(
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/apr/28/dirty-air-affects-97-of-uk-homes-data-shows)
(
https://www.remark-group.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Air-Quality-and-Wellbeing-at-Work-Results.pdf)
dust is being generated, it also affects buildings and their occupants in the vicinity. As an airborne contaminant, dust can find its way inside. This is why mitigating measures are put in place, such as water suppression and extraction.
For our part at Air Spectrum, knowing these risks, we seek to create the greenest solutions to improve air quality in various industrial settings. We recently launched the UK’s first emissions-free dust suppression system to protect workers in dusty environments – usually in construction, demolition, waste and recycling settings.
The ecotech rotary atomiser is battery operated rather than using diesel, so there are zero emissions generated. Therefore, it does not create an emissions problem while fulfilling its function to suppress dust. The technology is familiar, it’s just being applied differently.
By making simple substitutions like this, ongoing and massive building and engineering projects in our cities, like HS2 or other master planning, improve their safety and environmental footprint. People are kept safe from dust pollution, and residents and workers in the locale don’t suffer the full brunt of airborne risks, but external contaminants are only a part of the story.
An employee dealbreaker
When talking about clean air, it’s not just a one-way approach. Air quality in the interior workplace has become a point of contention for existing employees and prospective ones considering a new placement. In an occupational air quality study undertaken in 2019 by Remark Group in the UK, nearly 90% of respondents reported that they felt sleepy during their working hours. 80% believed that poor air quality impacted their productivity, and their health and wellbeing.
There are also several connections between how well interiors are cleaned in relation to the ensuing air quality. For example, regular vacuuming reduces dust and mites which are respiratory irritants, especially for people with environmentally triggered asthma. Cleaning up wet or food
spills directly prevents damp lingering and the formation of mould, which can also cause allergic reactions.
Then there’s the release of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) from our computer equipment, cleaning agents, and disinfectants; after the pandemic there has been a surge in their use. Higher concentrations of carbon monoxide and dioxide, radon and more, pose the greatest indoor risk. All the while, we’re inhaling these contaminants to our detriment, and not taking steps to address this imbalance from the inside. Therefore, consistent air quality monitoring and necessary purification measures must be put in place as a matter of practice for our collective respiratory health.
Embracing greener and smarter tech
Concerns along the supply chain about using ‘new’ technologies like ecotech are often cost-based. However, to decarbonise the supply chain only transfers a small percentage more outlay to the end user. The biggest step change of the process is making the decision to use green solutions going forward. The adjustment follows, along with the rewards.
Acknowledging that air quality is a vital part of the cleaning and hygiene dialogue is also overdue. You can clean the air; in fact, we are now urgently tasked to do so. Just to add a new dimension, the devastation caused by the airborne coronavirus has compelled us to think about clean air in a new way. Our technology will have to keep up, as scientists predict similar global events in the future.
We feel that it makes sense to use the cleanest, smartest, and greenest solutions to safeguard those exposed to airborne risk. We must encourage the direct protagonists in high-risk industries to change their culture and awareness, and to keep greening their processes and supply chains. To protect and assure our society that active improvements are being made for their safety, we must act. After all, every one of us is a part of that collective, so we save ourselves as well.
www.airspectrum.com
38 | SPECIALIST CLEANING
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