We all enjoy a clean and cosy house free from dust and pollutants. Unfortunately, sometimes we commit serious mistakes when it comes to the decisions we take and the ways we choose to clean it. One of the most common mistakes is using vacuum cleaners that don’t have a HEPA filter. We already know how dangerous are PM2.5 particles because they can penetrate deeply inside our bodies and affect our lungs, heart and even our brains.
Have you ever wondered which respirator can achieve the best insulation around your face? In my research for a respirator mask that won’t allow any leakage, I think I found a pretty good one, the O2 Canada Respirator.
AQI stands for Air Quality Index and it is the number or colour that indicates how good or bad is the air quality in your area. The problem with the AQI is the way each governments calculates the air pollution and what parameters it uses to project this Index number/colour. For example, the USA Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers as breakpoint for a “Moderate” NO2 concentration the value of 101μg/m3, but the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) considers as breakpoint for a “Moderate” NO2 concentration the value of 201μg/m3. The difference is huge and the Index changes dramatically for each country and at the end people get confused. The same rule applies for all the pollutants, PM2.5, SO2, O3, etc… Later they are combined all together to give us the final Index.
AQLI stands for Air Quality Life Index and only take into account the PM2.5 pollution. It is based on the finding that an additional 10μg/m3 of PM2.5 reduces life expectancy by 0.98 years. By combining this finding with satellite PM2.5 measurements around the world, the AQLI provides an insight into the global impacts of particulate pollution in local jurisdictions. The Index also illustrates how air pollution policies can increase life expectancy if pollution levels were reduced to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) safe guideline or existing national air quality standards, or by user-selected percent reductions.
Although it gives a better insight into the impact the air pollution has to our lives, it will not be able to convince people in countries where the impact of air pollution doesn’t translate to high “Life Years Saved” numbers. For example, we can clearly see from the table below that if China adjusts their policies according to the WHO Guideline the population will have a benefit of 2.9 years. However, if Netherlands adjusts their policies according to the WHO Guideline the population will have a benefit of 0.3 years. This is rather a small number and I am afraid people won’t take it as serious in western countries as they should. In my opinion the AQLI has to take into account how our quality of life (not only life expectancy) is affected by the air pollution. We may live longer but sometimes inside hospitals, under expensive insurances and medicines that not everyone can afford even in US, Europe, etc.
Moreover, the data that you see on the table above (extracted from the original document which you can find below) do not reflect the real air quality an individual has been exposed in his a city/town/village. They have created an annual average PM2.5 concentration and the aggregations are population-weighted, which means this map won’t help an individual to understand the air quality in his/her area. For instance, there is a small town in my region called Carboneras, the population is small but there is a coal power plant there (equipped with 48 coal burners). People’s life expectancy from that village won’t reflect on the annual PM2.5 concentration because the populations is small.
Read the paper at https://aqli.epic.uchicago.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/AQLI-Report.111918-2.pdf
I really admire this exceptional work which is done by Michael Greenstone and Qing (Claire) Fan because we need a global way to understand the air pollition and its effects. They have developed a tool which can help to inform local communities and policymakers in Asian countries about the benefits of air pollution policies in very detailed way.
Here is an interesting new face mask made and assembled 100% in Europe by a Spanish company. The AirGO offers 2 unique features that makes it very alluring to purchase and use it everyday, while you work out or commute to work.
I was looking forward to review this mask as it has a unique design to adjust around the face. They call it 360º Facial fit with zero glue and zero Formaldehyde. It is supposed to protect you from the dead ends on both sides of the nose and chin, allows to better fit the facial contours as seen on the picture below.Read More »
I love when companies manage to release a second generation of their original product. In this case, Awair released the new Awair 2nd Edition a few months ago.
They clearly have learned a lot and the adjustments they have done and offer with the new version are notable at least hardware-wise. Software-wise the tweaks are small in comparison with the old version but welcome. This can be a good thing because old users can enjoy similar features like the new ones.
We talk a lot about the common pollutants PM2.5 and PM10, but we have never had the chance to compare them between other pathogens and an abundant red unit which flows in our bodies and it is called red blood cell.
Summer is here and once more fires are burning woods and forests in the northern hemisphere from Greece to USA and unfortunately most of the times because someone irresponsible and crazy enough “thought” that he/she will benefit from it.
In this article I am going to discuss the chemical reactions that occur while wood is burnt and the gasses that release into the atmosphere.
I recently came across an article in Science focus where they discuss “How environmentally friendly are electric cars?”
They also have a chart on the article with the CO2 emission each technology Petrol, Hybrid, Electric and Hydrogen produces. I fundamentally believe that this chart can create wrong impressions to the average driver who lacks knowledge on how energy is produced and what emissions are.
Formaldehyde CH2O is a very dangerous chemical-gas that can be easily found inside a house because it off-gases from paints, carpets, furniture, etc… In this article I am going to find out how well a cheap, handheld air quality monitor WP6930S compares to a more professional solution such as the uRAD A3.
See The Air 