PM2.5 from entering your home.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an air purifier remove all PM2.5 from indoor air?
While no purifier can eliminate 100% of PM2.5, models with HyperHEPA filtration capture up to 99.5% of PM2.5 and can significantly improve indoor air quality.

How quickly can an air purifier lower PM2.5 levels?
Most purifiers begin reducing PM2.5 within minutes, but it may take a few hours to achieve maximum reduction, depending on room size, purifier strength, and initial pollution levels.

Should I run my air purifier 24/7 to combat PM2.5?
Yes. Continuous operation ensures PM2.5 levels stay low, especially in high-pollution areas or during events like wildfires. Use auto mode to balance energy use and purification.

Can air purifiers help with wildfire smoke?
Yes. Wildfire smoke is rich in PM2.5, and HyperHEPA air purifiers are effective at removing these particles. Close windows and run the purifier on high during smoke events for best results.

Conclusion

PM2.5 does not need to originate indoors to affect indoor air quality. Fine particles from outdoor pollution and everyday indoor activities can build up over time, remaining suspended in the air long after they are produced.

Reducing indoor exposure often depends on a combination of source control, ventilation, and high-efficiency filtration. Air purifiers with HEPA or HyperHEPA filtration can help lower indoor PM2.5 levels, particularly during wildfire events or in areas affected by traffic and industrial pollution.

","can-air-purifiers-reduce-indoor-pm25-levels","gid://shopify/Article/1001564045686","https://shop-gl-eur.iqair.com/blogs/news/can-air-purifiers-reduce-indoor-pm25-levels","2026-06-02T16:42:12Z",[712,312,752],"Can air purifiers reduce indoor PM2.5 levels?",{"_65":748,"_210":-5,"_208":749,"_211":750,"_213":751},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/416092914038","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0677/4059/8571/articles/A_e96050f8-d6f0-462a-802f-94b86ee817cd.jpg?v=1780418535",839,674,"Featured articles",{"_52":311},{"_67":63},"Tropical Storm Jangmi floods Japan with 370,000+ evacuations. Tokyo and central regions affected. Learn about flood warnings, evacuation alerts, and indoor air quality protection.","

Tropical Storm Jangmi floods Japan with 370,000+ evacuations. Tokyo and central regions affected. Learn about flood warnings, evacuation alerts, and indoor air quality protection.

","What is the location of the flooding? As of June 3, 2026, Tropical Storm Jangmi has dumped heavy rain across central and eastern Japan, moving into the heavily populated Tokyo region. The storm initially made landfall in Wakayama prefecture in central Japan at typhoon strength before weakening significantly. Authorities issued the highest-level flood warnings for multiple areas across central and eastern Japan as torrential rainfall continues. The storm affected regions from Okinawa in the south to Tokyo and surrounding areas in the north, with the Owase area recording 50 centimeters of rain in 24 hours (1). Wind map of Japan, as of June 3, 2026. Source: IQAir. Which cities or areas are affected by the flooding? Flooding and severe weather impacts have affected several regions across central and eastern Japan, including: Aichi Kanagawa Okinawa Shikoku Island Tokyo Wakayama What is the current containment status of the flooding? Managing the flooding remains challenging as heavy rainfall continues across affected regions. Rescue operations are ongoing, with Japanese authorities monitoring river levels and issuing updated weather advisories. Tropical Storm Jangmi was moving northeast with maximum sustained winds of 90 kph (55 mph) as of Wednesday morning. Heavy rain paralyzes street traffic, suspended train services, and knocked out power to more than 5,000 homes in the Tokyo region (2). Are there any evacuation orders or alerts in place? Japan has issued highest-level flood warnings across central and eastern regions, urging residents to move to higher ground for safety. Authorities urged approximately 370,000 people across swaths of the country from Shikoku island in western Japan to Tokyo to evacuate. Residents near rivers and in vulnerable mountainous areas were strongly advised to take shelter. Schools in Tokyo and surrounding areas have closed, while train services remain suspended or delayed. Authorities continue monitoring conditions and rolling updates as rainfall persists through June 4. How can I protect myself from mold after flooding? It’s important to take steps to prevent mold after a flood. Before entering a flooded area, make sure it is safe and free from electrical hazards or structural damage. Use protective gear: wear gloves, goggles, and a KN95/FFP2 mask to minimize exposure to mold spores. If there is still standing water, remove it as quickly as possible. Use pumps, wet-dry vacuums, or buckets to extract the water. Open windows and doors to facilitate air circulation and use fans, dehumidifiers, and HVAC systems to help dry the space. This step is crucial within the first 24-48 hours after flooding to prevent mold growth. Remove and discard any items that have been severely damaged by floodwater and cannot be thoroughly cleaned and dried. This includes carpets, upholstered furniture, mattresses, and any other porous materials. Thoroughly clean all hard surfaces with a detergent or cleaner suitable for mold remediation. Use a solution of 1.5 cups of bleach mixed with one gallon of water to disinfect nonporous surfaces. Never mix bleach with ammonia or other cleaning products, as the fumes are toxic. Maintain an indoor relative humidity (RH) of 35-50%. High humidity promotes mold growth, so consider using dehumidifiers in damp areas. Run a high-performance air purifier for mold, both during and after the mold removal work. If the flooding and mold damage are extensive, consider contacting professionals specializing in mold remediation to ensure proper cleanup and restoration. Remember, mold can pose health risks, so it's important to take these steps promptly and thoroughly. If you experience persistent mold-related health issues or have concerns about extensive mold growth, consult with a medical professional or a mold remediation specialist.","

What is the location of the flooding?

As of June 3, 2026, Tropical Storm Jangmi has dumped heavy rain across central and eastern Japan, moving into the heavily populated Tokyo region. The storm initially made landfall in Wakayama prefecture in central Japan at typhoon strength before weakening significantly.

Authorities issued the highest-level flood warnings for multiple areas across central and eastern Japan as torrential rainfall continues. The storm affected regions from Okinawa in the south to Tokyo and surrounding areas in the north, with the Owase area recording 50 centimeters of rain in 24 hours (1).

$\"\"$ Wind map of Japan, as of June 3, 2026. Source: IQAir.

Which cities or areas are affected by the flooding?

Flooding and severe weather impacts have affected several regions across central and eastern Japan, including:

Aichi
Kanagawa
Okinawa
Shikoku Island
Tokyo
Wakayama

What is the current containment status of the flooding?

Managing the flooding remains challenging as heavy rainfall continues across affected regions. Rescue operations are ongoing, with Japanese authorities monitoring river levels and issuing updated weather advisories.

Tropical Storm Jangmi was moving northeast with maximum sustained winds of 90 kph (55 mph) as of Wednesday morning. Heavy rain paralyzes street traffic, suspended train services, and knocked out power to more than 5,000 homes in the Tokyo region (2).

Are there any evacuation orders or alerts in place?

Japan has issued highest-level flood warnings across central and eastern regions, urging residents to move to higher ground for safety. Authorities urged approximately 370,000 people across swaths of the country from Shikoku island in western Japan to Tokyo to evacuate.

Residents near rivers and in vulnerable mountainous areas were strongly advised to take shelter. Schools in Tokyo and surrounding areas have closed, while train services remain suspended or delayed. Authorities continue monitoring conditions and rolling updates as rainfall persists through June 4.

How can I protect myself from mold after flooding?

It’s important to take steps to prevent mold after a flood.

Before entering a flooded area, make sure it is safe and free from electrical hazards or structural damage.
Use protective gear: wear gloves, goggles, and a KN95/FFP2 mask to minimize exposure to mold spores.
If there is still standing water, remove it as quickly as possible. Use pumps, wet-dry vacuums, or buckets to extract the water.
Open windows and doors to facilitate air circulation and use fans, dehumidifiers, and HVAC systems to help dry the space. This step is crucial within the first 24-48 hours after flooding to prevent mold growth.
Remove and discard any items that have been severely damaged by floodwater and cannot be thoroughly cleaned and dried. This includes carpets, upholstered furniture, mattresses, and any other porous materials.
Thoroughly clean all hard surfaces with a detergent or cleaner suitable for mold remediation. Use a solution of 1.5 cups of bleach mixed with one gallon of water to disinfect nonporous surfaces. Never mix bleach with ammonia or other cleaning products, as the fumes are toxic.
Maintain an indoor relative humidity (RH) of 35-50%. High humidity promotes mold growth, so consider using dehumidifiers in damp areas.
\nRun a high-performance air purifier for mold, both during and after the mold removal work.
If the flooding and mold damage are extensive, consider contacting professionals specializing in mold remediation to ensure proper cleanup and restoration.

Remember, mold can pose health risks, so it's important to take these steps promptly and thoroughly. If you experience persistent mold-related health issues or have concerns about extensive mold growth, consult with a medical professional or a mold remediation specialist.

","indoor-air-quality-alert-japan-tropical-storm-flooding","gid://shopify/Article/1001618047350","https://shop-gl-eur.iqair.com/blogs/news/indoor-air-quality-alert-japan-tropical-storm-flooding","2026-06-03T06:03:49Z",[312,728,768],"Indoor Air Quality Alert: Japan Tropical Storm Flooding",{"_65":766,"_210":-5,"_208":767,"_211":309,"_213":310},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/416107954550","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0677/4059/8571/articles/Flooding1Desktop_0ff89dc9-f458-4286-b4af-30b8f90a47e0.jpg?v=1780466635","Molds",{"_52":311},{"_67":63},"Environmental changes and pollution don’t affect everyone in the same way. Learn why marginalized groups are heavily affected by climate injustice and the pathways to a new future.","

Environmental changes and pollution don’t affect everyone in the same way. Learn why marginalized groups are heavily affected by climate injustice and the pathways to a new future.

","Communities that contribute the least to global emissions are often the most affected by poor air quality and environmental change (1). Often referred to as climate justice—the idea that environmental impacts are not experienced equally—this imbalance is shaped by differences in infrastructure, policy, economic resources, and proximity to pollution sources. From power generation to urban pollution, hidden environmental injustices affect the long-term health and well-being of underrepresented communities. As these systemic inequalities become more visible, pathways to a cleaner, healthier future are emerging. The unequal burden of pollution Global patterns of unequal exposure According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 99% of the world’s population breathes polluted air, increasing health risks. Marginalized communities face the greatest disparities, as 97% of cities in low- and middle-income countries fail to meet WHO air quality standards, compared to 49% of high-income countries (2)(3). These disparities are not random—they reflect structural differences in development, regulation, and access to resources. Urban environments and heat In Delhi, India, a lower-middle-income country, the dense population combined with an abundance of city emissions and lack of environmental policies have created an overwhelming amount of heat, also known as an Urban Heat Island (4). Surrounded by concrete buildings and cement, heat gets easily trapped within cityscapes and continues to build over time as fuel emissions are burned. Increased temperatures from pollution can manifest into unhealthy air quality environments for individuals, with elevated levels of volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) and faster dispersion of pollutant particles (5). This means that lower-income communities—often living in denser areas with less access to cooling, green space, or protective infrastructure—can experience the most intense effects of both heat and pollution. Local impacts in the United States In the United States, similar patterns can be observed at a local level. In some regions, communities are located in close proximity to industrial corridors, where long-term exposure to emissions is part of daily life. One example is an industrial stretch along the Mississippi River in Louisiana, often referred to as “Cancer Alley,” where residents live near petrochemical facilities and manufacturing plants, also known as fenceline communities (6). Pollutant emissions can leach into water supplies and settle on surfaces, leaving residents to breathe and consume contaminants over extended periods. Parts of this region have been associated with some of the highest estimated cancer risks from industrial air emissions in the United States (7). In this way, the burden of pollution is shaped not just by geography, but by how communities are positioned in relation to industrial activity—and the resources available to respond. Environmental change and ecosystem pressure In the Amazon Rainforest, South America, ongoing deforestation has caused a decrease in rainfall and natural plant resources (8). Deforestation disrupts natural plant cycles, leading to greater climate change and impacting indigenous communities. As trees from the rainforest are harvested, fossil fuels burn from cutting machinery and less plant material is present to consume the excess carbon dioxide, elevating air pollutant levels altogether. Long-term exposure to air pollutants can lead to chronic health complications including heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory issues. Health complications can affect marginalized communities in disproportionate ways, as it can be more difficult for individuals in these spaces to access affordable medicine or relocate themselves away from pollution (9). These patterns show how air pollution is not only an environmental issue, but also a question of equity—shaped by where people live and the resources available to respond. Exposing hidden inequalities Addressing these disparities often begins with making them visible. Monitoring air quality and environmental conditions is key to shining a new light on hidden climate injustices happening from around the globe to a person’s own backyard. Global initiatives, such as Schools4Earth, encourage active air quality monitoring while promoting early education and climate advocacy. Schools4Earth works to place air quality monitors in schools worldwide to motivate students to be environmentally conscious and teach safe monitoring practices. In Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, the Franky Comprehensive Secondary School hosts the country’s first campus-based air quality monitor as part of the Schools4Earth initiative. Cameroon’s air quality data is limited, and by installing a monitor in 2026, the country allows for increased awareness on changing air climate conditions. The air quality monitor is a beacon for both environmental education for students and real-time air pollution surveillance for public safety. In conjunction with global initiatives, community-led programs are paving a new path for these environmental inequalities to be addressed and surveyed. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, locals noticed heavy concentrations of industrial and vehicle pollutants present in differing neighborhoods within the city during early 2024. Due to long-term exposure, residents in the region experienced asthma attacks and worsening health conditions. To address the elevated levels of pollutants, residents installed air quality monitors around various areas scattered across the city, allowing locals to survey daily air conditions and address real-time pollution warnings. In Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, community members have been struggling with long-term air pollution and fuel emissions for years. Compared to high-income countries, Kenya had very limited air quality data, leaving residents defenseless to unknown levels of pollution and toxins. To address this data gap, community members installed an air quality monitor with a Monster Aerosol System and Time-of-Flight Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor. This technology provides real-time, high-resolution data on airborne particles—including nitrates, ammonium, and chlorides—revealing the chemical fingerprints of pollution. Pathways to cleaner air for all Through global and community-led programs, environmental issues are becoming more visible—and in some cases, are beginning to shape policy responses. In 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency strengthened National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter, lowering the rate from 12 to 9 micrograms per cubic meter (10). The updated standard requires significantly lower concentrations of airborne particles for air to be considered safe. In 2019, Europe introduced the European Green Deal, an initiative aimed to reduce fuel emissions and achieve complete carbon neutrality by 2050 (11). Improving air quality at scale requires coordinated action across individuals, communities, and governments (12), including: Individual Actions: Support clean air initiatives, reduce personal pollutant emissions, and amplify marginalized voices Community Actions: Install air quality monitors around neighborhoods, create community-led initiatives, and petition in local areas for environmental security Government Actions: Enforce stricter fuel emission standards, invest in environmentally sustainable infrastructure, and promote nationwide clean air programs Addressing these disparities depends on how effectively these efforts are aligned—ensuring that the burden of pollution is reduced, not redistributed. Conclusion Air pollution and climate change are closely linked, but their impacts are not evenly distributed. Across regions and communities, exposure is shaped by infrastructure, policy, and access to resources. Despite contributing the least to global emissions, many low-income communities face the highest levels of pollution with the fewest resources to respond. Observed each year on June 5, World Environment Day highlights how improving air quality is part of broader environmental efforts—and a meaningful step toward more equitable outcomes.","

Communities that contribute the least to global emissions are often the most affected by poor air quality and environmental change (1). Often referred to as climate justice—the idea that environmental impacts are not experienced equally—this imbalance is shaped by differences in infrastructure, policy, economic resources, and proximity to pollution sources.

