How to Measure Air Quality

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When we talk about air quality, we’re talking about how clean or polluted the air we breathe is at any given moment.

When we say the air quality is poor, it means there are pollutants in the air. These can be hazardous to breathe, especially if you have a heart or a lung condition.

The UK government determines its Daily Air Quality Index through measuring the concentration of five pollutants in a site or region:

  • Nitrogen Dioxide
  • Sulphur Dioxide
  • Ozone
  • Particulate matter – they search for two different particle sizes at once. This can include natural particles such as pollen, sea spray and desert dust, as well as human-made particles, such as vehicle emissions.

How is Air Quality Measured?

We measure air quality by measuring the relative levels of these pollutants in the air. There are two main ways to do this. One through continuous monitoring and one through monitoring periodically for days at a time.

Continuous real-time air quality monitoring: Monitoring stations can provide up-to-date data on an hourly basis, which makes it possible to determine the air quality in any given area at any given time.

Periodical air monitoring: Another way to measure air quality is to place a filter or canister in an area for a given period – such as a day, three days, or a week. At the end of this period you remove the canister and analyse the build-up of contaminants on the filter.

What Affects Air Quality?

Some sources of air pollution are natural. For example, the pollen count affects air quality, and this largely depends on the time of the year, and the weather. But it’s mainly human activity that affects air quality. And these are the activities that can have the greatest impact:

  • Burning fuel – From burning wood in domestic fireplaces, to burning fuels on an industrial level for energy generation. These practices produce small particulates as well as sulphur dioxide.
  • Road transport – Vehicle emissions contain harmful particulates, as well as other pollutants including nitrogen oxide.
  • Farming – Practices such as spreading manures, slurries, and inorganic fertilisers can create pollutants such as ammonia and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCS).

On the other hand, these are the factors that can improve air quality:

  • The weather – Air quality is generally lower on hot and still days, and higher on cool and breezy days.
  • Your location – Air quality will be considerably lower next to busy roads and junctions, and the air quality in a rural area will depend on the levels of industrial or agricultural activity in an area.
  • Ventilation – You can filter the air in a building to remove any harmful particles, and keep an area ventilated to ensure that no pollutants can build up in a closed area.

How to Improve Air Quality in Hospitals, Schools and Workplaces

Many workplaces are located in built-up areas, often close to major roads. So maintaining healthy air quality can be a constant battle. Air purifiers can filter many harmful particles, and they can even trap and remove certain airborne diseases and viruses. You can get small standalone purifiers for single rooms, as well as larger systems for larger rooms, some capable of achieving five air changes per hour. Browse our range of air purifiers for hospitals, schools and workplaces.

We also offer a workplace monitoring service. We can monitor your staff’s exposure levels to any potentially harmful substances in your workplace, helping you to understand your risk levels so you can devise an air quality solution that works for you. Head here to learn more about our bespoke air quality monitoring services.

Rising concerns over air pollution in city hospitals

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If you are concerned about unsafe pollutions levels in your hospital then you are not alone. A recent study by Kings College London and the UK Health Alliance on climate change found that 60% of hospitals and NHS facilities in inner London are in areas that exceed air pollution limits.

What’s more, the environmental campaigning network UK100 has found that more that 17% of hospitals across the UK have unsafe levels of toxic particles in the air.(1)

The issue has become so serious that the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is working with ten hospitals in the most polluted areas of London to install air quality monitors that will measure levels of toxic air to help protect patients and staff.(2)

Whilst this initiative forms part of Sadiq Khan’s Breathe London project to help improve air quality in the capital, it is clear that hospitals in toxic hotspots across the UK also need to take action.

How we can help you

 

If you are looking for a way to remove pollutants trapped inside your hospital, we offer a range of Blueair air purification systems to filter the air in a variety of room sizes, from offices to waiting rooms and wards.

The range includes purifiers that can deliver 99.97% filtration efficiency, all the way down to particulate of .01 micron, not only capturing hazardous smaller particles like viruses and bacteria but also pollutants from car fumes and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).

