How Airports Are Using High Efficiency Filters to Lower Air Pollution

Learn how major airports in the country are turning to high efficiency air filters to protect the indoor air quality inside terminals and other airport buildings.

With a high volume of vehicle traffic, not to mention hundreds of airplanes flying in and out on a daily basis, it’s no surprise why airport terminals and buildings face a greater need for industrial quality air filters. The environments in and around airports are heavily polluted with gaseous contaminants and particulate matter (PM), making it all the more important to ensure that airline passengers and workers are breathing clean, purified air. 

“Air travel demand is forever increasing and airplanes, push-back trucks, passenger buses, staff buses, baggage wagons, cleaning team vehicles and catering trucks will further challenge the air filtration systems,” explains Greg Herman, National Accounts Manager at Camfil USA. “Most of these vehicles are powered by diesel engines and operate in very close proximity to gates and other passenger holding areas. As a consequence, they are the likely source of most pollution inside terminals and other airport buildings.”

Why Airports Need Both Particulate and Molecular Air Filters to Protect Indoor Air Quality

Airport buildings and the communities near them are constantly exposed to air pollution from jet fumes, airborne dust particles caused by the movement of thousands of people, particulate matter from construction work, and chemical gases from the use of cleaning chemicals. High efficiency filters designed to capture particles and molecular filters designed to capture gases play a big part in preventing these contaminants from affecting indoor air quality, and in turn, the health of passengers and airport staff. In recent years, their importance has become more pronounced after the public became aware of the dangers of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases (GHG) being released by fossil fuels for power generation, power vehicles, and heating. 

Ground-based GHG emissions are particularly common in airport settings, where airport vehicles and ground support trucks use diesel fuels that tend to be more polluting. And while particulate and molecular air filters offer an effective way to prevent people from beating these emissions, airport management teams and local governments are taking it upon themselves to reduce GHGs in an effort to reduce operating costs and airport energy bills.

How Commercial HEPA Filters Can Fix the Problem

Most higher efficiency air and molecular filters can usually be installed in an airport’s existing HVAC system without modification. However, there are situations where modifications are required to the filter holding frame to allow for a greater number or larger size of filters. 

Another option available to airports are industrial-style stand-alone air purification systems that can be located in  areas that are particularly prone to a high volume of contaminated air. The value of using units like this is they can be set to activate when sensors detect air quality that needs immediate attention. These units are capable of utilizing either particulate filters for particle removal or molecular filters for gaseous contaminant removal.

Where Airports Can Get Funding for Industrial Air Filters

The good news is there are several State and Federal incentives that allow airports to receive funding to improve their energy efficiency and pollution emissions. These measures include tax-exempt leases, cooperatives for renewable energy, agreements for power purchasing, and other low-risk and low-cost options. There are also grants that provide funding to airports and other public facilities, allowing them to procure industrial air filter systems, buses that run on renewable energy, and even solar panel arrays.  

An example of a grant program comes from the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Airport Sustainability Planning Program, which offers grants to certain airports working on Sustainability Master Plans or Airport Sustainability Plans. Such plans tend to include GHG inventories and initiatives for emissions reduction. 

EPA Working on Solutions Beyond Industrial HEPA Air Filtration Systems

While high efficiency air filters are a solution for improving air quality inside airports, the Federal Government knows it must look toward the root cause of the pollution itself. And so, government interventions like the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) and the Clean Air Act play a critical role in creating changes that reduce GHG emissions from the source, rather than just react to its consequences.

DERA, for example, provides funding to municipalities, schools, and other local government units. In this case, however, the money will be used to help them make the transition from dirty diesel cars and trucks, to fuel efficient alternatives. 

Choosing High Efficiency Particulate and Molecular Filters for AirportsWhile such changes take place, it’s important for airports to be proactive and use both high efficiency particulate and molecular filters to protect their staff and passengers. With the proper-strength air filtration system, the air inside terminals and airport buildings can be kept safe from pollutants such as:

 

• Black carbon (also known as soot)
• Smoke 
• Sulfur dioxide
• Nitrogen dioxide
• Volatile organic compounds

For more than 50 years, Camfil USA has been a leading provider of air filtration systems that meet the demands of airports when it comes to capturing and removing both particulate matter and gaseous pollutants. Get in touch with our experts for the airport air filters o learn how we can help solve your air quality problems.