From power generation to urban pollution, hidden environmental injustices affect the long-term health and well-being of underrepresented communities. As these systemic inequalities become more visible, pathways to a cleaner, healthier future are emerging.

The unequal burden of pollution

Global patterns of unequal exposure

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 99% of the world’s population breathes polluted air, increasing health risks. Marginalized communities face the greatest disparities, as 97% of cities in low- and middle-income countries fail to meet WHO air quality standards, compared to 49% of high-income countries (2)(3).

These disparities are not random—they reflect structural differences in development, regulation, and access to resources.

Urban environments and heat

In Delhi, India, a lower-middle-income country, the dense population combined with an abundance of city emissions and lack of environmental policies have created an overwhelming amount of heat, also known as an Urban Heat Island (4). Surrounded by concrete buildings and cement, heat gets easily trapped within cityscapes and continues to build over time as fuel emissions are burned. Increased temperatures from pollution can manifest into unhealthy air quality environments for individuals, with elevated levels of volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) and faster dispersion of pollutant particles (5).

This means that lower-income communities—often living in denser areas with less access to cooling, green space, or protective infrastructure—can experience the most intense effects of both heat and pollution.

Local impacts in the United States

In the United States, similar patterns can be observed at a local level. In some regions, communities are located in close proximity to industrial corridors, where long-term exposure to emissions is part of daily life.

One example is an industrial stretch along the Mississippi River in Louisiana, often referred to as “Cancer Alley,” where residents live near petrochemical facilities and manufacturing plants, also known as fenceline communities (6). Pollutant emissions can leach into water supplies and settle on surfaces, leaving residents to breathe and consume contaminants over extended periods. Parts of this region have been associated with some of the highest estimated cancer risks from industrial air emissions in the United States (7).

In this way, the burden of pollution is shaped not just by geography, but by how communities are positioned in relation to industrial activity—and the resources available to respond.

Environmental change and ecosystem pressure

In the Amazon Rainforest, South America, ongoing deforestation has caused a decrease in rainfall and natural plant resources (8). Deforestation disrupts natural plant cycles, leading to greater climate change and impacting indigenous communities. As trees from the rainforest are harvested, fossil fuels burn from cutting machinery and less plant material is present to consume the excess carbon dioxide, elevating air pollutant levels altogether.

Long-term exposure to air pollutants can lead to chronic health complications including heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory issues. Health complications can affect marginalized communities in disproportionate ways, as it can be more difficult for individuals in these spaces to access affordable medicine or relocate themselves away from pollution (9).

These patterns show how air pollution is not only an environmental issue, but also a question of equity—shaped by where people live and the resources available to respond.

Exposing hidden inequalities

Addressing these disparities often begins with making them visible. Monitoring air quality and environmental conditions is key to shining a new light on hidden climate injustices happening from around the globe to a person’s own backyard.

Global initiatives, such as Schools4Earth, encourage active air quality monitoring while promoting early education and climate advocacy. Schools4Earth works to place air quality monitors in schools worldwide to motivate students to be environmentally conscious and teach safe monitoring practices.

In Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, the Franky Comprehensive Secondary School hosts the country’s first campus-based air quality monitor as part of the Schools4Earth initiative. Cameroon’s air quality data is limited, and by installing a monitor in 2026, the country allows for increased awareness on changing air climate conditions. The air quality monitor is a beacon for both environmental education for students and real-time air pollution surveillance for public safety.

In conjunction with global initiatives, community-led programs are paving a new path for these environmental inequalities to be addressed and surveyed.

In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, locals noticed heavy concentrations of industrial and vehicle pollutants present in differing neighborhoods within the city during early 2024. Due to long-term exposure, residents in the region experienced asthma attacks and worsening health conditions. To address the elevated levels of pollutants, residents installed air quality monitors around various areas scattered across the city, allowing locals to survey daily air conditions and address real-time pollution warnings.

In Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, community members have been struggling with long-term air pollution and fuel emissions for years. Compared to high-income countries, Kenya had very limited air quality data, leaving residents defenseless to unknown levels of pollution and toxins. To address this data gap, community members installed an air quality monitor with a Monster Aerosol System and Time-of-Flight Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor. This technology provides real-time, high-resolution data on airborne particles—including nitrates, ammonium, and chlorides—revealing the chemical fingerprints of pollution.

Pathways to cleaner air for all

Through global and community-led programs, environmental issues are becoming more visible—and in some cases, are beginning to shape policy responses.

In 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency strengthened National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter, lowering the rate from 12 to 9 micrograms per cubic meter (10). The updated standard requires significantly lower concentrations of airborne particles for air to be considered safe. In 2019, Europe introduced the European Green Deal, an initiative aimed to reduce fuel emissions and achieve complete carbon neutrality by 2050 (11).

Improving air quality at scale requires coordinated action across individuals, communities, and governments (12), including:

Individual Actions: Support clean air initiatives, reduce personal pollutant emissions, and amplify marginalized voices
\n
Community Actions: Install air quality monitors around neighborhoods, create community-led initiatives, and petition in local areas for environmental security
\n
Government Actions: Enforce stricter fuel emission standards, invest in environmentally sustainable infrastructure, and promote nationwide clean air programs
\n

Addressing these disparities depends on how effectively these efforts are aligned—ensuring that the burden of pollution is reduced, not redistributed.

Conclusion

Air pollution and climate change are closely linked, but their impacts are not evenly distributed. Across regions and communities, exposure is shaped by infrastructure, policy, and access to resources.

Despite contributing the least to global emissions, many low-income communities face the highest levels of pollution with the fewest resources to respond.

Observed each year on June 5, World Environment Day highlights how improving air quality is part of broader environmental efforts—and a meaningful step toward more equitable outcomes.

","climate-justice-why-the-burden-isnt-equal","gid://shopify/Article/1001520333174","https://shop-gl-eur.iqair.com/blogs/news/climate-justice-why-the-burden-isnt-equal","2026-06-03T15:46:32Z",[728,752],"Climate justice: Why the burden isn’t equal",{"_65":782,"_210":-5,"_208":783,"_211":750,"_213":751},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/416136167798","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0677/4059/8571/articles/worldEnvironmentDay_6e2bd562-fa60-4342-83cf-ce580e17796d.jpg?v=1780501612",{"_52":311},{"_67":63},"Find out more about the Pineland Road Fire and its impact on communities in southern Georgia.","

Find out more about the Pineland Road Fire and its impact on communities in southern Georgia.

","What is the name and location of the wildfire? As of June 4, 2026, the Pineland Road Fire is burning in southern Georgia, across Clinch and Echols counties. The fire is located approximately 5 miles west of Colon Road and Mud Camp Pineland Road, near Highway 441 and close to the Suwannee River towards the boundary between the two counties (1). Which cities or areas are affected by the wildfire? The cities and areas affected by the Pineland Road Fire include: Colon Echols County Fargo Highway area Needmore Fruitland Regions near Headlight Road Regions near Tiger Lake Road Regions near Will Rewis Road and Barnes Road What is the current containment status of the Pineland Road Fire? As of June 4, 2026, the Pineland Road Fire has burned approximately 32,031 acres and is 98% contained. Firefighting crews continue suppression efforts under challenging conditions, including severe drought, low humidity, strong winds, and difficult swampy terrain. Full containment is not expected until late May (2). Are there any evacuation orders or alerts in place? Previous evacuation orders and alerts related to the Pineland Road Fire have been lifted as fire conditions improved and containment increased. Officials continue to advise residents to remain cautious near the burn area and follow updates from local emergency management agencies. Some firefighting activity and limited access restrictions may remain in place while crews continue suppression and mop-up operations. How can I protect myself from wildfire smoke? Always plan ahead to protect yourself from wildfire smoke. Get a free air quality app for real-time air quality alerts and forecasts. Shut doors and windows and set the HVAC to recirculate mode. Run a high-performance air purifier to filter wildfire smoke. Contribute to your community’s outdoor air quality data. Stay indoors; if you do need to go outdoors, wear a KN95/FFP2 mask. As of June 4, 2026, this fire is 98% contained.","

What is the name and location of the wildfire?

As of June 4, 2026, the Pineland Road Fire is burning in southern Georgia, across Clinch and Echols counties.

The fire is located approximately 5 miles west of Colon Road and Mud Camp Pineland Road, near Highway 441 and close to the Suwannee River towards the boundary between the two counties (1).

Which cities or areas are affected by the wildfire?

The cities and areas affected by the Pineland Road Fire include:

Colon
Echols County
Fargo Highway area
Needmore
Fruitland
Regions near Headlight Road
Regions near Tiger Lake Road
Regions near Will Rewis Road and Barnes Road

What is the current containment status of the Pineland Road Fire?

As of June 4, 2026, the Pineland Road Fire has burned approximately 32,031 acres and is 98% contained.

Firefighting crews continue suppression efforts under challenging conditions, including severe drought, low humidity, strong winds, and difficult swampy terrain. Full containment is not expected until late May (2).

Are there any evacuation orders or alerts in place?

Previous evacuation orders and alerts related to the Pineland Road Fire have been lifted as fire conditions improved and containment increased. Officials continue to advise residents to remain cautious near the burn area and follow updates from local emergency management agencies.

Some firefighting activity and limited access restrictions may remain in place while crews continue suppression and mop-up operations.

How can I protect myself from wildfire smoke?

Always plan ahead to protect yourself from wildfire smoke.

\nGet a free air quality app for real-time air quality alerts and forecasts.
Shut doors and windows and set the HVAC to recirculate mode.
Run a high-performance air purifier to filter wildfire smoke.
Contribute to your community’s outdoor air quality data.
Stay indoors; if you do need to go outdoors, wear a KN95/FFP2 mask.\n

As of June 4, 2026, this fire is 98% contained.

","wildfire-map-spotlight-pineland-road-fire-georgia","gid://shopify/Article/1001134391670","https://shop-gl-eur.iqair.com/blogs/news/wildfire-map-spotlight-pineland-road-fire-georgia","2026-06-04T04:43:33Z",[312,728,313],"Wildfire Map Spotlight: Pineland Road Fire, Georgia",{"_65":797,"_210":798,"_208":799,"_211":750,"_213":751},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/416150323574","Wildfire engulfs a dense forest","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0677/4059/8571/articles/Wildfire9Desktop_7dff9fac-6ab0-47e8-87bf-998c25522976.jpg?v=1780548220",{"_52":311},{"_67":63},"Find out more about the Seven Cabins Fire burning in the Capitan Mountains of New Mexico, including evacuation updates, affected communities, and containment efforts.","

Find out more about the Seven Cabins Fire burning in the Capitan Mountains of New Mexico, including evacuation updates, affected communities, and containment efforts.

","What is the name and location of the wildfire? As of June 4, 2026, the Seven Cabins Fire is burning in the Capitan Mountain Wilderness in Lincoln County, New Mexico, near Capitan Gap Road east of Capitan (1). The wildfire is located north of Capitan and approximately 25 miles northeast of Ruidoso in the Lincoln National Forest region. The fire is spreading through dry fuels and rugged terrain within the Peppin Fire burn scar area, creating difficult firefighting conditions. Which cities or areas are affected by the wildfire? The cities and areas affected by the Seven Cabins Fire include: Boy Scout Mountain Capitan Mountain Wilderness Copeland Canyon Encinoso Gap Road Lincoln Pine Lodge area Ruidoso State Highway 246 corridor What is the current containment status of the wildfire? As of June 4, 2026, the Seven Cabins Fire has burned approximately 31,846 acres and remains 64% contained. Fire crews are using both direct and indirect suppression strategies to slow the fire’s spread, particularly south of Highway 246 and around the Pine Lodge area. More than 200 personnel, along with helicopters, engines, dozers, and water tenders, are assigned to the incident. Strong winds, low humidity, and extremely dry fuels continue to create critical fire weather conditions that may contribute to additional fire growth (2). Are there any evacuation orders or alerts in place? All evacuation orders and alerts associated with the Seven Cabins Fire have been lifted following improved fire conditions and coordination between the Southwest Area Incident Management Team 2 and the Lincoln County Office of Emergency Services. Forest closure orders around the Capitan Mountains Wilderness Area and temporary flight restrictions supporting firefighting aircraft operations remain in effect. Residents and visitors are advised to continue following instructions from local authorities and avoid closed areas while firefighting and rehabilitation efforts continue. How can I protect myself from wildfire smoke? Always plan ahead to protect yourself from wildfire smoke. Get a free air quality app for real-time air quality alerts and forecasts. Shut doors and windows and set the HVAC to recirculate mode. Run a high-performance air purifier to filter wildfire smoke. Contribute to your community’s outdoor air quality data. Stay indoors; if you do need to go outdoors, wear a KN95/FFP2 mask. As of June 4, 2026, this fire is 64% contained.","

What is the name and location of the wildfire?

As of June 4, 2026, the Seven Cabins Fire is burning in the Capitan Mountain Wilderness in Lincoln County, New Mexico, near Capitan Gap Road east of Capitan (1).

The wildfire is located north of Capitan and approximately 25 miles northeast of Ruidoso in the Lincoln National Forest region.

The fire is spreading through dry fuels and rugged terrain within the Peppin Fire burn scar area, creating difficult firefighting conditions.

Which cities or areas are affected by the wildfire?

The cities and areas affected by the Seven Cabins Fire include:

Boy Scout Mountain
\n
Capitan Mountain Wilderness
Copeland Canyon
Encinoso
Gap Road
Lincoln
Pine Lodge area
Ruidoso
State Highway 246 corridor

What is the current containment status of the wildfire?

As of June 4, 2026, the Seven Cabins Fire has burned approximately 31,846 acres and remains 64% contained.

Fire crews are using both direct and indirect suppression strategies to slow the fire’s spread, particularly south of Highway 246 and around the Pine Lodge area.

More than 200 personnel, along with helicopters, engines, dozers, and water tenders, are assigned to the incident. Strong winds, low humidity, and extremely dry fuels continue to create critical fire weather conditions that may contribute to additional fire growth (2).

Are there any evacuation orders or alerts in place?

All evacuation orders and alerts associated with the Seven Cabins Fire have been lifted following improved fire conditions and coordination between the Southwest Area Incident Management Team 2 and the Lincoln County Office of Emergency Services.

Forest closure orders around the Capitan Mountains Wilderness Area and temporary flight restrictions supporting firefighting aircraft operations remain in effect. Residents and visitors are advised to continue following instructions from local authorities and avoid closed areas while firefighting and rehabilitation efforts continue.

How can I protect myself from wildfire smoke?

Always plan ahead to protect yourself from wildfire smoke.

\nGet a free air quality app for real-time air quality alerts and forecasts.
Shut doors and windows and set the HVAC to recirculate mode.
Run a high-performance air purifier to filter wildfire smoke.
Contribute to your community’s outdoor air quality data.
Stay indoors; if you do need to go outdoors, wear a KN95/FFP2 mask.\n

As of June 4, 2026, this fire is 64% contained.