To see our range of air purifiers for hospitals click here.

Helping you to create a Clean Air Hospital

With low noise, low energy consumption and high filtration efficiency, Blueair’s air purifiers can play an important part in the creation of your clean air hospital, as laid out in the Clean Air Hospital Framework.(4)

Developed in partnership by Global Action Plan and Great Ormond Street Hospital, this framework defines a ‘Clean Air Hospital’ as one that: “Improves air quality outside and inside the hospital by minimising sources of air pollution under its control” and that develops “a clean air action plan to improve air quality.”

If you are interested in discussing how Blueair air purifiers can improve air quality in your hospital, please contact our Air Purification Team on 0845 226 0185.

Why choose Cairn Technology?

Cairn Technology Ltd has spent two decades helping hospitals across the UK to monitor and improve indoor air quality in operating theatres, anaesthetic rooms and other areas.

Until recently the majority of this work has focused on workplace monitoring of hazardous substances to ensure that they do not exceed COSHH workplace exposure limits and help hospitals take effective action where they do.

In addition, we carry out sterile services cleanroom testing, bioburden testing, and the commissioning of hospital ventilation systems.

With growing concern over the impact of air pollution in hospitals, particularly in high traffic areas, it has become a natural progression for us to also start to help hospitals to tackle this problem and create a healthier environment for patients as well as staff.

References:

(1) https://www.uk100.org/10-5-million-hospital-patients-at-risk-from-toxic-fumes/

(2) https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/mayor-installs-air-quality-monitors-at-hospitals

(3) https://breathequality.com/blueair-classic-605-review/

(4) https://www.globalactionplan.org.uk/clean-air/clean-air-hospital-framework

N20 exposure risks to liver & kidneys

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Hospital employees working in areas where nitrous oxide is used to help relieve patient pain could be at risk of developing renal or liver disease, according to some studies.

An odourless and colourless gas, Nitrous oxide is a powerful analgesic in sub-anaesthetic concentrations.

Most commonly used as a 50:50 mix with oxygen, it is commonly known as Entonox.

Although the patient inhales the N20 through a demand valve, when they breathe out some of the nitrous oxide is released back into the room. This can put care staff at risk of prolonged exposure, especially in poorly ventilated rooms.

Effects of N2O on liver and kidneys

Whilst some studies have found an increased risk of liver and kidney disease in medical personnel, these findings have not been consistent across all studies.

For example, whilst retrospective cohort studies ASA 1974, Cohen et al. 1975, 1980, Spence and Knill-Jones 1978 found an increased risk of liver disease and another study, ASA 1974, Cohen et al. 1980, found an increased risk of kidney disease in women only, other studies by Lauwerys et al. 1981 and Lew 1979 found no increased risk.

So whilst there is no need to panic about these risks to staff when working with N20, it is important that you put in place measures to minimise the risk of them suffering these diseases due to their working environment.

Protecting staff from N2O exposure

The best way to ensure that you do not run the risk of your staff being exposed to hazardous levels of Nitrous Oxide is to carry out workplace exposure monitoring.

This will enable you to comply with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health regulations which require you to monitor and record staff exposure to Nitrous Oxide against Workplace Exposure Limits set out by the Health & Safety Commission.

Workplace exposure monitoring can be implemented easily by attaching a personal sampling tube attached to employee clothing close to their breathing zone for the duration of a shift. This tube can then be analysed and a report produced from the findings.

If dangerous levels of exposure are detected, you can then tackle this problem and bring exposure levels down to permissible levels.

Of course, as well as investing in personal sampling, you should also carry out good housekeeping on an ongoing basis. Make sure Entonox equipment is well-maintained to help prevent the risk of leaks and ensure that any ventilation or scavenging systems are functioning properly.

For information on Cairn Technology’s personal sampling service for Nitrous Oxide just click here or call 0845 226 0185 and ask for our workplace monitoring team or email them at info@cairntechnology.com