 

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Can Commercial Air Filtration Systems Remove Viruses in the Atmosphere?

Learn about the risks posed by atmospheric viruses on outdoor and indoor air quality, and how commercial air filtration systems can remove these contaminants.

While much has been said about the air inside public transport, schools and hospitals being full of biological contaminants like germs and viruses from people, a recent study notes that there is also a surprisingly large number of viruses in the atmosphere and that, worse, they are falling from the sky. The study is the first to quantify the viruses being carried into the troposphere, above the planet’s weather systems but below the stratosphere where planes fly at cruising altitude, highlighting the critical role played by commercial air filtration systems. 

According to the research team composed of scientists from the United States, Canada and Spain, these viruses are swept up from the ground and transported thousands of miles from their place of origin, before being deposited back onto the surface of the Earth. 

According to University of British Columbia virologist Curtis Suttle, one of the senior authors of the research paper published in the January 2018 issue of the International Society for Microbial Ecology Journal, over 800 million viruses fall down on every square meter (11 square feet) of the planetary boundary layer on a daily basis—the equivalent of 25 viruses for every person in Canada. 

The Problems Posed by Biological Contaminants on Indoor Air Quality

According to the researchers, the viruses and bacteria are pushed into the atmosphere in small particles from sea spray and soil particles. These particles eventually fall back down and enter homes and buildings, affecting indoor air quality. 

Sutter and his colleagues, however, wanted to know exactly how much of this material is being carried up into the atmosphere, specifically, above 2,500 to 3,000 meters, or roughly 10,000 feet above sea level. At this altitude, these liquid and solid particles can travel thousands of miles, unlike particles in the lower layer of the atmosphere, which tend to stay within an immediate locality. 

Gathering air quality data from platform sites atop the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Spain, the researchers found billions of viruses and millions of bacteria deposited per square meter every day. Furthermore, the deposition rates for viruses were at least nine to 461 times greater than those for bacteria. The bacteria and viruses are deposited back onto the Earth’s surface through rain or dust intrusions from the Sahara—the rain, however, was less effective than previously thought, at removing viruses from the upper atmosphere. 

The research team also discovered that the majority of viruses in the atmosphere bore signs of being swept up into the air by sea spray. The viruses and bacteria attach themselves to smaller and lighter organic particles, which effectively allowed them to stay airborne for much longer.

Capturing Viruses and Bacteria with Commercial Air Filters

Viruses are just one of many biological contaminants that pose health risks for the occupants of homes and buildings. In fact, the EPA recommends the use of proper-strength commercial air filters to maintain higher indoor air quality and assist in removing contaminants such as:

 

• Bacteria
• Viruses
• House dust
• Pollen
• Animal dander
• Cat saliva
• Cockroach droppings
• Mites 
• Rat and mice urine

 

“The challenge for home and building owners are keeping an eye on the countless sources of these pollutants,” explained Camfil USA’s Charlie Seyffer, Manager of Marketing & Technical Materials for commercial air filters and 37-year ASHRAE member and active committee participant. “This makes monitoring the presence of biological pollutants in indoor spaces extremely difficult.”

Common sources of biological pollutants include:

• Plants, which produce allergy-causing pollen
• People, animals, and pests, all of which carry bacteria and viruses 
• Household pests, which produce animal dander and saliva
• Pests, which produce urine
• Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, which can turn into the perfect breeding environment for mold and mildew when left unclean. When air passes through the HVAC unit to be heated or cooled, it carries with it the mold and mildew spores in the ductwork.

And, because of the difficulty of identifying the presence of biological contaminants in the air, it can be hard to take preventive action. The most practical solution is to first determine if the current HVAC system is capable of handling the greater size and resistance of high-efficiency air filters.  If not, the next step would be to consider adding a stand-alone air purification system. In either case, seek out and remove the source of these pollutants or prevent them from growing. 