","wildfire-map-spotlight-seven-cabins-fire-new-mexico","gid://shopify/Article/1001423602038","https://shop-gl-eur.iqair.com/blogs/news/wildfire-map-spotlight-seven-cabins-fire-new-mexico","2026-06-04T04:54:42Z",[312,728,313],"Wildfire map spotlight: Seven Cabins Fire, New Mexico",{"_65":813,"_210":-5,"_208":814,"_211":309,"_213":310},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/416150552950","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0677/4059/8571/articles/Wildfire5Desktop_d434c1dc-9d80-4ec1-a7c4-6c6a04582cde.jpg?v=1780548889",{"_52":311},{"_67":63},"Find out more about the Border 6 Fire near the U.S.-Mexico border in Southern California, including affected communities, containment efforts, and public safety updates.","

Find out more about the Border 6 Fire near the U.S.-Mexico border in Southern California, including affected communities, containment efforts, and public safety updates.

","What is the name and location of the wildfire? As of June 5, 2026, the Border 6 Fire originated near Tijuana, Mexico, and spread north across the U.S.-Mexico border into Southern California. The wildfire is burning in the vicinity of Marron Valley, Dulzura, Barrett Junction, and the Tijuana River Drainage area in southeastern San Diego County. The fire is located in rugged terrain with dense, dry vegetation near the international border, making suppression efforts challenging (1). Which cities or areas are affected by the wildfire? The cities and areas affected by the Border 6 Fire include: Barrett Junction Campo Cottonwood Creek Dulzura Jamul Marron Valley Mine Canyon Truck Trail area Tecate Smoke from the fire continues to affect nearby communities, particularly areas near Tecate and Campo where smoke advisories remain in effect. What is the current containment status of the wildfire? As of June 5, 2026, the Border 6 Fire has burned approximately 2,525 acres across the United States and Mexico, including about 1,516 acres in California and approximately 1009 acres in Mexico. Firefighters have achieved 70% containment and continue reinforcing containment lines while conducting mop-up operations on remaining hot spots. Ground and aerial firefighting resources on both sides of the border remain engaged in suppression efforts as crews make steady progress against the fire (2). Are there any evacuation orders or alerts in place? All evacuation warnings and evacuation orders associated with the Border 6 Fire have been lifted as of June 4, 2026. Earlier warnings affected multiple evacuation zones near Marron Valley Road, Dulzura, Barrett Junction, and surrounding communities. During the height of the incident, temporary evacuation facilities were established, including a shelter at the Spring Valley Community Center and a temporary evacuation point in Rancho San Diego (3). While evacuation restrictions have been removed, authorities continue to maintain a smoke advisory for areas near Tecate and Campo due to lingering smoke impacts from the fire (4). How can I protect myself from wildfire smoke? Always plan ahead to protect yourself from wildfire smoke. Get a free air quality app for real-time air quality alerts and forecasts. Shut doors and windows and set the HVAC to recirculate mode. Run a high-performance air purifier to filter wildfire smoke. Contribute to your community’s outdoor air quality data. Stay indoors; if you do need to go outdoors, wear a KN95/FFP2 mask. As of June 5, 2026, this fire is 70% contained.","

What is the name and location of the wildfire?

As of June 5, 2026, the Border 6 Fire originated near Tijuana, Mexico, and spread north across the U.S.-Mexico border into Southern California.

The wildfire is burning in the vicinity of Marron Valley, Dulzura, Barrett Junction, and the Tijuana River Drainage area in southeastern San Diego County. The fire is located in rugged terrain with dense, dry vegetation near the international border, making suppression efforts challenging (1).

Which cities or areas are affected by the wildfire?

The cities and areas affected by the Border 6 Fire include:

Barrett Junction
Campo
Cottonwood Creek
Dulzura
Jamul
Marron Valley
Mine Canyon Truck Trail area
Tecate

Smoke from the fire continues to affect nearby communities, particularly areas near Tecate and Campo where smoke advisories remain in effect.

What is the current containment status of the wildfire?

As of June 5, 2026, the Border 6 Fire has burned approximately 2,525 acres across the United States and Mexico, including about 1,516 acres in California and approximately 1009 acres in Mexico.

Firefighters have achieved 70% containment and continue reinforcing containment lines while conducting mop-up operations on remaining hot spots.

Ground and aerial firefighting resources on both sides of the border remain engaged in suppression efforts as crews make steady progress against the fire (2).

Are there any evacuation orders or alerts in place?

All evacuation warnings and evacuation orders associated with the Border 6 Fire have been lifted as of June 4, 2026.

Earlier warnings affected multiple evacuation zones near Marron Valley Road, Dulzura, Barrett Junction, and surrounding communities.

During the height of the incident, temporary evacuation facilities were established, including a shelter at the Spring Valley Community Center and a temporary evacuation point in Rancho San Diego (3).

While evacuation restrictions have been removed, authorities continue to maintain a smoke advisory for areas near Tecate and Campo due to lingering smoke impacts from the fire (4).

\n\n

How can I protect myself from wildfire smoke?

Always plan ahead to protect yourself from wildfire smoke.

\nGet a free air quality app for real-time air quality alerts and forecasts.
Shut doors and windows and set the HVAC to recirculate mode.
Run a high-performance air purifier to filter wildfire smoke.
Contribute to your community’s outdoor air quality data.
Stay indoors; if you do need to go outdoors, wear a KN95/FFP2 mask.\n

As of June 5, 2026, this fire is 70% contained.

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That includes building and facilities managers who are motivated to protect occupant health, but who also recognize the personal and potential financial losses a “sick” building causes. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, building health has become integral to safe onsite operations for thousands of businesses and the millions they employ.2 Having a healthy building has also become critical to attracting and retaining talent.3 A 2021 survey by Envoy found that up to 78% of employees do not plan to return to physical offices (if possible) or will find new employment if they feel that their workplace is not sufficiently addressing these critical health concerns.4 Read on to learn more about the symptoms that Sick Building Syndrome causes as well as what facilities can do to help address health concerns related to air quality in the workplace. Types of indoor contaminants Scientists have spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out the exact mechanisms that cause buildings to make occupants sick. What they’ve discovered is that although the symptoms can vary, the cause is the same: indoor air pollutants linked to biological and chemical contaminants.5 Biological contaminants This type of contaminant includes: viruses bacteria molds fungi pollen Many factors in a building’s environment can affect the source, proliferation, and spread of biological contaminants, including: temperature: warm, uncontrolled ambient indoor temperatures can encourage bacteria and mold to grow, which can result in illness and increase the risk of airborne infection spread6 humidity: high levels of moisture can allow molds and bacteria to thrive, while extremely low humidity can dry out the airways and reduce the natural protection afforded by the mucus layers that line the nose, throat, and lungs7 building hygiene: areas like bathrooms, lunchrooms, and gyms can quickly experience build-ups of infectious microorganisms if they’re not regularly cleaned or maintained Chemical contaminants Chemical contaminants are also a major factor in making building occupants sick. These include: volatile organic compounds (VOCs): emitted by substances common in offices like paint, adhesives, disinfectants, and printing inks, some of which have been linked to cancer (such as formaldehyde)8 tobacco smoke: thousands of chemicals and compounds in secondhand smoke can seep indoors and introduce dangerous air pollutants like carbon monoxide and ammonia9 other sources of chemicals and odors, such as industrial cleaning agents and chemical products that account for over half of all chemical contaminants in many urban areas10 Sources of indoor contaminants The sources of biological and chemical contaminants are usually indoors, though they can occasionally come from outside. Excessive indoor moisture, for example, can breed molds, bacteria, viruses or other biological pollutants. A number of chemical pollutants can be produced by the building itself, such as improperly maintained appliances or heating systems. Risk factors for poor indoor air quality There are a number of risk factors when it comes to the contaminants that make buildings sick. The possibilities of factors that can have a negative effect on office air quality are vast. Some of the more common risks include: poor ventilation rates and maintenance inadequate fresh air circulation high or fluctuating temperatures the presence and spread of fungal spores off-gassing of indoor pollutants, such as cleaning products or pesticides contaminants and particles brought in from outside, such as PM2.5 and ultrafine particles (UFPs) When these risk factors have an effect on a building occupant, they can produce a number of symptoms, including:11 irritation of eyes, throat, nose and skin lethargy headaches and dizziness nausea shortness of breath and difficulty breathing loss of smell or taste infectious diseases like influenza or COVID-19 What to do about Sick Building Syndrome Here’s what to do if you believe that your building occupants are experiencing symptoms related to Sick Building Syndrome: Find out what symptoms building occupants are suffering from. This can help determine what kinds of changes need to be made to improve indoor air quality. This will help start the process of making a building healthier. Discuss what changes may be needed to help address sources of symptoms. Meet with building stakeholders, including both facilities and management personnel, to identify possible sources of poor air quality and solutions to address occupant symptoms. Consult with air quality experts to identify specific air quality solutions. Identifying air quality problems and potential solutions can require specific expertise for proper implementation. After changes to a building have been made, discuss with occupants if their symptoms have improved. That can function as a gauge to determine if more changes are needed. Keep everyone informed. During investigations into contaminant sources as well as building upgrades, inform your stakeholders and workforce about efforts being made to improve the air quality, how long the process may take, and whether the changes are having an effect. Conclusion When addressing Sick Building Syndrome issues, you may want to consult professionals who can help determine what changes would best help the building. Solutions Engineers at IQAir are available to help customize systems to meet any office’s needs. IQAir air filtration technologies provide extremely high levels of air purification. Contact us to learn more.","

Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) happens when occupants of a building begin exhibiting symptoms of illness that are directly related to the building itself.¹

Sick Building Syndrome is a major concern to anyone responsible for the health and well-being of building occupants. That includes building and facilities managers who are motivated to protect occupant health, but who also recognize the personal and potential financial losses a “sick” building causes.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, building health has become integral to safe onsite operations for thousands of businesses and the millions they employ.²

Having a healthy building has also become critical to attracting and retaining talent.³

A 2021 survey by Envoy found that up to 78% of employees do not plan to return to physical offices (if possible) or will find new employment if they feel that their workplace is not sufficiently addressing these critical health concerns.⁴

Read on to learn more about the symptoms that Sick Building Syndrome causes as well as what facilities can do to help address health concerns related to air quality in the workplace.

Types of indoor contaminants

Scientists have spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out the exact mechanisms that cause buildings to make occupants sick.

What they’ve discovered is that although the symptoms can vary, the cause is the same: indoor air pollutants linked to biological and chemical contaminants.⁵

Biological contaminants

This type of contaminant includes:

viruses
bacteria
molds
fungi
pollen

Many factors in a building’s environment can affect the source, proliferation, and spread of biological contaminants, including:

\ntemperature: warm, uncontrolled ambient indoor temperatures can encourage bacteria and mold to grow, which can result in illness and increase the risk of airborne infection spread⁶\n
\nhumidity: high levels of moisture can allow molds and bacteria to thrive, while extremely low humidity can dry out the airways and reduce the natural protection afforded by the mucus layers that line the nose, throat, and lungs⁷\n
\nbuilding hygiene: areas like bathrooms, lunchrooms, and gyms can quickly experience build-ups of infectious microorganisms if they’re not regularly cleaned or maintained

Chemical contaminants

Chemical contaminants are also a major factor in making building occupants sick. These include:

\nvolatile organic compounds (VOCs): emitted by substances common in offices like paint, adhesives, disinfectants, and printing inks, some of which have been linked to cancer (such as formaldehyde)⁸\n
\ntobacco smoke: thousands of chemicals and compounds in secondhand smoke can seep indoors and introduce dangerous air pollutants like carbon monoxide and ammonia⁹\n
\nother sources of chemicals and odors, such as industrial cleaning agents and chemical products that account for over half of all chemical contaminants in many urban areas¹⁰\n

Sources of indoor contaminants

The sources of biological and chemical contaminants are usually indoors, though they can occasionally come from outside.

Excessive indoor moisture, for example, can breed molds, bacteria, viruses or other biological pollutants. A number of chemical pollutants can be produced by the building itself, such as improperly maintained appliances or heating systems.

Risk factors for poor indoor air quality

There are a number of risk factors when it comes to the contaminants that make buildings sick.

The possibilities of factors that can have a negative effect on office air quality are vast. Some of the more common risks include:

poor ventilation rates and maintenance
inadequate fresh air circulation
high or fluctuating temperatures
the presence and spread of fungal spores
off-gassing of indoor pollutants, such as cleaning products or pesticides
contaminants and particles brought in from outside, such as PM2.5 and ultrafine particles (UFPs)\n

When these risk factors have an effect on a building occupant, they can produce a number of symptoms, including:¹¹

irritation of eyes, throat, nose and skin
lethargy
headaches and dizziness
nausea
shortness of breath and difficulty breathing
loss of smell or taste
infectious diseases like influenza or COVID-19

What to do about Sick Building Syndrome

Here’s what to do if you believe that your building occupants are experiencing symptoms related to Sick Building Syndrome:

\nFind out what symptoms building occupants are suffering from. This can help determine what kinds of changes need to be made to improve indoor air quality. This will help start the process of making a building healthier.
\nDiscuss what changes may be needed to help address sources of symptoms. Meet with building stakeholders, including both facilities and management personnel, to identify possible sources of poor air quality and solutions to address occupant symptoms.
\nConsult with air quality experts to identify specific air quality solutions. Identifying air quality problems and potential solutions can require specific expertise for proper implementation.
\nAfter changes to a building have been made, discuss with occupants if their symptoms have improved. That can function as a gauge to determine if more changes are needed.
\nKeep everyone informed. During investigations into contaminant sources as well as building upgrades, inform your stakeholders and workforce about efforts being made to improve the air quality, how long the process may take, and whether the changes are having an effect.

Conclusion

When addressing Sick Building Syndrome issues, you may want to consult professionals who can help determine what changes would best help the building.

Solutions Engineers at IQAir are available to help customize systems to meet any office’s needs. IQAir air filtration technologies provide extremely high levels of air purification. Contact us to learn more.

