I read an article on the web this morning that said people with COPD should be careful when buying an air purifier, and the truth is, I tend to agree with this statement.
The article stated that COPD is a “serious life threatening health problem that can be aggravated with the use of inferior poor performance air filters.”
First, what is COPD?
According to Wikipedia, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a disease of the lungs in which the airways become narrowed. This leads to a limitation of the flow of air to and from the lungs causing shortness of breath. In contrast to asthma, the limitation of airflow is poorly reversible and usually gradually gets worse over time.
So can an air purifier help a person with COPD?
An October 2008 report by the Department of Environmental Health at the Harvard School of Public Health reports that people with COPD “have substantial mortality risks associated with exposure to particles.” According to the study, particles may impair ventilation in COPD patients by causing airway narrowing and increasing the work of breathing.
So while air purifiers are certainly not a cure for COPD, they can provide cleaner air, which according to the Harvard study, is paramount to people with COPD.
A good HEPA filter can remove 99.97% of airborne particles as small as 0.3 microns from indoor air. It’s pretty safe to say that most air purifiers come (or should come) equipped with a HEPA filter— and since there is no such thing as a “better” HEPA filter, then it would be difficult to separate a superior air filter, from a poor performance air filter based simply on its HEPA filter.
While HEPA filters are indeed designed to remove particles, and since any good purifier comes equipped with this filtration method, what then makes one air purifier superior to another?
Not Just Particles—- Chemicals are also Dangerous for People with COPD
Inhaling chemicals such as gas, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, or dry particulate chemicals, such as microscopic particles is dangerous for everyone, but can be especially dangerous for people with COPD. In fact the number one cause for COPD is smoking… and one of the main chemicals in smoke is formaldehyde.
But formaldehyde is also emitted from other everyday things, other than cigarettes, like stain-resistant furniture, flame retardant clothing, wood products such as particleboard, fiberboard, and plywood, and even carpeting, upholstery and baby furniture. In fact, formaldehyde is found in many seemingly harmless things, despite it being considered a human carcinogen. A branch of the California Environmental Protection Agency goes so far as to report that there is no safe level of formaldehyde.
Carbon for Chemicals
Activated carbon is one of the most adsorbent materials known to exist. Activated carbon has been processed to create millions of tiny pores, producing a very large surface area available for adsorption of chemicals and gases. Just one gram of activated carbon has a surface area of approximately 500 m².
Carbon is key when it comes to adsorbing chemicals, just as HEPA is key to filtering particles. The difference is, not all air purifiers have carbon. And many that do, feature mere ounces of carbon, or a type of carbon spray—- both of which are equally ineffective in adsorbing chemicals.
An effective chemical-adsorbing air purifier, and an ideal choice for people with COPD, would be an air purifier that contains both a HEPA filter for particles, and pounds of activated carbon to adsorb dangerous airborne chemicals, like formaldehyde.
Can Air Purifiers Cure COPD?
Absolutely not. Air purifiers are not a cure for COPD, but rather devices that can provide cleaner indoor air, with significantly reduced levels of particles and chemicals. Cleaner air is important for everyone, but perhaps most important for people with reduced lung capacity.
Conclusion
Should people with COPD be cautious when purchasing an air purifier? The answer is yes. A HEPA filter is great for particle filtration, but will do nothing to adsorb the dangerous airborne chemicals. Carbon will adsorb chemicals, but only an air purifier with pounds of activated carbon, not ounces, will be truly effective.
About AllerAir
AllerAir manufactures a full line of combination carbon-HEPA air purifiers, and has specific units designed for people with COPD. For more information on AllerAir, please visit the www.allerair.com website, or call 1.888.852.8247 to speak to one of their Indoor Air Quality Experts.
Showing posts with label clean. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clean. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Beijing Air Quality: What Was All the Fuss About?
When the 2008 Summer Olympics were set to open, air quality was all the buzz. Pictures of a hazy, smoggy Beijing were plastered across TV screens, the Internet, and newspapers across the globe. The first few sporting events, we all waited with bated breath to see if our athletes would collapse due to the inferior air quality. Now, with the Games coming to a close, athletes continue to break Olympic and world records with relative ease, and we wonder, what was all the air quality fuss really about?
But hold on, now. Let’s have a look at just some of the emittion-cutting measures that Beijing has taken to improve its air quality. Polluting industries have been closed, cleaner production methods initiated, half of Beijing’s 3.3 million cars removed, public transportation infrastructures built, man-made forests grown, battery-powered cars driven, solar panels installed, and among other environmentally-friendly measures, reports indicate a whopping $17 billion has been invested in cleaning up Beijing’s air.
Is all this work just for show? Perhaps. But one thing’s for sure, we’ve learned something important from the efforts made in Beijing: measures to improve air quality work!
In fact, the air quality in Beijing so far this month has been the best for any summer period over the last 10 years.