Where Industrial Air Filtration Can Be a Factor

To prevent the buildup of biological contaminants inside, say,  a crowded school, an airport, or a hospital, the building must be ventilated to ensure that indoor air containing pollutants are released outside. But this also introduces another problem—dirty outside air with high levels of air pollution like smoke, industrial runoff, and, as the researchers learned, even more biological contaminants. This is a problem that  industrial and commercial air filtration systems are designed to solve. 

“High efficiency air filters can be installed in HVAC systems, filtering out biological pollutants and particulate matter carried by the airstream, preventing them from recirculating back into the room,” said Seyffer,. “As unfiltered air flows through the HVAC unit’s ductwork, the air filter captures and holds the airborne pollutants.”

 

The Ability of Commercial HEPA Filters to Remove Bacteria and Viruses

Since the 1940s, commercial HEPA filters have been used across a wide range of nuclear plants, healthcare facilities and life sciences applications, controlling the spread of airborne particles and organisms such as viruses and bacteria. However, assuming the existing HVAC system is capable of handling the additional stress to the system, care must be taken when choosing a HEPA filter for the purpose of controlling the smallest of all airborne pollutants. Many products labeled as HEPA filters are essentially “HEPA-like” as opposed to tested and certified HEPA filters. 

True high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters most commonly are rated by test methods that begin with a minimum capture efficiency of 99.97 percent of particles larger than 0.3 microns in diameter. Bacteria and viruses are often smaller than that but as mentioned earlier, typically attach themselves to larger particles. It’s also important to understand HEPA filters do not actively kill living organisms. They capture and hold them within the matrix of the filter. 

Getting the Best Out of Industrial HEPA Air Filtration Systems

While industrial HEPA air filtration systems are a tried and proven way to capture and remove biological contaminants in indoor environments, going out of your way to minimize the sources of these pollutants, or at the very least, discourage their growth, goes a long way toward maximizing the performance of these air filters.

For example, you can discourage the growth of mold and mildew by cleaning up pooling water or areas with high-moisture content—think bathrooms or basements where a leaking pipe could cause black mold to grow. For pet dander, on the other hand, you can take your pet regularly to a groomer or brush its hair outside. For pests like rats, mice and roaches, a comprehensive pest control program is the best way to remove them from the building.

To learn more about Camfil US commercial air filtration systems for the control of biological pollutants, talk to Camfil USA. Our team can assess your building’s containment needs and recommend the best air filter for the job. You can also explore our product line to learn the benefits of air filters for indoor air quality. 

If you are located in Canada, explore our Canadian website for commercial air filtration.

 

Camfil US

https://www.camfil.com/en-us

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https://www.camfil.com/en-ca

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Taking the Fight to Air Pollution with Air Filters and Vitamins

Learn how vitamin B, along with air filters, could be the key to solving the air pollution affecting indoor air quality in buildings across the country. 

While ambient air quality across much of the United States has steadily improved over the years, homes and buildings should still be outfitted with air filters to ensure indoor air is healthy. 

Aside from air filters, there’s a growing body of literature on other methods that mitigate the effects of poor air quality. According to one study conducted at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, healthy non-smoking individuals who took vitamin B supplements almost reversed any harmful effects of exposure to polluted air on their immune and cardiovascular function.

Medication and Air Filters Just Two of Many Ways to Address Air Pollution

The results of the study prove that air pollution is a crisis that can be addressed on several fronts, one being the capture and removal of airborne pollutants with air filters. 

In fact, the test subjects’ supplement regimen reduced the effects of air pollution on:

• Heart rate, by 150 percent
• White blood cell count, by 139 percent
• Lymphocyte count, by 106 percent

While it has yet to be determined if the results of this study can be replicated, it’s nevertheless worth considering, given the dangers of poor air quality on public health.

“Long-term exposure to ultrafine particles can induce respiratory and cardiovascular diseases,” explained Mark Davidon, Manager of Marketing & Technical Materials, at Camfil USA. “Below PM2.5, particles are more harmful because they penetrate deeper into the lung alveoli. They cross blood vessels walls, diffuse into the blood circulation to reach and affect organ function (heart, liver, brain, and endocrine system).”