","what-causes-sick-building-syndrome","gid://shopify/Article/606881481003","https://shop-gl-eur.iqair.com/blogs/news/what-causes-sick-building-syndrome","2016-09-01T21:56:30Z",[312,680,14],"What to do about Sick Building Syndrome",{"_65":884,"_210":885,"_208":886,"_211":887,"_213":888},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/405598470518","tired man in office","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0677/4059/8571/articles/12_16_AQL_Office2_750.webp?v=1749208965",1600,833,{"_52":311},{"_67":63},"Sick Building Syndrome requires proven strategies and implementation expertise. Learn more.","A number of people working in an office start reporting that they’re feeling ill, and work productivity drops. Their symptoms can’t be attributed to an outside source and seem to be linked to spending time in the building. This could be a sign of Sick Building Syndrome.What is Sick Building Syndrome?Sick Building Syndrome is a condition affecting building occupants when a range of building-related symptoms and health conditions are experienced and associated with time spent in the building.1 Pollutants in the building are literally making occupants sick.Pollutants in the building are literally making occupants sick.Symptoms may include: headache nausea dizziness eye, nose, and/or throat irritation dry cough dry or itchy skin concentration difficulties chest pain fatigue light sensitivity flu-like symptoms Fortunately, there are Sick Building Syndrome solutions. Hiring an experienced Certified Indoor Environmentalist to assess the indoor air quality of the building will help diagnose contaminants that could result in Sick Building Syndrome symptoms and where those sources can be found. After an assessment has been made, it’s time to take action.Three strategies for improving air qualityThere are three basic strategies for improving the indoor air quality in any building or dwelling: source control, increased ventilation, and air cleaning.There are three basic strategies for improving the indoor air quality in any building or dwelling: source control, increased ventilation, and air cleaning.1. Source controlThe first strategy for improving indoor air quality is to eliminate individual sources of pollution or to reduce their emissions. This can involve: routine maintenance of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system replacing water-damaged ceiling tiles keeping paints, solvents, and other chemicals in well-ventilated areas implementing airborne infection control practices, such as wearing masks and social distancing, to reduce the spread of infections like the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes COVID-19 2. Increased ventilationLower concentrations of indoor air pollutants in a building by increasing the amount of outdoor air coming indoors.Check the ventilation system to ensure everything is operating as it was designed. HVAC systems should meet local building codes and ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2019. This specifies performance standards for air change rates and ventilation.2Increased ventilation can help dilute pollutants from specific areas of the building, such as rest rooms, printing areas, and copy rooms.3. Air cleaningAir cleaning is an invaluable tool for improving indoor air quality, especially when combined with source control and increased ventilation. By using stand-alone filtration for rooms like the HealthPro Plus or the Perfect 16 as a whole-building solution, air cleaning can help reduce: concentrations of airborne particulate matter like dangerous PM2.5 and ultrafine particles volatile organic compound (VOCs) pollutants from off-gassing furniture airborne viral infections and infectious diseases such as COVID-19 Air cleaning is an invaluable tool for improving indoor air quality.The GCX Series can also reduce the levels of gases, odors, and chemicals in a building, as can the HealthPro Plus if it is fitted with V5-Cell gas-phase filtration.There are professional options for assessing and installing customized air cleaning solutions for buildings. The Clean Air Facility program addresses Sick Building Syndrome sources and helps protect occupants as facilities resume operation following the COVID-19 pandemic.How to become a Clean Air FacilityIQAir’s experts are experienced indoor air quality professionals who have one goal in mind: to solve air quality concerns. They are trained to review every aspect of poor air quality, including: contaminant sources the role of outdoor air indoor airflow patterns proper application of the right air filtration technology An IQAir Solutions Engineer can help find the best air cleaning solution – or combination of solutions – for any building through the IQAir Clean Air Facility program. IQAir provides turnkey air quality solutions.With nearly 60 years of industry experience, IQAir has the expertise to help protect and improve office air quality. To learn more, or to discuss air quality concerns with an IQAir air quality expert, contact IQAir by calling 866-500-4090 or request a bid today.","

A number of people working in an office start reporting that they’re feeling ill, and work productivity drops. Their symptoms can’t be attributed to an outside source and seem to be linked to spending time in the building. This could be a sign of Sick Building Syndrome.

What is Sick Building Syndrome?

Sick Building Syndrome is a condition affecting building occupants when a range of building-related symptoms and health conditions are experienced and associated with time spent in the building.¹ Pollutants in the building are literally making occupants sick.

Pollutants in the building are literally making occupants sick.

Symptoms may include:

headache
nausea
dizziness
eye, nose, and/or throat irritation
dry cough
dry or itchy skin
concentration difficulties
chest pain
fatigue
light sensitivity
flu-like symptoms

Fortunately, there are Sick Building Syndrome solutions. Hiring an experienced Certified Indoor Environmentalist to assess the indoor air quality of the building will help diagnose contaminants that could result in Sick Building Syndrome symptoms and where those sources can be found. After an assessment has been made, it’s time to take action.

Three strategies for improving air quality

There are three basic strategies for improving the indoor air quality in any building or dwelling: source control, increased ventilation, and air cleaning.

There are three basic strategies for improving the indoor air quality in any building or dwelling: source control, increased ventilation, and air cleaning.

1. Source control

The first strategy for improving indoor air quality is to eliminate individual sources of pollution or to reduce their emissions. This can involve:

routine maintenance of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system
replacing water-damaged ceiling tiles
keeping paints, solvents, and other chemicals in well-ventilated areas
implementing airborne infection control practices, such as wearing masks and social distancing, to reduce the spread of infections like the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes COVID-19

2. Increased ventilation

Lower concentrations of indoor air pollutants in a building by increasing the amount of outdoor air coming indoors.

Check the ventilation system to ensure everything is operating as it was designed. HVAC systems should meet local building codes and ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2019. This specifies performance standards for air change rates and ventilation.²

Increased ventilation can help dilute pollutants from specific areas of the building, such as rest rooms, printing areas, and copy rooms.

3. Air cleaning

Air cleaning is an invaluable tool for improving indoor air quality, especially when combined with source control and increased ventilation. By using stand-alone filtration for rooms like the HealthPro Plus or the Perfect 16 as a whole-building solution, air cleaning can help reduce:

concentrations of airborne particulate matter like dangerous PM2.5 and ultrafine particles\n
\nvolatile organic compound (VOCs) pollutants from off-gassing furniture
airborne viral infections and infectious diseases such as COVID-19

Air cleaning is an invaluable tool for improving indoor air quality.

The GCX Series can also reduce the levels of gases, odors, and chemicals in a building, as can the HealthPro Plus if it is fitted with V5-Cell gas-phase filtration.

There are professional options for assessing and installing customized air cleaning solutions for buildings. The Clean Air Facility program addresses Sick Building Syndrome sources and helps protect occupants as facilities resume operation following the COVID-19 pandemic.

How to become a Clean Air Facility

IQAir’s experts are experienced indoor air quality professionals who have one goal in mind: to solve air quality concerns. They are trained to review every aspect of poor air quality, including:

contaminant sources
the role of outdoor air
indoor airflow patterns
proper application of the right air filtration technology

An IQAir Solutions Engineer can help find the best air cleaning solution – or combination of solutions – for any building through the IQAir Clean Air Facility program. IQAir provides turnkey air quality solutions.

With nearly 60 years of industry experience, IQAir has the expertise to help protect and improve office air quality. To learn more, or to discuss air quality concerns with an IQAir air quality expert, contact IQAir by calling 866-500-4090 or request a bid today.
\n\n

","solutions-sick-building-syndrome","gid://shopify/Article/606881579307","https://shop-gl-eur.iqair.com/blogs/news/solutions-sick-building-syndrome","2016-09-01T22:01:19Z",[312,680,14],"Solutions for Sick Building Syndrome",{"_65":901,"_210":902,"_208":903,"_211":309,"_213":310},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/405563179382","stressed man","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0677/4059/8571/articles/12_16_AQL_Office4_750_0_df157fb1-1f2e-4c17-bc3d-5e08e8475c5c.jpg?v=1749118550",{"_52":311},{"_67":63},"The bacterium Legionella pneumophila is a dangerous indoor air quality contaminant that’s worth a second look, because many of us assume it’s an issue at conventions and in large buildings but not at home.","The bacterium Legionella pneumophila is a dangerous indoor air quality contaminant that’s worth a second look, because many of us assume it’s an issue at conventions and in large buildings but not at home.Wrong.In fact, one in five cases of potentially deadlyLegionnaires’ diseaseis contracted by inhaling the bacterium at home. Research shows that the bacteria grow quite well in slime that lines residential hot water pipes and HVAC systems.Earlier this year, Los Angeles County health officials found Legionnella bacteria at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles after 200 people became sick following a fundraising event. Those attending the event fell ill with Pontiac fever, a milder form of the disease which causes flu-like symptoms.The bacteria are spread when people inhale small droplets of water suspended in the air containing the contaminant. It can also spread when a person drinking water coughs or chokes while drinking, inadvertently inhaling the deadly bacteria.The bacteria flourish in temperatures between 90 and 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Often, homeowners set their hot water tanks on low temperatures to prevent scalding and to save energy. But experts recommend turning the temperature of your tank up to 140 degrees and running hot water for half an hour to purge your home water system.There are lifestyle and other factors that can contribute to your risk of developing a Legionnaires’ infection, including: Smoking Weakened immune system Chronic lung disease Age 65 or older Job requires maintaining cooling towers in air conditioning systems Legionnaires’ disease takes it name from the outbreak at a Philadelphia hotel convention of the Pennsylvania American Legion in 1976. Thirty-five people dies in the outbreak.","

The bacterium Legionella pneumophila is a dangerous indoor air quality contaminant that’s worth a second look, because many of us assume it’s an issue at conventions and in large buildings but not at home.

Wrong.

In fact, one in five cases of potentially deadlyLegionnaires’ diseaseis contracted by inhaling the bacterium at home. Research shows that the bacteria grow quite well in slime that lines residential hot water pipes and HVAC systems.

Earlier this year, Los Angeles County health officials found Legionnella bacteria at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles after 200 people became sick following a fundraising event. Those attending the event fell ill with Pontiac fever, a milder form of the disease which causes flu-like symptoms.

The bacteria are spread when people inhale small droplets of water suspended in the air containing the contaminant. It can also spread when a person drinking water coughs or chokes while drinking, inadvertently inhaling the deadly bacteria.

The bacteria flourish in temperatures between 90 and 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Often, homeowners set their hot water tanks on low temperatures to prevent scalding and to save energy. But experts recommend turning the temperature of your tank up to 140 degrees and running hot water for half an hour to purge your home water system.

There are lifestyle and other factors that can contribute to your risk of developing a Legionnaires’ infection, including:

Smoking
Weakened immune system
Chronic lung disease
Age 65 or older
Job requires maintaining cooling towers in air conditioning systems

Legionnaires’ disease takes it name from the outbreak at a Philadelphia hotel convention of the Pennsylvania American Legion in 1976. Thirty-five people dies in the outbreak.

","legionnaires-can-hit-home-too","gid://shopify/Article/606880629035","https://shop-gl-eur.iqair.com/blogs/news/legionnaires-can-hit-home-too","2016-09-19T19:35:39Z",[312,919,680,14],"Legionnaires’ can hit at home too",{"_65":916,"_210":917,"_208":918,"_211":309,"_213":310},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/405868609910","Legionella spores under microscope","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0677/4059/8571/articles/184_Legionnaires_banner_d685ba22-0c63-4709-9e51-d1d934509a01.jpg?v=1750157865","Allergies and Asthma",{"_52":311},{"_67":63},"Older homes are charming. But older homes can also have unique air quality challenges that, left alone, offset their charm. Learn more.","Older homes are charming. Many older homes feature architectural elements and details rarely found in newer homes. But older homes can also have unique air quality challenges that, left alone, offset their charm. Insulation may contain asbestos. Lead-based paint may cover the walls. And aging fireplaces, chimneys, and leaking pipes may further compromise the air quality in that charming old house. Here’s an overview of the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) challenges that afflict many older homes, and what to do about them. Asbestos What it is: Asbestos is a mineral fiber that provides heat insulation and fire resistance in a variety of products in older homes.1 Between 1930 and 1950, asbestos was often used as insulation. Asbestos was also commonly used in roofing and siding, vinyl flooring, insulation for hot water and steam pipes, and elsewhere in the home. Many asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) were phased out of new-home construction by 1980. How it can hurt you: Breathing airborne asbestos fibers leads to an increased risk of lung cancer, mesothelioma (a cancer of the chest and abdominal cavity), and a condition called asbestosis, which is scarring in the lungs.2 Symptoms of these diseases often do not appear for 20 to 50 years after exposure. According to the World Health Organization, 125 millionpeople worldwide are exposed toasbestos at the workplace.3 What to do about it: Asbestos products that are in good condition are not considered a serious hazard. However, over time asbestos products may become damaged or deteriorate to a point at which the asbestos fibers can be released into the air. In most cases, asbestos that is in good condition should be left alone. Any asbestos that is more than slightly damaged should be inspected and repaired or removed by a trained, certified professional.4 Lead paint What it is: Lead is a naturally occurring metal found deep in the earth. Before the federal government banned consumer uses of lead-based paint in 1978, it was commonly added to paint to speed drying and increase durability.5 Lead paint is also moisture resistant. Many popular paint pigments, especially white and bright red, included lead. Millions of homes in the U.S. still contain lead paint. How it can hurt you: Lead is toxic. Exposure to lead can affect almost every organ and system in the human body. Even at very low levels, exposure to lead can cause cognitive and behavioral problems, anemia and other problems, especially among children. Among adults, lead exposure can result in cardiovascular problems, decreased kidney function and reproductive problems.6 What to do about it: Like asbestos, products painted with lead that are in good condition are not necessarily dangerous. But as lead-based paint ages and deteriorates, it can peel, chip and become airborne dust. This is especially a concern during renovations. If your home was built before the ban on lead-based paint in 1978, you might want to consider having your home tested for lead by a qualified professional. Lead painted surfaces can often be covered (with wallpaper, for example) or encapsulated. Components containing lead paint, such as windows and doors, can be removed and disposed of by a trained and certified professional. Old plumbing What it is: Plumbing pipes that were installed before the late 1940s were often made of lead, which is toxic. But old pipes made of galvanized steel, another popular material until the 1960s, will eventually begin corroding and leaks will occur. If the hot water pressure in an older home is low, chances are galvanized steel pipes have started to corrode.7 How it can hurt you: Leaking water from cracked pipes can damage structural elements and floors made of wood. Water seepage or leakage also creates a fertile environment for mold and mildew to grow. Molds are tiny microscopic organisms that feed on moisture. Exposure to mold can cause an allergic reaction in some people, and some molds are toxic. What to do about it: It’s critical to inspect your plumbing systemregularlyand look for any signs of water dripping or leaking or any corrosion or soft spots. Whenever a problem or potential problem is discovered, it’s important to take action immediately to fix the problem. The goal is to replace old pipes before they begin leaking. Chimney What it is: Homes built before the 1950s typically have masonry fireplaces and chimneys. As they age, these chimneys and fireplaces can become cracked and can leak gases and smoke into the house. Also, creosote (a flammable tar) can build up in the chimney, eventually creating a fire hazard.8 How it can hurt you: Cracked chimneys can leak carbon monoxide into the home. Carbon monoxide is a potentially lethal gas, but even at less-than-lethal levels, it can cause brain and organ damage. Fireplace smoke leaking into your home also contains fine and ultrafine particles that can affect yourlungs and heart. What to do about it: Consider relining older chimneys with clay tiles, cement (known as cast-in-place), or metal. A chimney liner will contain combustion products from the fireplace or combustion appliances and direct them safely outside. If you plan to continue using the fireplace in an older home it’s also a good idea to install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. In addition to the air quality dangers outlined above, there can be other potential hazards in older houses. By being aware of the range of dangers in older homes, and by taking corrective action when necessary, you will be able to enjoy all of the charms of a vintagehome without unnecessary exposure to the dangers that come with it.","

Older homes are charming. Many older homes feature architectural elements and details rarely found in newer homes. But older homes can also have unique air quality challenges that, left alone, offset their charm. Insulation may contain asbestos. Lead-based paint may cover the walls. And aging fireplaces, chimneys, and leaking pipes may further compromise the air quality in that charming old house. Here’s an overview of the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) challenges that afflict many older homes, and what to do about them.