Who knows if Beijing will keep up its pledge to improve air quality once the international eye is no longer watching, but really, who are we to say? They’ve researched, indeed initiated, what we here in Canada and the United States are only still talking about.
We’ve had our chance to shake our finger at China, tssk-ing in all our glory, but I think as the Games come to a close, we should open up our own air quality discussion.
As a country, what measures are we going to take to improve our own air quality? As a government, what restrictions are we going to impose on our citizens and corporations?
As citizens, what steps can we take to protect ourselves, our families, until we stop tssk-ing, and start tasking?
But hold on, now. Let’s have a look at just some of the emittion-cutting measures that Beijing has taken to improve its air quality. Polluting industries have been closed, cleaner production methods initiated, half of Beijing’s 3.3 million cars removed, public transportation infrastructures built, man-made forests grown, battery-powered cars driven, solar panels installed, and among other environmentally-friendly measures, reports indicate a whopping $17 billion has been invested in cleaning up Beijing’s air.
Is all this work just for show? Perhaps. But one thing’s for sure, we’ve learned something important from the efforts made in Beijing: measures to improve air quality work!
In fact, the air quality in Beijing so far this month has been the best for any summer period over the last 10 years.
Who knows if Beijing will keep up its pledge to improve air quality once the international eye is no longer watching, but really, who are we to say? They’ve researched, indeed initiated, what we here in Canada and the United States are only still talking about.
We’ve had our chance to shake our finger at China, tssk-ing in all our glory, but I think as the Games come to a close, we should open up our own air quality discussion.
As a country, what measures are we going to take to improve our own air quality? As a government, what restrictions are we going to impose on our citizens and corporations?
As citizens, what steps can we take to protect ourselves, our families, until we stop tssk-ing, and start tasking?
Thursday, August 14, 2008
CMA Report: Poor Air Quality Killing Canadians
An important announcement by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) announced yesterday that will cause the death of approximately 700,000 Canadians over the next two decades.
In 2008 Alone:
21,000 Canadians will die from the effects of air pollution
80% of those who die due to air pollution will be over the age of 65
25 Canadians under the age of 19 will die from the effects of short-term exposure to air pollution
Their report entitled,No Breathing Room: National Illness Costs of Air Pollution, points to ozone and particulate matter as the two major pollutants that will contribute to these deaths.
DEATHS. And not just deaths for the elderly, as if that weren’t newsworthy, but deaths for otherwise perfectly healthy 19-year-olds.
Combine this CMA announcement, with the air quality buzz that has been generated at this year’s Olympics, and the question that demands to be asked remains: why aren’t air purifiers a standard in every home?
Let’s face it, with 21,000 reasons this year alone, there’s a definite need for these products. And what about all the other people who, according to the CMA, will develop heart and lung illnesses brought on by breathing polluted air— who don’t die?
Still not enough reason? What about 10 billion others. The CMA estimates “the costs of dirty air, in terms of treating the illnesses in hospital and visits to the doctors, as well as indirect expenses for time off work, will add up to $10 billion this year.”
We’re quick to point the finger at others, saying the state of air quality in Beijing is a danger to our athletes, our spectators, and to the Chinese themselves. But far too few are taking the next logical step, and asking, demanding, that North American air quality be improved.
People are encouraged, prompted, reminded to go “green”— but are we really willing to stake our health on the proactive approach of others to saving our planet?
We’re simply not.
In 2008 Alone:
21,000 Canadians will die from the effects of air pollution
80% of those who die due to air pollution will be over the age of 65
25 Canadians under the age of 19 will die from the effects of short-term exposure to air pollution
Their report entitled,No Breathing Room: National Illness Costs of Air Pollution, points to ozone and particulate matter as the two major pollutants that will contribute to these deaths.
DEATHS. And not just deaths for the elderly, as if that weren’t newsworthy, but deaths for otherwise perfectly healthy 19-year-olds.
Combine this CMA announcement, with the air quality buzz that has been generated at this year’s Olympics, and the question that demands to be asked remains: why aren’t air purifiers a standard in every home?
Let’s face it, with 21,000 reasons this year alone, there’s a definite need for these products. And what about all the other people who, according to the CMA, will develop heart and lung illnesses brought on by breathing polluted air— who don’t die?
Still not enough reason? What about 10 billion others. The CMA estimates “the costs of dirty air, in terms of treating the illnesses in hospital and visits to the doctors, as well as indirect expenses for time off work, will add up to $10 billion this year.”
We’re quick to point the finger at others, saying the state of air quality in Beijing is a danger to our athletes, our spectators, and to the Chinese themselves. But far too few are taking the next logical step, and asking, demanding, that North American air quality be improved.
People are encouraged, prompted, reminded to go “green”— but are we really willing to stake our health on the proactive approach of others to saving our planet?
We’re simply not.
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