The Dangers of Particulate Matter on Indoor Air Quality

Air pollution from particulate matter, or PM, is especially dangerous to indoor air quality, contributing to more than 3.7 million premature fatalities annually around the world, with the causes of death predominantly attributed to cardiovascular disease. At the population level, PM pollution is cited as the most frequent cause of myocardial infarction. 

Particulate matter is composed of solid or liquid substances that are small and light enough to be airborne. The largest PM particles can be seen with the naked eye as dust-like particles under beams of sunlight. For the most part, the human body does a fairly good job of keeping these larger particles out of the body. It’s the smaller PM that you can’t even see, especially PM2.5, or particles 2.5 microns in diameter, that represents a serious problem to public health.

Particles of this size and below can penetrate the smallest alveoli of the lungs, where they can cross into the bloodstream and reach the body’s vital organs, increasing the risk of developing cardiovascular, respiratory, and immune system issues.  

PM Exposure Requires Intervention by High Efficiency Air Filters

The results of the study concerning particulate matter raise the urgency of protecting homes and buildings with higher efficiency air filters.

The researchers tested 10 healthy non-smokers, ages 18 to 60, who were not put on any kind of vitamin B supplement program or any other kind of medication. The 10 volunteers, however, received a placebo over a four-week period before being exposed to ambient air with PM2.5 for two hours. During the next four-week period, the volunteers were given vitamin B supplements before being exposed to low air quality for two hours. 

The researchers found that just two hours of exposure to concentrated levels of PM2.5 in the air had significant effects on the heart rate, white blood counts, and heart rate variability of the test subjects. The good news is that these effects were nearly reversed with a four-week vitamin B regimen.

Other Pollutants Captured by Particulate and Molecular Air Filters

While the results of the study are obviously important in the field of medical science, this doesn’t mean that vitamin B can be considered a wonder supplement against the effects of air pollution. And even if it were, it’s important to remember that air pollution contains pollutants other than particulate matter. This is why air filtration systems, designed to remove a wide variety of pollutants, are so important.

These contaminants include:

• Chemical pollutants – This includes volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are produced by paints, solvents, finishes, construction materials, and even office equipment.
• Gaseous pollutants – This includes pollutants such as carbon monoxide, cigarette smoke, and car exhaust, all of which are in gas form.
• Biological contaminants – These pollutants are composed of airborne bacteria, viruses, and fungi, which are common in hospitals, workplaces, and even schools. 

Beware of Cheap Air Filters

As interest in air filtration systems increases due to serious air pollution levels in parts of the country, some manufacturers have taken advantage of this demand by selling cheap air filters that promise “premium performance.” Most of these are too good to be true; focus on high-quality air filters from a trusted manufacturer instead.

For more than five decades, Camfil USA has been a leading name in the air purifier industry, protecting the indoor air quality in homes and buildings all over the world. To learn about the importance of protecting indoor air quality from outdoor air pollution, talk to Camfil USA. As one of the world’s top commercial air filter manufacturers, we have a wide range of air filter solutions for you to explore.

Media Contact:

Lynne Laake 

Camfil USA Air Filters 

T: 888.599.6620 

E: Lynne.Laake@camfil.com

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What the Donora Smog Crisis Can Teach Us About the Need for Air Filters

Most people will have never heard of Donora, a borough in Pennsylvania that experienced one of the worst environment-related public health disasters in United States history, forcing government officials to recognize the problem of air pollution. This disaster would eventually pave the way for the Clean Air Act and awareness of the importance of air filters.

The catastrophic event, known as the 1948 Donora Smog, played a pivotal role in pushing for air quality regulations in the country. The air quality phenomenon saw the whole town exposed to extremely high levels of smog pollution, which left 27 people dead in a single weekend and twice as many in the month that followed. Hundreds of residents also fell ill, and later reports indicate that the death rate continued to remain high for another 10 years.

Scientists attributed the unusually high levels of airborne pollutants in the town that year to atmospheric inversion.