Asbestos

What it is: Asbestos is a mineral fiber that provides heat insulation and fire resistance in a variety of products in older homes.¹ Between 1930 and 1950, asbestos was often used as insulation. Asbestos was also commonly used in roofing and siding, vinyl flooring, insulation for hot water and steam pipes, and elsewhere in the home. Many asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) were phased out of new-home construction by 1980.

How it can hurt you: Breathing airborne asbestos fibers leads to an increased risk of lung cancer, mesothelioma (a cancer of the chest and abdominal cavity), and a condition called asbestosis, which is scarring in the lungs.² Symptoms of these diseases often do not appear for 20 to 50 years after exposure. According to the World Health Organization, 125 millionpeople worldwide are exposed toasbestos at the workplace.³

What to do about it: Asbestos products that are in good condition are not considered a serious hazard. However, over time asbestos products may become damaged or deteriorate to a point at which the asbestos fibers can be released into the air. In most cases, asbestos that is in good condition should be left alone. Any asbestos that is more than slightly damaged should be inspected and repaired or removed by a trained, certified professional.⁴

Lead paint

What it is: Lead is a naturally occurring metal found deep in the earth. Before the federal government banned consumer uses of lead-based paint in 1978, it was commonly added to paint to speed drying and increase durability.⁵ Lead paint is also moisture resistant. Many popular paint pigments, especially white and bright red, included lead. Millions of homes in the U.S. still contain lead paint.

How it can hurt you: Lead is toxic. Exposure to lead can affect almost every organ and system in the human body. Even at very low levels, exposure to lead can cause cognitive and behavioral problems, anemia and other problems, especially among children. Among adults, lead exposure can result in cardiovascular problems, decreased kidney function and reproductive problems.⁶

What to do about it: Like asbestos, products painted with lead that are in good condition are not necessarily dangerous. But as lead-based paint ages and deteriorates, it can peel, chip and become airborne dust. This is especially a concern during renovations. If your home was built before the ban on lead-based paint in 1978, you might want to consider having your home tested for lead by a qualified professional. Lead painted surfaces can often be covered (with wallpaper, for example) or encapsulated. Components containing lead paint, such as windows and doors, can be removed and disposed of by a trained and certified professional.

Old plumbing

What it is: Plumbing pipes that were installed before the late 1940s were often made of lead, which is toxic. But old pipes made of galvanized steel, another popular material until the 1960s, will eventually begin corroding and leaks will occur. If the hot water pressure in an older home is low, chances are galvanized steel pipes have started to corrode.⁷

How it can hurt you: Leaking water from cracked pipes can damage structural elements and floors made of wood. Water seepage or leakage also creates a fertile environment for mold and mildew to grow. Molds are tiny microscopic organisms that feed on moisture. Exposure to mold can cause an allergic reaction in some people, and some molds are toxic.

What to do about it: It’s critical to inspect your plumbing systemregularlyand look for any signs of water dripping or leaking or any corrosion or soft spots. Whenever a problem or potential problem is discovered, it’s important to take action immediately to fix the problem. The goal is to replace old pipes before they begin leaking.

Chimney

What it is: Homes built before the 1950s typically have masonry fireplaces and chimneys. As they age, these chimneys and fireplaces can become cracked and can leak gases and smoke into the house. Also, creosote (a flammable tar) can build up in the chimney, eventually creating a fire hazard.⁸

How it can hurt you: Cracked chimneys can leak carbon monoxide into the home. Carbon monoxide is a potentially lethal gas, but even at less-than-lethal levels, it can cause brain and organ damage. Fireplace smoke leaking into your home also contains fine and ultrafine particles that can affect yourlungs and heart.

What to do about it: Consider relining older chimneys with clay tiles, cement (known as cast-in-place), or metal. A chimney liner will contain combustion products from the fireplace or combustion appliances and direct them safely outside. If you plan to continue using the fireplace in an older home it’s also a good idea to install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

In addition to the air quality dangers outlined above, there can be other potential hazards in older houses. By being aware of the range of dangers in older homes, and by taking corrective action when necessary, you will be able to enjoy all of the charms of a vintagehome without unnecessary exposure to the dangers that come with it.

","air-quality-issues-impact-older-homes","gid://shopify/Article/606875943211","https://shop-gl-eur.iqair.com/blogs/news/air-quality-issues-impact-older-homes","2016-12-05T21:56:42Z",[312,680,14],"Air quality issues that impact older homes",{"_65":932,"_210":933,"_208":934,"_211":309,"_213":310},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/405356249462","A close up of a smoking chimney atop an old home.","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0677/4059/8571/articles/23_homes_desktop_1b0c5ffd-d03f-4351-b067-09805bce537e.jpg?v=1748449963",{"_52":311},{"_67":63},"Basements are ripe for mold, mildew and other Indoor Air Quality dangers. Learn how to ensure your basement (and home) is safe.","In many homes, the room with the worst air quality is the basement. Not only is the air more contaminated than anywhere else in the home, but basement air rises into the rest of the house, spreading moisture along with mold, mildew, combustion gases, volatile organic compounds and other contaminants that can damage health.While the number of single-family homes with full or partial basements is declining nationally, in colder regions most new homes still have basements. In New England, for example, 87% of new single-family homes built in 2013 had full or partial basements.For homeowners with basements, here are four air-quality dangers lurking down below, and what to do about each:Danger #1 — Moisture, mold, and mildewMoisture in the basement leads to mildew and mold, and the best way to prevent their growth is through moisture control. Unfortunately, a damp basement is common. The sources of moisture include infiltration of rainwater or groundwater through the concrete foundation, interior sources such as bathrooms and unvented clothes dryers, and humid air from outside that condenses on the cooler basement surfaces.How to prevent moisture, mold and mildew If moisture is leaking in to the basement, re-grading of earth around the exterior of the house may be necessary. Check to make sure all downspouts and gutters are discharging water at least four feet from the exterior wall. If a basement bathroom is unvented, consider adding a vent and fan that exhausts to the outside. A dehumidifier will help reduce moisture in the basement year round. Danger #2 — RadonRadon is a naturally forming, colorless, odorless and tasteless gas that breaks down into radioactive elements that attach to airborne particles. Radon enters a home through cracks in the floor or walls of the basement or foundation. As many as 21,000 Americans die every year from lung cancer related to radon exposure, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.What to do about radon in the basement Every home should be tested for radon and, if necessary, a qualified radon mitigation contractor should be hired to assess radon levels and perform any necessary remediation work. Consider using a high-performance air purifier such as the IQAir HealthPro® Plus in the basement. Research by the American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists showed that air filtration could reduce radon significantly. Air filtration should not be considered a substitute for radon remediation. Danger #3 — Carbon MonoxideCarbon monoxide (CO) is a highly toxic gas. It can be deadly at very low concentrations (300 parts per million). Carbon monoxide is a byproduct of combustion, so basement furnaces, water heaters and other combustion appliances can potentially be sources of carbon monoxide. Often, carbon monoxide is generated when an appliance is “backdrafting” as a result of a range hood or other high-power fan exhausting indoor air from the house upstairs.What to do about carbon monoxide in the basement Prevention is the best strategy to prevent carbon monoxide from building up in your basement. Have appliances such as furnaces and gas water heaters checked regularly by a trained professional. Whenever possible, vent appliances to the outside of the home. Danger #4 — InsulationWhether a basement is finished or unfinished, insulation is necessary because as much as 25% of a home’s total heat loss can occur in the basement. But insulation can also present a threat to air quality and health, especially if it contains asbestos.What to do about insulation in the basement In older homes, be aware that insulation may contain asbestos. If you suspect you have asbestos in the basement and it’s in good condition, the best thing to do is leave it alone. If repairs are needed, they should be performed only by a professional trained in methods for safely handling asbestos. Another potential problem with insulation is air leakage, also known as infiltration, which means outside air is leaking into the home. Air barriers such as drywall must be in direct contact with insulation or leakage will occur. Inspect and ensure that insulation is in direct contact with surfaces such as drywall or moisture can build up and heat is lost. Visit http://www.epa.gov/indoorairplus/technical/moisture for more information on construction specifications for managing moisture. Whether it’s finished or unfinished, a basement is an important part of a home, affecting air quality both below ground level and in the rooms above. By recognizing the potential air quality dangers lurking in your basement, you can take action to keep the indoor air throughout your home clean and healthy.","

In many homes, the room with the worst air quality is the basement. Not only is the air more contaminated than anywhere else in the home, but basement air rises into the rest of the house, spreading moisture along with mold, mildew, combustion gases, volatile organic compounds and other contaminants that can damage health.

While the number of single-family homes with full or partial basements is declining nationally, in colder regions most new homes still have basements. In New England, for example, 87% of new single-family homes built in 2013 had full or partial basements.

For homeowners with basements, here are four air-quality dangers lurking down below, and what to do about each:

Danger #1 — Moisture, mold, and mildew

Moisture in the basement leads to mildew and mold, and the best way to prevent their growth is through moisture control. Unfortunately, a damp basement is common. The sources of moisture include infiltration of rainwater or groundwater through the concrete foundation, interior sources such as bathrooms and unvented clothes dryers, and humid air from outside that condenses on the cooler basement surfaces.

How to prevent moisture, mold and mildew

If moisture is leaking in to the basement, re-grading of earth around the exterior of the house may be necessary.
Check to make sure all downspouts and gutters are discharging water at least four feet from the exterior wall.
If a basement bathroom is unvented, consider adding a vent and fan that exhausts to the outside.
A dehumidifier will help reduce moisture in the basement year round.

Danger #2 — Radon

Radon is a naturally forming, colorless, odorless and tasteless gas that breaks down into radioactive elements that attach to airborne particles. Radon enters a home through cracks in the floor or walls of the basement or foundation. As many as 21,000 Americans die every year from lung cancer related to radon exposure, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

What to do about radon in the basement

Every home should be tested for radon and, if necessary, a qualified radon mitigation contractor should be hired to assess radon levels and perform any necessary remediation work.
Consider using a high-performance air purifier such as the IQAir HealthPro® Plus in the basement. Research by the American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists showed that air filtration could reduce radon significantly.
Air filtration should not be considered a substitute for radon remediation.

Danger #3 — Carbon Monoxide

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a highly toxic gas. It can be deadly at very low concentrations (300 parts per million). Carbon monoxide is a byproduct of combustion, so basement furnaces, water heaters and other combustion appliances can potentially be sources of carbon monoxide. Often, carbon monoxide is generated when an appliance is “backdrafting” as a result of a range hood or other high-power fan exhausting indoor air from the house upstairs.

What to do about carbon monoxide in the basement

Prevention is the best strategy to prevent carbon monoxide from building up in your basement.
Have appliances such as furnaces and gas water heaters checked regularly by a trained professional.
Whenever possible, vent appliances to the outside of the home.

Danger #4 — Insulation

Whether a basement is finished or unfinished, insulation is necessary because as much as 25% of a home’s total heat loss can occur in the basement. But insulation can also present a threat to air quality and health, especially if it contains asbestos.

What to do about insulation in the basement

In older homes, be aware that insulation may contain asbestos.
If you suspect you have asbestos in the basement and it’s in good condition, the best thing to do is leave it alone.
If repairs are needed, they should be performed only by a professional trained in methods for safely handling asbestos.
Another potential problem with insulation is air leakage, also known as infiltration, which means outside air is leaking into the home. Air barriers such as drywall must be in direct contact with insulation or leakage will occur.
Inspect and ensure that insulation is in direct contact with surfaces such as drywall or moisture can build up and heat is lost.
Visit http://www.epa.gov/indoorairplus/technical/moisture for more information on construction specifications for managing moisture.

Whether it’s finished or unfinished, a basement is an important part of a home, affecting air quality both below ground level and in the rooms above. By recognizing the potential air quality dangers lurking in your basement, you can take action to keep the indoor air throughout your home clean and healthy.

","what-causes-mildew-in-basements","gid://shopify/Article/606882103595","https://shop-gl-eur.iqair.com/blogs/news/what-causes-mildew-in-basements","2016-12-05T21:59:45Z",[919,768,14],"What causes mildew in basements",{"_65":947,"_210":948,"_208":949,"_211":887,"_213":888},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/405501313398","A basement","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0677/4059/8571/articles/41_basement_desktop_b3a6f6d8-3669-4451-843c-a8ab2d64c896.webp?v=1748944820",{"_52":311},{"_67":63},"Learn what can happen when poor air quality within a building causes illness.","When building occupants are becoming ill from their environment but the exact cause is unknown, it’s called Sick Building Syndrome.1 When building occupants become ill from their environment but the exact cause is unknown, it’s called Sick Building Syndrome. This situation is a concern to anyone responsible for the health and well-being of building occupants. That includes building and facilities managers who are motivated to protect occupant health, but who also recognize the personal and potential financial losses a “sick” building causes. Airborne contaminants are usually at the root of Sick Building Syndrome, although the specific cause of the problem may not initially be known.2 Two primary categories of airborne pollutants are usually involved:3 Biological contaminants. This includes viruses, bacteria, molds, and pollen, among other pollutants. Chemical contaminants. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), tobacco smoke, and other sources of chemicals and odors. The source of these contaminants may be outside the building itself. But in most cases, the contaminant source is indoors.4 Biological Contaminants These contaminants are living organisms (or their byproducts), including: viruses, such as influenza and the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 infections bacteria, such as legionella responsible for Legionnaire’s disease pollen from trees, grasses, and plants that can cause chronic allergies or worsen asthma symptoms mold, such as aspergillosis responsible for respiratory infections pet dander from dogs, cats, and rodents that can be tracked in on clothing and cause allergy-type symptoms dust mites common in bedding and other fabrics that can be transferred into buildings from employee clothing and belongings household dust whose particles can carry toxic chemicals on their surfaces cockroaches, whose droppings can be carried on personal belongings and cause allergic reactions Biological contaminants are often the result of excessive moisture or high humidity. These conditions produce an ideal breeding ground for the growth and reproduction of living organisms like bacteria and mold.5 Bird, vermin, and insect droppings also fall into the biological contaminant category. These contaminants can carry bacteria, viruses, and compounds that can trigger allergies or cause infections in humans.6 Biological contaminants are often the result of excessive moisture or high humidity, which produce an ideal breeding ground for bacteria and mold. Biological contaminants can accumulate just about anywhere in a building, including: ventilation ducts carpeting ceiling tiles insulation standing water furniture fabric humidifiers drain pans During the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020, tiny airborne aerosols containing infectious SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus particles were found to be the primary mode of transmission for the deadly COVID-19 disease.7 These aerosols range from 0.06-0.13 microns in diameter.8 They’re typically emitted by infected individuals in coughs, sneezes, laughter, speaking, singing, and whispering.9 Due to their small size, infectious aerosols can stay airborne for hours, increasing the risk of airborne infection – especially in buildings with poor ventilation or low air exchange rates.10 Due to their small size, infectious aerosols can stay airborne for hours, increasing the risk of airborne infection – especially in buildings with poor ventilation or low air exchange rates. Chemical Contaminants Chemical contaminants are gas-phase contaminants. These are atoms and/or molecules smaller than 0.003 microns, the smallest particles. Chemical contaminants may originate from both indoor and outdoor sources. The most common indoor sources are cleaning products and pesticides.11 Many of these products release potentially dangerous chemicals, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The most common indoor sources of chemical contaminants are cleaning products and pesticides, which can release potentially dangerous chemicals like VOCs. Other sources that emit VOCs can go by largely unnoticed, such as:12 carpeting adhesives computers photocopiers heaters manufactured wood products lighting fixtures paint Outdoor chemical contaminants can enter a building in any number of ways, including: doors windows cracks vents Car exhaust, especially fumes from nearby parking garages, are also a major source of contaminants. Other chemical contaminants that can make their way into a building include: outdoor pesticides, especially those used on large-scale agricultural operations whose airborne byproducts can travel for hundreds of miles smokestack emissions from industrial facilities and port operations agricultural and urban waste, such as the runoff of fertilizer, oil, plastics, and other substances that can emit chemicals into the environment forest fires that emit wildfire smoke containing dangerous chemicals like carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide smog, a nickname for ground-level ozone that builds up in the presence of heat and airborne gases like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide Various effects of contaminants Indoor contaminants can affect air quality alone or in combination with one another. Because the variables are so vast, Sick Building Syndrome can be extremely difficult to diagnose. It’s worth looking for the root cause if occupants are complaining of the following symptoms regularly: irritated eyes, nose, or throat coughing, shortness of breath, or trouble breathing lethargy and chronic fatigue infectious diseases headaches, dizziness, or nausea skin irritation and rashes odor and taste sensations loss of smell and/or taste All of these symptoms can be related to indoor air quality. Building managers and facilities managers should learn to recognize the potential sources and symptoms of sick building syndrome and be ready to take corrective action quickly when needed. Steps building managers can take Building and facilities managers can start with a Healthy Building Checklist while conducting an inspection of the facility, and should address a number of signs of potential problems. Items on a Healthy Building Checklist should include: Are employees complaining of headaches, skin irritation, fevers, or other symptoms? Have there been any recent confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the building? Are there any identifiable increases in absenteeism? Is unusual dust or dirt visible near air diffusers or in the air? Are there any unpleasant odors detectable? These could include cleaning solvent odors, musty smells, or other odors. Is there any microbial growth — including mold or slime — on any visible surfaces or within the HVAC system? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, take action before a limited problem becomes a big problem.","

