Category: anapneism

Review: Aropec – Face Mask (COVID-19 & PM2.5)

Sotirios Papathanasiou2 Comments

A lot of people are still reaching me and asking me to advise them on which masks should they purchase as they want to protect from the COVID-19 disease without breaking the bank, as some of the masks out there are quite expensive.

Aropec is a great solution for individuals and companies that invest in their employees protection. The mask offers 3 key features; It is water repellent, washable (very important for me), and antibacterial thanks to Swedish Polygiene © an anti-virus and odour technology.

The mask offers 3 layers of protection.

  • 1st Outer Layer: Water repellent fabric with Polygiene “ViralOff” treatment. This is certified to kill 99% of viruses (like hepatitus, Influenza, Corona) and other bacteria. It has been tested against Influenza A, BirdFlu, Norovirus and Corona (SARS) over the years, and in all cases, have achieved 99% levels of reduction. It is certified to the ISO18184:2019 standard, which makes it legit and it is not just a claim.
  • 2nd Middle Layer: Non-woven fabric with dust and particles filtration. Non-woven fabric is used generally in masks and is proving to be effective at capturing respiratory droplets and filtering PM2.5 particles.
  • 3rd Inner Layer: Soft, moisture-absorbing and breathable fabric treated with Silver Ion Polygiene. Again, the Polygiene treatment captures and breaks down unpleasant odours, and is certified antibacterial, meaning it can protect the user from bacteria and transmission of droplets.

Mask-Aropec

My experience

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Air Quality data that make sense for the average users

Sotirios Papathanasiou2 Comments

Have you ever used an app that will help you relax? Well I have, one of them is Apple’s Breathe app that can be found in the Apple Watch since WatchOS 3. The idea behind the app is that a steady breathing technique will help you relax and hopefully reduce heart rate pulses. Great app but I think Apple or any other developer should combine Air Quality (AQ) data with their breathing/meditation app.

In a mockup that I designed based on Apple’s Breathe app (I chose Apple’s Breathe app for its simplicity and effectiveness), I placed the Air Quality Index (AQI) information inside the app and depending on the AQ at that period the user will be prompted to avoid breathing deeply when the AQ is unhealthy or to adjust the duration when the AQ is good and start. In case the AQ is unhealthy a reminder will notify the user to come back for a breathing session later when the air is healthy enough for deep breaths.Read More »

See The Air – Proof that air pollution kills

Sotirios Papathanasiou1 Comment

Since my first book “See The Air | The Essential Guide for Optimal Air Quality in Your Life“ was published back in 2017 many have read it, and many have followed my example and tried to write and describe the problem too.

There is some interest in the field, and I want to contribute even more by gathering all the available information regarding air pollution and its impact on health in this book. My intention here is clear, I want to shock people and authorities and make it clear that there is proof. Air pollution kills millions of people every year, and there is no excuse not to listen to brilliant scientists and the noble work they have done.

The book is available in digital and paperback form.

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Local Haze v1.4 + uRAD Monitors

Sotirios Papathanasiou2 Comments

I have already mentioned this app on a previous post but I was waiting for this update anxiously as it brings more sensors to the app. Local Haze is an app for iOS devices that helps consumers easily view and understand air quality data, in particular, Particulate Matter with aerodynamic diameters less than or equal to 2.5 microns (μm) also known as PM2.5.

What’s new?

Amazingly, the team behind Local Haze was able to connect to the uRAD Monitors API, as a result users and communities will be able to see PM2.5 data right from their phone or tablet with just a tap. Additionally, the users can now view PM1.0 and PM10 values when the sensors support these measurements.

This update to the Local Haze app also benefits Smoggie users and especially my volunteers around the world since it allows users to view and monitor the data from these devices.

Of course, the app supports many more data sources like PurpleAir, Luftdaten (with over 11,000 online devices), AirNow, US Department of State, uRADMonitors, and more to come.

iphone local haze
Local Haze v1.4, Smoggie Volunteer in Barcelona, Spain

Why is it important?