The Effect of Atmospheric Inversion on Indoor Air Quality

An atmospheric inversion is an event in which air stops circulating and is trapped close to the ground. Under normal circumstances, this phenomenon means that cool air is trapped at ground level by a higher layer of warm air. What happened in Donora, however, is that the inversion also trapped toxic gasses at ground level, causing indoor air quality in the town to plunge to dangerously poor levels.

“Indoor air quality refers to the aerosol and gas content, temperature, and humidity of the air inside a structure,” said Camfil USA’s Mark Davidson, Manager of Marketing & Technical Materials for commercial air filters and ASHRAE member and active committee participant. “In the case of human habitation, the quality of the air is determined by its ability to maintain the health and well-being of humans occupying the structure.”

And in 1948, the air in Donovan was indeed teeming with airborne pollutants.

Could Higher Efficiency Air Filters Have Prevented the Problem?

As it turns out, higher efficiency air filters could have helped save lives and protect people from airborne pollutants if they had spent most of their time indoors.

Residents recounted how during the early hours of October 26, 1948, a fog had settled over the town, which was also home to U.S. Steel Corporation’s Donora Zinc Works and American Steel and Wire. The fog became thicker in the hours that followed, so much so that witnesses remember being able to taste it. 

By October 29, atmospheric inversion had trapped so much fog and pollution in the town that attendees of a local football game said they could barely see the players on the field. Recognizing the health risks posed by the smog, doctors sounded the alarm and ordered the sick and elderly to leave town right away. The doctors themselves had trouble breathing, and firefighters, who tried to provide people with oxygen, were prevented from doing so due to the poor visibility—in the middle of the day. 

Finally, on October 30, Donora Zinc Works and American Steel and Wire stopped operations. The next morning the fog began to disappear, but not before leaving survivors with permanent lung damage. 

Today, these events are memorialized in the Donora Smog Museum as a reminder never to take breathable air for granted. 

Even Today, Air Filters with a Higher Capture Efficiency are Still Needed for the Same Problems

Unfortunately, air pollution problems exacerbated by inversion continue to happen today, highlighting the importance of air filtration systems. 

In the Greater Salt Lake area, for example, the inversion is usually at its worst during January and February, when cool air, snow on the ground, and little to no wind create the perfect conditions to keep cold air from escaping the valley. These conditions happen when a high-pressure system hovers over the Wasatch Mountains and traps cold air in the valley, where it combines with pollutants from automobiles and fireplaces. 

The fog that hangs over the valley transforms into smog and turns a shade of brown. But what people can’t see is that the amount of pollutants in the air when this happens already exceeds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s air quality standards.

Frequent Wildfires Create the Same Problem, Creating Demand for Businesses, Hospitals and Residences to Upgrade Air Filters

The wildfires that have become more frequent in California also raise the importance of air filters for maintaining indoor air quality due to two reasons:

• First, homes and buildings near wildfires are exposed to plumes of smoke full of airborne pollutants, including toxic gasses and particulate matter.
• Second, homes and buildings located hundreds of miles away from the fires can still suffer from smoke exposure caused by the inversion.

Take the San Joaquin Valley, for example. Despite being far from the wildfires raging in the north, the valley’s topography and weather patterns have the effect of trapping pollutant-laden air that drifts into the area. Heat from the sun pushes the cool and polluted air to the ground, preventing it from escaping. Indeed, the Ferguson Fire and the Mendocino Complex Fires have dumped wildfire smoke into the valley, causing ambient air quality levels to decline rapidly. 

High Efficiency Air Filters Have Never Been More Important

For cities with air quality problems exacerbated by inversion, air filters are obviously vital to the health and safety of residents. When choosing an air filter, it’s important to choose a solution from a reliable manufacturer. 

At Camfil USA, we take our responsibility of protecting buildings from air pollution seriously. Talk to our team to learn about the importance of protecting indoor air quality against air pollution. You may also explore our product finder for air filters to learn more about our product line.

Media Contact:

Lynne Laake 

Camfil USA Air Filters 

T: 888.599.6620 

E: Lynne.Laake@camfil.com

F: Friend  Camfil USA on Facebook

T: Follow Camfil USA on Twitter 

Y: Watch Camfil Videos on YouTube

L: Follow our LinkedIn Page

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