When building occupants are becoming ill from their environment but the exact cause is unknown, it’s called Sick Building Syndrome.¹

When building occupants become ill from their environment but the exact cause is unknown, it’s called Sick Building Syndrome.

This situation is a concern to anyone responsible for the health and well-being of building occupants. That includes building and facilities managers who are motivated to protect occupant health, but who also recognize the personal and potential financial losses a “sick” building causes.

Airborne contaminants are usually at the root of Sick Building Syndrome, although the specific cause of the problem may not initially be known.² Two primary categories of airborne pollutants are usually involved:³

\nBiological contaminants. This includes viruses, bacteria, molds, and pollen, among other pollutants.
\nChemical contaminants. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), tobacco smoke, and other sources of chemicals and odors.

The source of these contaminants may be outside the building itself. But in most cases, the contaminant source is indoors.⁴

Biological Contaminants

These contaminants are living organisms (or their byproducts), including:

\nviruses, such as influenza and the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 infections
\nbacteria, such as legionella responsible for Legionnaire’s disease\n
\npollen from trees, grasses, and plants that can cause chronic allergies or worsen asthma symptoms
\nmold, such as aspergillosis responsible for respiratory infections
\npet dander from dogs, cats, and rodents that can be tracked in on clothing and cause allergy-type symptoms
\ndust mites common in bedding and other fabrics that can be transferred into buildings from employee clothing and belongings
\nhousehold dust whose particles can carry toxic chemicals on their surfaces
\ncockroaches, whose droppings can be carried on personal belongings and cause allergic reactions

Biological contaminants are often the result of excessive moisture or high humidity. These conditions produce an ideal breeding ground for the growth and reproduction of living organisms like bacteria and mold.⁵ Bird, vermin, and insect droppings also fall into the biological contaminant category. These contaminants can carry bacteria, viruses, and compounds that can trigger allergies or cause infections in humans.⁶

Biological contaminants are often the result of excessive moisture or high humidity, which produce an ideal breeding ground for bacteria and mold.

Biological contaminants can accumulate just about anywhere in a building, including:

ventilation ducts
carpeting
ceiling tiles
insulation
standing water
furniture fabric
humidifiers
drain pans

During the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020, tiny airborne aerosols containing infectious SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus particles were found to be the primary mode of transmission for the deadly COVID-19 disease.⁷

These aerosols range from 0.06-0.13 microns in diameter.⁸ They’re typically emitted by infected individuals in coughs, sneezes, laughter, speaking, singing, and whispering.⁹ Due to their small size, infectious aerosols can stay airborne for hours, increasing the risk of airborne infection – especially in buildings with poor ventilation or low air exchange rates.¹⁰

Due to their small size, infectious aerosols can stay airborne for hours, increasing the risk of airborne infection – especially in buildings with poor ventilation or low air exchange rates.

Chemical Contaminants

Chemical contaminants are gas-phase contaminants. These are atoms and/or molecules smaller than 0.003 microns, the smallest particles. Chemical contaminants may originate from both indoor and outdoor sources.

The most common indoor sources are cleaning products and pesticides.¹¹ Many of these products release potentially dangerous chemicals, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

The most common indoor sources of chemical contaminants are cleaning products and pesticides, which can release potentially dangerous chemicals like VOCs.

Other sources that emit VOCs can go by largely unnoticed, such as:¹²

carpeting
adhesives
computers
photocopiers
heaters
manufactured wood products
lighting fixtures
paint

Outdoor chemical contaminants can enter a building in any number of ways, including:

doors
windows
cracks
vents

Car exhaust, especially fumes from nearby parking garages, are also a major source of contaminants.

Other chemical contaminants that can make their way into a building include:

\noutdoor pesticides, especially those used on large-scale agricultural operations whose airborne byproducts can travel for hundreds of miles
\nsmokestack emissions from industrial facilities and port operations
\nagricultural and urban waste, such as the runoff of fertilizer, oil, plastics, and other substances that can emit chemicals into the environment
\nforest fires that emit wildfire smoke containing dangerous chemicals like carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide\n
\nsmog, a nickname for ground-level ozone that builds up in the presence of heat and airborne gases like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide\n

Various effects of contaminants

Indoor contaminants can affect air quality alone or in combination with one another.

Because the variables are so vast, Sick Building Syndrome can be extremely difficult to diagnose. It’s worth looking for the root cause if occupants are complaining of the following symptoms regularly:

irritated eyes, nose, or throat
coughing, shortness of breath, or trouble breathing
lethargy and chronic fatigue
infectious diseases
headaches, dizziness, or nausea
skin irritation and rashes
odor and taste sensations
loss of smell and/or taste

All of these symptoms can be related to indoor air quality. Building managers and facilities managers should learn to recognize the potential sources and symptoms of sick building syndrome and be ready to take corrective action quickly when needed.

Steps building managers can take

Building and facilities managers can start with a Healthy Building Checklist while conducting an inspection of the facility, and should address a number of signs of potential problems.

Items on a Healthy Building Checklist should include:

Are employees complaining of headaches, skin irritation, fevers, or other symptoms?
Have there been any recent confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the building?
Are there any identifiable increases in absenteeism?
Is unusual dust or dirt visible near air diffusers or in the air?
Are there any unpleasant odors detectable? These could include cleaning solvent odors, musty smells, or other odors.
Is there any microbial growth — including mold or slime — on any visible surfaces or within the HVAC system?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, take action before a limited problem becomes a big problem.

","sick-building-syndrome-and-airborne-contaminants","gid://shopify/Article/606881349931","https://shop-gl-eur.iqair.com/blogs/news/sick-building-syndrome-and-airborne-contaminants","2016-12-09T18:47:58Z",[312,680,14],"The causes of Sick Building Syndrome",{"_65":962,"_210":963,"_208":964,"_211":309,"_213":310},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/406052831606","Office building with a view","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0677/4059/8571/articles/12_16_AQL_Office3_750_v2_5fd6a81b-7266-4968-be04-6d7ef42a1c2c.jpg?v=1750761530",{"_52":311},{"_67":63},"Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by the Legionella bacterium. Outbreaks rarely – if ever – make national news. But that does not make it any less deadly.","Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by the Legionella bacterium. Outbreaks rarely – if ever – make national news. But that does not make it any less deadly. For example, the city of Flint, Mich., experienced 12 deaths from at least 80 detected cases of Legionnaires’ disease in 2014 and 2015. Bronx, New York, also suffered an outbreak during the summer of 2015. It was blamed for 12 deaths and 119 cases. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports the number of people diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease in the U.S. quadrupled between the years 2000 and 2014. Today, at least 5,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed each year. At least 10 percent of cases result in death. The CDC believes a combination of factors is causing this increase. The U.S. has an aging population. There is a rise in chronic illness. Immune-system suppressing medications are being prescribed more often. And the nation’s failing water delivery systems are providing a breeding ground for Legionella bacteria. What is Legionnaires’ disease? Legionnaires’ disease was named in 1976 when American Legion members attending a convention in Philadelphia fell ill with pneumonia. CDC scientists identified that Legionella was the cause of the outbreak during one of the largest respiratory disease investigations in U.S. history. Symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease are similar to other types of pneumonia. A person can experience coughing, headache, and fever. Muscle aches and shortness of breath are also common. Other symptoms may include nausea, diarrhea, and confusion. Legionella bacteria can also cause Pontiac fever, a milder infection without pneumonia. The treatment for Legionnaires' disease includes antibiotics and often hospitalization. Pontiac fever does not require medical care. Legionella bacteria thrive in warm climates and naturally exist in freshwater environments, such as lakes and streams. The bacteria become a health issue when they are abundant in human water systems. Places at risk of growing and spreading the bacteria include: Cooling towers (air-conditioning systems for large buildings) Large plumbing systems Hot tubs and hot water heaters Decorative fountains Shower heads and faucets Legionnaires’ disease prevention tips for the home Take the following precautions to help limit the risk of Legionella exposure in the home: Set your water heater temperature to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. To learn more about setting your water heater temperature, visit www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/legionnaires/hotwater.html. Maintain your water heater properly. Find your hot water heater’s manufacturer’s instruction manual. Learn how often it should be cleaned and how to do it correctly. Perform hot-water flushes. Running faucets and shower heads for at least 30 minutes at 140 degrees Fahrenheit or more can help kill Legionella. Use caution. These temperatures can cause scalding. Maintain hot tubs carefully. Neglected hot tubs provide ideal conditions for growth and spread of Legionella. Learn more at www.cdc.gov/legionella/downloads/hot-tub-disinfection.pdf. Use humidifiers with caution. Learn more about humidifier safety here. Legionnaires’ disease prevention tips for building managers Building owners and managers can: Determine if their buildings are at risk of Legionella growth. Visit the CDC’s question and answer page to learn if your building is at risk – www.cdc.gov/legionella/maintenance/wmp-risk.html. Follow the industry standard for building water management. Learn more about ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 188-2015 – www.ashrae.org. Develop a water management program. Get the CDC’s 32-page toolkit – www.cdc.gov/legionella/maintenance/wmp-toolkit. By lowering our exposure to Legionella and recognizing the possible signs of an infection, we can help protect our own health. We can also take steps as homeowners or commercial property managers to keep ourselves and others safe. Fortunately, Legionnaires’ disease is an illness of human error that is preventable.","

Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by the Legionella bacterium. Outbreaks rarely – if ever – make national news. But that does not make it any less deadly. For example, the city of Flint, Mich., experienced 12 deaths from at least 80 detected cases of Legionnaires’ disease in 2014 and 2015. Bronx, New York, also suffered an outbreak during the summer of 2015. It was blamed for 12 deaths and 119 cases.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports the number of people diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease in the U.S. quadrupled between the years 2000 and 2014. Today, at least 5,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed each year. At least 10 percent of cases result in death. The CDC believes a combination of factors is causing this increase. The U.S. has an aging population. There is a rise in chronic illness. Immune-system suppressing medications are being prescribed more often. And the nation’s failing water delivery systems are providing a breeding ground for Legionella bacteria.

What is Legionnaires’ disease?

Legionnaires’ disease was named in 1976 when American Legion members attending a convention in Philadelphia fell ill with pneumonia. CDC scientists identified that Legionella was the cause of the outbreak during one of the largest respiratory disease investigations in U.S. history.

Symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease are similar to other types of pneumonia. A person can experience coughing, headache, and fever. Muscle aches and shortness of breath are also common. Other symptoms may include nausea, diarrhea, and confusion. Legionella bacteria can also cause Pontiac fever, a milder infection without pneumonia. The treatment for Legionnaires' disease includes antibiotics and often hospitalization. Pontiac fever does not require medical care.

Legionella bacteria thrive in warm climates and naturally exist in freshwater environments, such as lakes and streams. The bacteria become a health issue when they are abundant in human water systems. Places at risk of growing and spreading the bacteria include:

Cooling towers (air-conditioning systems for large buildings)
Large plumbing systems
Hot tubs and hot water heaters
Decorative fountains
Shower heads and faucets

Legionnaires’ disease prevention tips for the home

Take the following precautions to help limit the risk of Legionella exposure in the home:

\nSet your water heater temperature to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. To learn more about setting your water heater temperature, visit www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/legionnaires/hotwater.html.
\nMaintain your water heater properly. Find your hot water heater’s manufacturer’s instruction manual. Learn how often it should be cleaned and how to do it correctly.
\nPerform hot-water flushes. Running faucets and shower heads for at least 30 minutes at 140 degrees Fahrenheit or more can help kill Legionella. Use caution. These temperatures can cause scalding.
\nMaintain hot tubs carefully. Neglected hot tubs provide ideal conditions for growth and spread of Legionella. Learn more at www.cdc.gov/legionella/downloads/hot-tub-disinfection.pdf.
\nUse humidifiers with caution. Learn more about humidifier safety here.

Legionnaires’ disease prevention tips for building managers

Building owners and managers can:

\nDetermine if their buildings are at risk of Legionella growth. Visit the CDC’s question and answer page to learn if your building is at risk – www.cdc.gov/legionella/maintenance/wmp-risk.html.
\nFollow the industry standard for building water management. Learn more about ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 188-2015 – www.ashrae.org.
\nDevelop a water management program. Get the CDC’s 32-page toolkit – www.cdc.gov/legionella/maintenance/wmp-toolkit.

By lowering our exposure to Legionella and recognizing the possible signs of an infection, we can help protect our own health. We can also take steps as homeowners or commercial property managers to keep ourselves and others safe. Fortunately, Legionnaires’ disease is an illness of human error that is preventable.