The easier and more comfortable we present data to the average people the more likely it is for them to embrace the technologies which are designed to increase awareness and to combat air pollution. People love their phones and they spend a great deal of time interacting with them, by porting air quality data to such devices, with the help of a free app, then it enables them to interact with their environment/communities.

Right now, while people all over the world are patiently waiting to go outdoors again, trying out Local Haze will show you the air quality outside your door. The covid-19 pandemic helped us see how air quality has improved significantly in cities all over the world and understand that urban air pollution is anthropogenic. It’s up to all of us to keep improving the way we live and the air we breathe.

Is Covid-19, the catalyst to become more aware of the air pollution crisis?

Sotirios Papathanasiou1 Comment

It’s been a huge topic the fact that air quality in cities has improved dramatically since the lockdown began. Huge coverage from media all around the world. Most surprisingly, I get emails from people telling me that now they are able to see in much further distances on the horizon and the air smells clean as the air pollutants are not present in the atmosphere and I quote below a couple of the emails.

I thought of you this morning….with everyone staying home the pollution has almost went away…the air smells so good… (Texas, USA)

…it is amazing now we can see clearly the horizon from my house… (Los Angeles, USA)

With many examples like here in Madrid, air pollution falls 56% in the second half of March. In London, there is 28μg/m3 less NO2 in the atmosphere and in Edinburgh a whopping 37% decrease of NO2.

Which leads me to the conclusion that now people are more aware of the air pollution than before covid-19. People were used to living in polluted environments & didn’t understand the difference. If your whole life you live in an area where the AQ is poor you don’t expect more, you just take it as it is and unfortunately, without complaining. Most of the times you can’t even do anything as it doesn’t depend on you, some simple examples are when a neighbour is burning wood and when you leave near a busy road.

The other day I was asked what can we do to educate older generations about the issue. It is complicated because once you finish your studies and you start working or searching for a job, your mind is occupied with the need to support you and your family economically and you don’t care about the environment. A healthy and stable economy is a key ingredient to make everyone aware of our responsibility on this planet.

We need effective governance on long-term health and climate issues with the same willpower as are showing with this pandemic − covid-19.

Djinn vs COVID-19

Sotirios Papathanasiou1 Comment

In September 2019, I reviewed a great air quality monitor called Djinn. One of the unique features of this device is the algorithms that are running in its core. The team of Djinn was able to move even further their technology by designing a respiratory virus risk among others analytics on their dashboard, which is very handy during the covid-19 pandemic.

respiratory virus activity

The team took part in the “A Call for Action” towards building the data infrastructure and ecosystem we need to tackle pandemics and other dynamic societal and environmental threats.Read More »

Series of Innovators: Insplorion

Sotirios Papathanasiou2 Comments

Starting with Insplorion AB, I am going to feature a series of articles about innovators in the field of air quality monitoring. My aim with these articles is to push the industry into the right direction. I don’t see air pollution as a way to make money but as a way to fix a problem, so by creating the right tools (sensors, air quality monitors, software, etc) we can shape the future towards a sustainable and less polluted environment.

Introduction

Insplorion AB was founded in 2010 in Sweden, Europe by a team of professionals, Bengt Kasemo, Elin Larsson Langhammer, Christoph Langhammer and Igor Zoric. Although it is relatively a small company with less than 20 employees it is very active in nanotechnology, product research and sensor development. Insplorion’s core technology is the NanoPlasmonic Sensing (NPS),at least in my opinion, which you can read and learn how it works more on the interview below.

Interview

1. Tell us a bit about your motivation in developing air quality sensors?

We were approached by an entrepreneur who wanted to make a portable air quality device. He had scanned the market for all sensor technologies and not found any functional, especially for NO2. All current sensors were either too bulky, way too pricy or not sensitive or stable enough.  When we dug deeper into the field, we confirm the problem and saw that the unmet need in the expanding air quality sensor market fitted very well with our core advantages: sensitive yet robust, and easy to miniaturize. Read More »