Poor Air Quality in the Workplace: Is it Safe?

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This week, Transport for London announced that it will be introducing air filters on 100 London buses to help stop the spread of COVID-19 after 26 London transport workers have died from the disease.

The filters were originally designed to tackle air pollution but have been repurposed to remove 95% of airborne particles, including those carrying the virus.

Improving Air Quality with Air Purifiers in the Workplace

It seems that the organisation is one of the first to use this technology to safeguard its workforce and customers, however it is anticipated that thousands of businesses will follow suit, investing in air purifiers to prevent the spread of viruses and bacteria amongst staff.

More often than not, humans are the main source of airborne diseases in the workplace. When someone sneezes or coughs, tiny water or mucous droplets filled with viruses or bacteria scatter, easily entering the air, and then entering your lungs, making you ill. Even without a cough or sneeze, germs can travel up to six feet away. Some viruses stay suspended in the air for hours.

Reducing Staff Sickness Through Air Quality and Ventilation

In the months and years to come, in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, businesses are likely to take the health and wellbeing of employees more seriously and implement additional measures to safeguard their workforce. Crowded conditions with poor air circulation, like public transport and office environments, make it easy for viruses like colds and flu to spread.

Research shows that airflow and ventilation can dramatically impact how diseases spread indoors. The more stagnant the air in your workplace is, the more likely diseases are to spread.

How to Introduce Air Purifiers to the Workplace

Blueair air purifiers have been advocated for use in the workplace for a number of years.  Testing by the accredited CAS Test Technical Services measured a 99.99% removal rate of the 12 most common viruses and bacteria by the Classic 280i, Classic 480i and Classic 680i, including swine flu (H1N1), E. coli, and Enterovirus (EV71).*

Not only do Blueair purifiers capture harmful airborne viruses and bacteria, but the proprietary HEPASilent™ technology actually kills germs. Internal tests measured 99% of germs were killed by the Blueair Classic family – leaving the bacteria and viruses unviable and unable to reproduce.

It is a relatively simple step – simply plug it in and let it do its thing, but it could make a huge difference to businesses and we anticipate a huge increase in demand over the coming months.

Find out more about our Blueair air purifer range or get in touch to discuss your requirements.

Clean Air: The Smartest Addition To Your Business

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Air pollution isn’t new, it’s something that most people are aware of and in bustling congested cities it has become a major health concern. Pollutants such as construction dust, and diesel particulate are trapped in the atmosphere along with smoke, pollen and manufacturing emissions can react with sunlight and create photochemical smog and ground level ozone.

This low down ozone can cause lung damage. It is especially unhealthy for children, whose lungs are developing, and for people with respiratory illnesses like asthma. Ozone can also cause itchy, burning eyes. What people don’t often realise is this pollution can become trapped indoors.

Add this to everyday indoor pollutants and allergens, such as dust, pet dander and bacteria, and the air in your workplace may be up to 5 times more polluted than the air you breathe out and about in the city.

Exposure to indoor air pollution has been linked to the development of everything from infections to asthma to lung cancer. It can also cause less serious side effects such as headaches, nasal congestion, nausea, fatigue and dry eyes. If you suffer from an existing lung condition you will be at a greater risk of experiencing symptoms.

Blue Air is leading the way in air purification and is an ideal addition to public areas such as waiting rooms, communal kitchens or meeting rooms; high traffic areas which have the potential to trap air pollution and hold it indoors. The purifiers catch airborne contaminants down to the size of viruses, plus pollen, dust, pet dander, mould spores, smoke, allergens and bacteria. The combination filter with active carbon even removes odours, gases and the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which cause that ground level ozone.

This means that they are not only ideal for protection against the every day pollution which is part of modern life, but also help with conditions such as asthma, allergies, for example hayfever, they remove tobacco smoke and unwanted odours from the air.

Not only do Blue Air purifiers capture harmful airborne viruses and bacteria, but our proprietary HEPASilent™ technology actually kills germs. Internal tests measured 99% of germs were killed by Blueair HealthProtect – leaving the bacteria and viruses unviable and unable to reproduce.

The Blue Air HealthProtect range is suitable for spaces from 38m² to 62m² and will purify the air in your room up to five times per hour. Built in WiFi which enables performance monitoring via the Blueair Friend app through smartphone or tablet, plus voice control convenience via Alexa.

Unique HEPASilent™ technology combines two air purification technologies – electrostatic and mechanical filtration – to bring you the best of both worlds. The HealthProtect air purifiers combine the highest clean air delivery rate (CADR) with whisper-silent operation. In fact, HealthProtect works so quietly that you might have to check to make sure it’s switched on. And it uses less electricity than a light bulb.

As public health has never been more in focus, an investment in clean air will protect your team and visitors from all those pollutants that we associate with outdoors that we are unknowingly breathing indoors.

Air purifiers and Coronavirus (Covid-19)

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High quality air purifiers can trap and remove a variety of airborne disease and viruses. In fact, the Blueair air purifiers we have in stock have been third-party tested and proven to have a clearance rate of 99.99% of the most common viruses and bacteria, including H1N1 influenza, Staphylococcus aureus, E-coli and Aspergillus.

Not only do these air purifiers trap harmful airborne viruses and bacteria, but their proprietary HEPASilent™ technology actually kills the germs. Carrying out internal tests of the Blueair Classic 200 Series on maximum fan speed under normal temperature and humidity conditions, Blueair found that 99% of germs were killed, leaving the bacteria and viruses unviable and unable to reproduce.

Can air purifiers filter out Covid particles?

As the new Coronavirus (Covid-19) was not discovered until 2019, Blueair air purifiers have yet to be tested to see how effective they are at capturing and removing this virus. What we can say is that Blueair’s HEPASilent™ filtration technology captures at least 99.97% of airborne particles down to 0.1 microns in size. This includes any viruses with a particle size of at least 0.1 micron. Corona viruses measure about 0.12 micron.

How do air purifiers work?

After the ultra-quiet fan draws air from the room into the air purifier, airborne particles receive an electrical charge that causes them to stick more quickly and easily to the polypropylene filters. The combination of electrical charging and high air draft inactivates viruses and bacteria.

What’s more, because the charged particles adhere to the fibres in the filter more easily, the filter can be less dense, meaning the fan pushes through more air with less pressure, noise and energy consumption. This lower density also reduces clogging, optimising the purifier’s ongoing effectiveness.

Air purifiers for hospitals, clinics and laboratories

If you are considering using air purifiers in specific rooms in your hospital, clinic or laboratory to remove a range of airborne diseases, please take a look at our Blueair range.

If you have any questions, please send us a message or call us on 0845 226 0185.