","legionnaires-disease-prevention","gid://shopify/Article/606870241579","https://shop-gl-eur.iqair.com/blogs/news/legionnaires-disease-prevention","2017-06-22T18:18:31Z",[312,680,14],"How to protect yourself from Legionnaires’ disease",{"_65":977,"_210":978,"_208":979,"_211":309,"_213":310},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/406386573686","microscopic view of bacteria","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0677/4059/8571/articles/17_07_AQL_Legionnaires_d54c4c77-a0b2-495a-aeec-f5c9c3bc027a.jpg?v=1751969280",{"_52":311},{"_67":63},"Get your guideLearn to identify serious indoor air quality problems – and how to help resolve them. DOWNLOAD NOW ×Close Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) is a widespread phenomenon in which air pollution in a building can cause illness and disruptive symptoms amongst the building’s occupants. A sick building is a health hazard for building occupants and can be a financial disaster for building owners. Read our e-book “The facts about Sick Building Syndrome” to learn how to identify serious indoor air quality problems along with air quality solutions that can help reduce the impact of poor indoor air quality on the health of building occupants – including the continued air quality threat posed by COVID-19. You'll learn about: Types of building-related illnesses, including extreme cases like pulmonary fibrosis Warning signs of a sick building, including early symptoms of COVID-19 Biological and chemical pollutants, such as viruses, bacteria, and VOCs How to conduct an air quality investigation Air quality solutions you can put in place today How the IQAir Clean Air Facility program can help improve workplace air quality SBS, COVID-19, and clean air Beginning in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the airborne SARS-CoV-2 virus posed one of the biggest health threats to shared work facilities worldwide, forcing millions to work from home – some for well over a year.1 As workplaces reopen, air quality has become a critical incentive to helping make employees feel safe coming back to work.2 And while viruses are just one of the many indoor air pollutants that can be found in a sick building, they remain among the most deadly and disruptive to a building’s health. Following the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining good air quality in the workplace can no longer be considered simply an added benefit – it’s critical to helping keep building occupants safe, healthy, and engaged. Workplaces offering comprehensive air quality solutions have an enormous competitive advantage in attracting and retaining talent over those who do not address urgent health concerns associated with shared working facilities Furthermore, the benefits associated with addressing absences and illnesses related to poor building air quality is well-documented: A groundbreaking study in Indoor Air estimated that U.S. companies could experience productivity gains worth $6 billion to $20 billion per year simply by addressing sick building illnesses like respiratory diseases, allergies, and asthma.3 A 2018 survey of 1,601 North American workers found that good air quality mattered more to employees for workplace satisfaction than benefits like gym facilities, snacks, or wellness programs4 A 2020 study from the Integrated Benefit Institute found that illness costs U.S. businesses up to $575 billion a year and results in 1.5 billion days of absences.5","

\n \n

\n\n

Get your guide
Learn to identify serious indoor air quality problems – and how to help resolve them.

\n\n

\n DOWNLOAD NOW

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Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) is a widespread phenomenon in which air pollution in a building can cause illness and disruptive symptoms amongst the building’s occupants. A sick building is a health hazard for building occupants and can be a financial disaster for building owners.

Read our e-book “The facts about Sick Building Syndrome” to learn how to identify serious indoor air quality problems along with air quality solutions that can help reduce the impact of poor indoor air quality on the health of building occupants – including the continued air quality threat posed by COVID-19.

You'll learn about:

Types of building-related illnesses, including extreme cases like pulmonary fibrosis
Warning signs of a sick building, including early symptoms of COVID-19
Biological and chemical pollutants, such as viruses, bacteria, and VOCs
How to conduct an air quality investigation
Air quality solutions you can put in place today
How the IQAir Clean Air Facility program can help improve workplace air quality

SBS, COVID-19, and clean air

Beginning in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the airborne SARS-CoV-2 virus posed one of the biggest health threats to shared work facilities worldwide, forcing millions to work from home – some for well over a year.¹ As workplaces reopen, air quality has become a critical incentive to helping make employees feel safe coming back to work.²

And while viruses are just one of the many indoor air pollutants that can be found in a sick building, they remain among the most deadly and disruptive to a building’s health.

Following the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining good air quality in the workplace can no longer be considered simply an added benefit – it’s critical to helping keep building occupants safe, healthy, and engaged. Workplaces offering comprehensive air quality solutions have an enormous competitive advantage in attracting and retaining talent over those who do not address urgent health concerns associated with shared working facilities

Furthermore, the benefits associated with addressing absences and illnesses related to poor building air quality is well-documented:

A groundbreaking study in Indoor Air estimated that U.S. companies could experience productivity gains worth $6 billion to $20 billion per year simply by addressing sick building illnesses like respiratory diseases, allergies, and asthma.³\n
A 2018 survey of 1,601 North American workers found that good air quality mattered more to employees for workplace satisfaction than benefits like gym facilities, snacks, or wellness programs⁴\n
A 2020 study from the Integrated Benefit Institute found that illness costs U.S. businesses up to $575 billion a year and results in 1.5 billion days of absences.⁵\n

","sick-building-syndrome","gid://shopify/Article/606887280939","https://shop-gl-eur.iqair.com/blogs/news/sick-building-syndrome","2018-01-10T21:23:38Z",[312,14],"The facts about Sick Building Syndrome",{"_65":991,"_210":992,"_208":993,"_211":994,"_213":995},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/406438805878","office setting","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0677/4059/8571/articles/truth_about_sick_building_syndrome_0d0e26a3-8f29-471a-acd0-ddbb3391f2a4.png?v=1752137141",930,335,{"_52":311},{"_67":63},"Indoor air pollution is a huge problem. Companies like Unicom Pay take indoor air quality seriously.","The best companies in the world to work for all have one thing in common: they take care of their own. And they use the best science and data available to support their decisions to improve workplace productivity and keep their people happy. But more and more companies realize that they’ve been missing a crucial part of the equation: indoor air quality, or IAQ. Poor IAQ contributes to enormous losses in productivity, revenue, and employee satisfaction. And yet, few air quality standards for office buildings exist beyond, for example, the prominent Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Energy Star certifications, neither of which have much to say about air quality issues. One company decided to take the extra leap into ensuring the best possible workplace when they approached their employees with some great news: brand-new offices! And in a groundbreaking move, Unicom Pay decided to build their new offices from the ground up by using eco-friendly materials, energy-efficient facilities, and a recruiting tool that few global companies can claim: world-class air purification solutions ensuring the best possible IAQ for their employees. Unicom Pay: No stranger to innovation Unicom Pay, a subsidiary of China Unicom’s Wo-Wallet, runs a comprehensive personal payment business as well as manages online personal finance services for individual users through the Wo-Wallet client. It’s also well known for its integrated payment and financial services aimed at both government and corporate clients. China Unicom is headquartered in Beijing, with offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Unicom Pay provides a reliable and easy payment application that rivals many of the world’s best financial services companies while also committing to protecting its users’ privacy and information security. As a result, its growth, stature, and success have skyrocketed in the few years since its founding as it offers increasingly innovative financial solutions. But the rapid expansion of its business brought about the need for the construction of a new office building. And Unicom Pay’s workforce was excited, sure, but not just for the usual reasons: Unicom Pay decided to make history again by making IAQ the primary focus of their new facilities. The Problem: New offices and formaldehyde Like many companies building new offices, Unicom Pay was wary of the notorious presence of chemicals like formaldehyde in its new offices. But even though the company ensured that it used the finest and greenest materials, not even the most eco-friendly building can avoid formaldehyde off-gassing from materials used in paint, flooring, and other furnishings. The serious harm that formaldehyde can cause has made this substance a huge headache (quite literally) for anyone doing building renovations. The fumes alone can cause symptoms like coughing, skin rashes, respiratory tract infections, and more. And even with proper ventilation and air purification, formaldehyde can remain in the indoor air for years after a building’s complete. Formaldehyde is just one of a number of chemical and biological components that put building occupants, whether residents of a home or apartment complex, or office workers at risk of suffering from sick building syndrome. A global health problem, the British National Health Service identifies symptoms as including:1 headaches runny nose dry, itchy skin, eyes, or throat cough or wheezing rashes tiredness and problems focusing To make sure that its employees got the healthiest, cleanest, and most productive environment possible, Unicom Pay didn’t spare a dime in actively seeking out the technology to remove even the invisible health and wellness threats for its entire organization. And Unicom Pay knew exactly who to ask for the best IAQ solution in the world: its longtime partners at IQAir. The Solution: IQAir Knowing that Unicom Pay’s employees were anxious to move into their brand-new offices, IQAir quickly came in and performed an extensive survey of the new facilities and research on the environment’s air quality. In record time, IQAir's team of professional indoor air quality experts recommended the perfect product for their new spaces: the CleanZone SL, a commercial-grade, stand-alone air purifier designed for newly renovated offices and commercial buildings to fill them with the cleanest possible air at high volumes. IQAir developed the IQAir CleanZone SL to enhance indoor air quality in offices, schools, hotels, clubs, and other high-traffic, open-plan public areas. This model is especially suited for places like offices and schools because of its ultra-quiet yet ultra-high performance: The CleanZone SL has a high airflow capacity of up to 800 cubic meters per hour (about 470.862 cubic feet per minute), providing unequaled air filtration while meeting even the strictest noise standards. Equipped with ColdFire™ filter media for formaldehyde, the CleanZone SL features leading-edge catalytic technology with formaldehyde purification efficiency drastically higher than any existing formaldehyde removal methods. The high cumulate clean mass (CCM) rating of the CleanZone SL’s filter media guarantees stable, long-term protection against the buildup of common, gaseous indoor pollutants. HyperHEPAfiltration removes more than 99.5% of particulate matter down to 0.003 microns, the smallest particles that exist – densely packed fibers continuously capture PM2.5 particles, bacteria, viruses, allergens, and numerous other contaminants before pumping pure air back out into the offices. Virtually silent even at the highest fan speed setting, the CleanZone SL delivers high performance air purification while fostering peaceful surroundings for office workers. Before Unicom Pay’s relocation, several CleanZone SL air purifiers were already in position in its new office building, operating 24/7 to purify the indoor air. Better yet, IQAir engineers provided on-site services and carefully verified each step with Unicom Pay – and every single purifier received thorough performance testing before finally being installed on site. Not just a one-time deal: A long-term relationship The company’s roots with IQAir run deep: Unicom Pay and IQAir have done business before, and a successful years-long relationship ultimately led to the company’s decision to fill their new offices with the best air purification technology. Unicom Pay previously purchased several HealthPro Plus air purifiers to help their employees cope with air pollution. With the HealthPro Series having captured more accolades and awards than any other air purifier, and with every product manufactured and individually tested in Switzerland, performance expectations were high. The company was so impressed with IQAir’s technology that they purchased HealthPro Plus purifiers for every corner of their (now former) office space, providing fresh indoor air to Unicom Pay’s employees even during periods of record-breaking smog. As a Unicom Pay employee said, “During the past two years while we’ve used IQAir products, we tested the air purifiers multiple times by placing an air quality monitor next to the outlet that delivers air. No matter how serious the pollution was, the particulate reading was always ‘0’! All of us around here have 100% confidence and trust in IQAir.”","

The best companies in the world to work for all have one thing in common: they take care of their own. And they use the best science and data available to support their decisions to improve workplace productivity and keep their people happy.

But more and more companies realize that they’ve been missing a crucial part of the equation: indoor air quality, or IAQ.

Poor IAQ contributes to enormous losses in productivity, revenue, and employee satisfaction. And yet, few air quality standards for office buildings exist beyond, for example, the prominent Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Energy Star certifications, neither of which have much to say about air quality issues.

One company decided to take the extra leap into ensuring the best possible workplace when they approached their employees with some great news: brand-new offices!

And in a groundbreaking move, Unicom Pay decided to build their new offices from the ground up by using eco-friendly materials, energy-efficient facilities, and a recruiting tool that few global companies can claim: world-class air purification solutions ensuring the best possible IAQ for their employees.

Unicom Pay: No stranger to innovation

Unicom Pay, a subsidiary of China Unicom’s Wo-Wallet, runs a comprehensive personal payment business as well as manages online personal finance services for individual users through the Wo-Wallet client. It’s also well known for its integrated payment and financial services aimed at both government and corporate clients.

China Unicom is headquartered in Beijing, with offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Unicom Pay provides a reliable and easy payment application that rivals many of the world’s best financial services companies while also committing to protecting its users’ privacy and information security. As a result, its growth, stature, and success have skyrocketed in the few years since its founding as it offers increasingly innovative financial solutions.

But the rapid expansion of its business brought about the need for the construction of a new office building. And Unicom Pay’s workforce was excited, sure, but not just for the usual reasons: Unicom Pay decided to make history again by making IAQ the primary focus of their new facilities.

The Problem: New offices and formaldehyde

Like many companies building new offices, Unicom Pay was wary of the notorious presence of chemicals like formaldehyde in its new offices. But even though the company ensured that it used the finest and greenest materials, not even the most eco-friendly building can avoid formaldehyde off-gassing from materials used in paint, flooring, and other furnishings.

The serious harm that formaldehyde can cause has made this substance a huge headache (quite literally) for anyone doing building renovations. The fumes alone can cause symptoms like coughing, skin rashes, respiratory tract infections, and more. And even with proper ventilation and air purification, formaldehyde can remain in the indoor air for years after a building’s complete.

Formaldehyde is just one of a number of chemical and biological components that put building occupants, whether residents of a home or apartment complex, or office workers at risk of suffering from sick building syndrome. A global health problem, the British National Health Service identifies symptoms as including:¹

headaches
runny nose
dry, itchy skin, eyes, or throat
cough or wheezing
rashes
tiredness and problems focusing

To make sure that its employees got the healthiest, cleanest, and most productive environment possible, Unicom Pay didn’t spare a dime in actively seeking out the technology to remove even the invisible health and wellness threats for its entire organization.

And Unicom Pay knew exactly who to ask for the best IAQ solution in the world: its longtime partners at IQAir. 

The Solution: IQAir

Knowing that Unicom Pay’s employees were anxious to move into their brand-new offices, IQAir quickly came in and performed an extensive survey of the new facilities and research on the environment’s air quality. 

In record time, IQAir's team of professional indoor air quality experts recommended the perfect product for their new spaces: the CleanZone SL, a commercial-grade, stand-alone air purifier designed for newly renovated offices and commercial buildings to fill them with the cleanest possible air at high volumes.

IQAir developed the IQAir CleanZone SL to enhance indoor air quality in offices, schools, hotels, clubs, and other high-traffic, open-plan public areas. This model is especially suited for places like offices and schools because of its ultra-quiet yet ultra-high performance: 

\nThe CleanZone SL has a high airflow capacity of up to 800 cubic meters per hour (about 470.862 cubic feet per minute), providing unequaled air filtration while meeting even the strictest noise standards.
\nEquipped with ColdFire™ filter media for formaldehyde, the CleanZone SL features leading-edge catalytic technology with formaldehyde purification efficiency drastically higher than any existing formaldehyde removal methods.
\nThe high cumulate clean mass (CCM) rating of the CleanZone SL’s filter media guarantees stable, long-term protection against the buildup of common, gaseous indoor pollutants.
\nHyperHEPAfiltration removes more than 99.5% of particulate matter down to 0.003 microns, the smallest particles that exist – densely packed fibers continuously capture PM2.5 particles, bacteria, viruses, allergens, and numerous other contaminants before pumping pure air back out into the offices.
\nVirtually silent even at the highest fan speed setting, the CleanZone SL delivers high performance air purification while fostering peaceful surroundings for office workers.

Before Unicom Pay’s relocation, several CleanZone SL air purifiers were already in position in its new office building, operating 24/7 to purify the indoor air. Better yet, IQAir engineers provided on-site services and carefully verified each step with Unicom Pay – and every single purifier received thorough performance testing before finally being installed on site.

Not just a one-time deal: A long-term relationship

The company’s roots with IQAir run deep: Unicom Pay and IQAir have done business before, and a successful years-long relationship ultimately led to the company’s decision to fill their new offices with the best air purification technology. 

Unicom Pay previously purchased several HealthPro Plus air purifiers to help their employees cope with air pollution.

With the HealthPro Series having captured more accolades and awards than any other air purifier, and with every product manufactured and individually tested in Switzerland, performance expectations were high.

The company was so impressed with IQAir’s technology that they purchased HealthPro Plus purifiers for every corner of their (now former) office space, providing fresh indoor air to Unicom Pay’s employees even during periods of record-breaking smog.

As a Unicom Pay employee said, “During the past two years while we’ve used IQAir products, we tested the air purifiers multiple times by placing an air quality monitor next to the outlet that delivers air. No matter how serious the pollution was, the particulate reading was always ‘0’! All of us around here have 100% confidence and trust in IQAir.”

","preserving-indoor-air-quality-for-world-class-workplace","gid://shopify/Article/606883807531","https://shop-gl-eur.iqair.com/blogs/news/preserving-indoor-air-quality-for-world-class-workplace","2018-09-17T16:24:05Z",[14,612],"Unicom Pay: One company’s mission to give its employees world-class indoor air quality",{"_65":1008,"_210":1009,"_208":1010,"_211":309,"_213":310},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/406316908918","Unicom Pay","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0677/4059/8571/articles/AQL_Unicom_withoutlogo_5506f9cd-ab22-4dac-a91a-0f4f9ab02f35.jpg?v=1751632946",{"_52":311},{"_67":63},"China Resources Land (CR Land), is one of the most powerful integrated real estate developers in Mainland China. Now, CR Land takes that ethos a step further by bringing in IQAir to provide clean air for their employees.","The office has almost become a second home for many urban professionals.People in developed nations spend between 80 and 90 percent of their lives indoors. About one-third of that time is at work. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is often two to five times worse indoors than outdoors.With so much of our time spent inside workplaces that have potentially harmful air quality, it behooves employers to provide clean air in the workplace. Even those working in the concrete jungle deserve to work in a clean air oasis. Even more, studies show that workers are more productive when breathing clean air.What can make office building indoor air quality so bad?Environmental regulatory agencies1,2 agree that air pollutants aren’t restricted to the outdoors.Chemical pollutant sources in offices can include emissions from office equipment, furniture, wall and floor coverings, cleaning products, and combustion product gases.There are also potential biological contaminants, such as fungi and molds, dust mite allergens, bacteria, viruses, and pollen – all brought in by ventilated air, employees, and visitors.Particulate matter, such as dust or dirt, is brought in from the outdoors as well as generated by the use of common office equipment or during construction and remodeling. Offices and public spaces that permit smoking also invite chemical and particulate matter pollution.Sometimes, poor office building indoor air quality can be compounded by the very systems and policies designed to maintain employee comfort. HVAC systems can be a source of pollutants, while office plants can be responsible for the growth of fungi and molds if overwatered. It’s inadvisable to place plants in the airstream of heating, ventilation, and HVAC equipment, as this can help distribute mold and pollen throughout a room.3Fortune 500 company chooses IQAir for China officeChinese property developer China Resources Land Ltd, a fortune 500 company, heeded the call to create a clean air oasis for their workers in their Dalian branch, located in Liaoning Province, China.China Resources Land (CR Land), is one of the most powerful integrated real estate developers in Mainland China. Adhering to their corporate ethos of “better quality, better city,” CR Land advocates for sustainable urban development and business progress. CR Land took that ethos a step further by bringing in IQAir to provide clean air for their employees.IQAir helps CR Land create a healthy and comfortable office environment for employees and provide safe and quality breathing protection by solving the most problematic formaldehyde problem.Combining products for a more complete pollution solutionIn CR Land’s open office and front desk areas, IQAir installed a combination of room and personal air purifiers, including the CleanZone SL, HealthPro Series room air purifiers, Atem personal air purifiers, and an AirVisual air quality monitoring solution.CleanZone SL: medical-grade air for any indoor spaceThe CleanZone SL is a powerful, stand-alone air purifier designed for large spaces that require a quiet environment, including offices, schools, hospitals, and other commercial sites.The CleanZone SL provides exceptional indoor pollution control in near silence. It’s the world’s quietest air purifier. Other key features include: Captures diesel soot, allergens, viruses, and ultrafine particles (the smallest that exist) Removes 99% particles down to 0.3 microns and 95% down to 0.003 microns Cleans the all the air in a 1,000 sq. ft. space every 15 min. Can be mounted vertically or horizontally to a wall or be attached to a wheelbase to be transportable Requires the amount of energy as a conventional light bulb to run (100 watts) Cost equals a few cents/day to clean up to 9,000 sq. ft. Uses Advanced Micro-Fiber (AMF) filtration - an almost impenetrable barrier to particles Slim design (only 10 inches deep) Tamper-proof Combines Swiss design quality and German manufacturing standards IQAir engineers visited CR Land’s Huarun Real Estate offices, where they installed the CleanZone SL on the ceiling, taking up no floor space.The Huarun Real Estate offices also have small office spaces, in addition to the large central space where the CleanZone SL is attached to the ceiling. These smaller rooms feature HealthPro Series room air purifiers, awarded the “Best Buy” award five times by Consumers Digest among room air purifiers for allergies and asthma Every HealthPro Series air purifier installed was individually tested and came with a Certificate of Performance.In other open spaces, workers sit with Atem Desk personal air purifiers sending clean air to their personal breathing zones. The Health Pro Series and Atem Series both remove 99.5 of all particles down to .003 microns, in comparison to competing filters capable of handling only .3 microns.AirVisual monitoring systemCR Land’s Indoor Air Quality is closely monitored by AirVisual air quality monitors. Workers and upper management can rest and breathe, easily knowing the status of their Indoor Air Quality. AirVisual Pro air quality monitors register and catalog real-time air quality data. Through AirVisual’s API widget, this information can easily be viewed and downloaded.The air quality index from the closest outdoor air quality monitor can be displayed on multiple platforms alongside the Indoor Air Quality. With over 80,000 locations positioned around the globe, AirVisual air quality station and air quality monitor presence is constantly being expanded.AirVisual technology covers both PM2.5 particles and common gases and chemicals like ozone, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide, invisible threats that greatly impact human health. Office managers can keep employees informed about potentially challenging travel and outdoor activities plans using AirVisual weather and air pollution forecasts for the next 72 hours as well as compare forecast data to 72-hour air quality histories.Employees appreciate CR Land’s urban air oasisCR Land’s initiative to take care of their staff’s breathing concerns is well-received by its employees and the media.Aside from the air purification and general health benefits, employees benefit from CleanZone SL being nearly silent. At its highest fan speed, the purifier tops out at 45 dB(A), three times lower than what typical professional air purifiers generate.CR Land vows to continue perfecting their urban air oasis together with IQAir. Learn more about how IQAir can help your organization create a clean air oasis.","

The office has almost become a second home for many urban professionals.

People in developed nations spend between 80 and 90 percent of their lives indoors. About one-third of that time is at work. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is often two to five times worse indoors than outdoors.

With so much of our time spent inside workplaces that have potentially harmful air quality, it behooves employers to provide clean air in the workplace.

Even those working in the concrete jungle deserve to work in a clean air oasis. Even more, studies show that workers are more productive when breathing clean air.

What can make office building indoor air quality so bad?

Environmental regulatory agencies1,2 agree that air pollutants aren’t restricted to the outdoors.

Chemical pollutant sources in offices can include emissions from office equipment, furniture, wall and floor coverings, cleaning products, and combustion product gases.

There are also potential biological contaminants, such as fungi and molds, dust mite allergens, bacteria, viruses, and pollen – all brought in by ventilated air, employees, and visitors.

Particulate matter, such as dust or dirt, is brought in from the outdoors as well as generated by the use of common office equipment or during construction and remodeling. Offices and public spaces that permit smoking also invite chemical and particulate matter pollution.

Sometimes, poor office building indoor air quality can be compounded by the very systems and policies designed to maintain employee comfort. HVAC systems can be a source of pollutants, while office plants can be responsible for the growth of fungi and molds if overwatered. It’s inadvisable to place plants in the airstream of heating, ventilation, and HVAC equipment, as this can help distribute mold and pollen throughout a room.³

Fortune 500 company chooses IQAir for China office

Chinese property developer China Resources Land Ltd, a fortune 500 company, heeded the call to create a clean air oasis for their workers in their Dalian branch, located in Liaoning Province, China.

China Resources Land (CR Land), is one of the most powerful integrated real estate developers in Mainland China. Adhering to their corporate ethos of “better quality, better city,” CR Land advocates for sustainable urban development and business progress. CR Land took that ethos a step further by bringing in IQAir to provide clean air for their employees.

IQAir helps CR Land create a healthy and comfortable office environment for employees and provide safe and quality breathing protection by solving the most problematic formaldehyde problem.

Combining products for a more complete pollution solution

In CR Land’s open office and front desk areas, IQAir installed a combination of room and personal air purifiers, including the CleanZone SL, HealthPro Series room air purifiers, Atem personal air purifiers, and an AirVisual air quality monitoring solution.

CleanZone SL: medical-grade air for any indoor space

The CleanZone SL is a powerful, stand-alone air purifier designed for large spaces that require a quiet environment, including offices, schools, hospitals, and other commercial sites.

The CleanZone SL provides exceptional indoor pollution control in near silence. It’s the world’s quietest air purifier. Other key features include:

Captures diesel soot, allergens, viruses, and ultrafine particles (the smallest that exist)
Removes 99% particles down to 0.3 microns and 95% down to 0.003 microns
Cleans the all the air in a 1,000 sq. ft. space every 15 min.
Can be mounted vertically or horizontally to a wall or be attached to a wheelbase to be transportable
Requires the amount of energy as a conventional light bulb to run (100 watts)
Cost equals a few cents/day to clean up to 9,000 sq. ft.
Uses Advanced Micro-Fiber (AMF) filtration - an almost impenetrable barrier to particles
Slim design (only 10 inches deep)
Tamper-proof
Combines Swiss design quality and German manufacturing standards

IQAir engineers visited CR Land’s Huarun Real Estate offices, where they installed the CleanZone SL on the ceiling, taking up no floor space.

The Huarun Real Estate offices also have small office spaces, in addition to the large central space where the CleanZone SL is attached to the ceiling. These smaller rooms feature HealthPro Series room air purifiers, awarded the “Best Buy” award five times by Consumers Digest among room air purifiers for allergies and asthma Every HealthPro Series air purifier installed was individually tested and came with a Certificate of Performance.

In other open spaces, workers sit with Atem Desk personal air purifiers sending clean air to their personal breathing zones. The Health Pro Series and Atem Series both remove 99.5 of all particles down to .003 microns, in comparison to competing filters capable of handling only .3 microns.

AirVisual monitoring system

CR Land’s Indoor Air Quality is closely monitored by AirVisual air quality monitors. Workers and upper management can rest and breathe, easily knowing the status of their Indoor Air Quality. AirVisual Pro air quality monitors register and catalog real-time air quality data. Through AirVisual’s API widget, this information can easily be viewed and downloaded.

The air quality index from the closest outdoor air quality monitor can be displayed on multiple platforms alongside the Indoor Air Quality. With over 80,000 locations positioned around the globe, AirVisual air quality station and air quality monitor presence is constantly being expanded.

AirVisual technology covers both PM2.5 particles and common gases and chemicals like ozone, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide, invisible threats that greatly impact human health.
\n\nOffice managers can keep employees informed about potentially challenging travel and outdoor activities plans using AirVisual weather and air pollution forecasts for the next 72 hours as well as compare forecast data to 72-hour air quality histories.

Employees appreciate CR Land’s urban air oasis

CR Land’s initiative to take care of their staff’s breathing concerns is well-received by its employees and the media.

Aside from the air purification and general health benefits, employees benefit from CleanZone SL being nearly silent. At its highest fan speed, the purifier tops out at 45 dB(A), three times lower than what typical professional air purifiers generate.

CR Land vows to continue perfecting their urban air oasis together with IQAir.
\n\n
\n\nLearn more about how IQAir can help your organization create a clean air oasis.
\n\n

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Grasping the Severity of Hazardous AQI

\nProtective Measures for Hazardous Air Quality

Join the movement!

How can I protect myself when air quality is hazardous?

How to best protect from air pollution?

Understanding the \"Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups\" AQI Range

Protective Measures for Sensitive Groups

How can I protect myself when air quality is unhealthy for sensitive groups?

Mission built on compassion

Good air quality: Essential in animal rescues

Life changing air cleaning solution

Looking ahead

Conclusion

A vision born from necessity

The journey of Permian Health

Highlighting areas of concern: Brikama’s air quality

Pioneering work on the ground

Uniting minds and garnering accolades

Hopes for the Future

Conclusion

Why Pakistan Needs Reliable Air Quality Data

Building Pakistan's National Air Quality Network

Using Air Quality Data to Combat Pollution in Pakistan

Pakistan's Long-Term Pollution Solutions

Conclusion

Nairobi's leap towards cleaner air

Local expertise, global resources drive innovation

The challenge of air quality monitoring in Africa

Harnessing technology for a healthier tomorrow

Cultivating environmental consciousness

Conclusion

Are scented candles bad for you?

Paraffin wax

Is burning candles bad for you?

Chemical fragrances

Cored wicks

Safer alternatives

The takeaway

Why are Himalayan salt lamps bad for air quality?

So what’s so special about Himalayan salt?

Take the claims with a grain of...well, salt

What should I look for in an air purifier?

1. HEPA filters are the standard for the industry.

2. Not all air purifier designs are created equal.

3. Concerned about gas and odors? Go beyond HEPA.

The takeaway

What should I avoid in an air purifier?

Ionizer air purifiers

Verdict

Ozone Generators

Verdict

UV Light Purifiers

Verdict

What do I do now?

What’s in wildfire smoke?

Wildfire smoke and at-risk populations

How wildfire smoke behaves

Wildfire safety tips

The takeaway

What is PM2.5?

How PM2.5 builds up indoors

How air purifiers reduce indoor PM2.5

The health impact of reducing indoor PM2.5

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

What is the location of the flooding?

Which cities or areas are affected by the flooding?

What is the current containment status of the flooding?

Are there any evacuation orders or alerts in place?

How can I protect myself from mold after flooding?

The unequal burden of pollution

Exposing hidden inequalities

Pathways to cleaner air for all

Conclusion

What is the name and location of the wildfire?

Which cities or areas are affected by the wildfire?

What is the current containment status of the Pineland Road Fire?

Are there any evacuation orders or alerts in place?

How can I protect myself from wildfire smoke?

What is the name and location of the wildfire?

\n

Protective Measures for Hazardous Air Quality

Sick Building Syndrome

Trending topics

China Resources Ltd provides employees with clean air

Unicom Pay: One company’s mission to give its employees world-class indoor air quality

The facts about Sick Building Syndrome

How to protect yourself from Legionnaires’ disease

The causes of Sick Building Syndrome

What causes mildew in basements

Air quality issues that impact older homes

Legionnaires’ can hit at home too

Solutions for Sick Building Syndrome

What to do about Sick Building Syndrome

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