AIR POLLUTION IS KILLING US
Air pollution causes millions of deaths worldwide and costs the world economy $5 trillion per year. Over 90% of the world’s population lives in places where air quality exceeds World Health Organization’s (WHO) guideline limits. Therefore, air pollution has become a major global challenge in the past years.
Human activity and natural processes can both generate air pollution. Typical sources of air pollution are e.g. traffic, energy production, manufacturing and chemical industries, fumes from solvents, landfills, forest fires and volcanic activity.
VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS AND FORMALDEHYDE
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have adverse health effects. Formaldehyde is one of the most common VOC and it is highly toxic and carcinogenic chemical even at low concentrations. Formaldehyde occurs in nature and thus is poses a chronic threat to human health. However, formaldehyde levels in man-made products at significantly higher concentrations can result in formaldehyde concentrations in living environment that greatly surpass the levels found in nature. In addition, formaldehyde is a potent ozone precursor thus contributing to an even more severe health risk.
Formaldehyde is difficult to measure with exiting technologies and commonly done by taking samples for laboratory analysis. The strong need for continuous monitoring of formaldehyde has motivated Gasera’s scientist to develop a solution which could ultimately reduce the amount of formaldehyde emitted to the earth’s atmosphere.
INDOOR AIR QUALITY
Most people spend approximately 80% to 90% of their time indoors. Therefore, indoor air quality has a large impact on health, quality of life and work efficiency. It is widely known, that numerous indoor air impurities are responsible for exacerbate respiratory diseases, allergies, intoxication and certain types of cancer (e.g. asbestos, radon, environmental tobacco smoke, combustion products, volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons biological contaminants, etc.). Particularly vulnerable groups are infants, children and the elderly or people already suffering from respiratory or allergic diseases. Indoor air quality monitoring is essential to avoid developing the above mentioned conditions.
Formaldehyde is an important industrial chemical with multiple uses in the industry. A well know source of formaldehyde are pressed wood products that are often used especially in residential buildings worldwide. Whereas the concentration of formaldehyde is often in the single digit ppb range in nature, it can be hundred times higher indoors.
Indoor air quality (IAQ) is determined by the level of contaminants present, which may arise from a number of sources, e.g. human activity, various materials and products including HVAC systems, combustion processes, microbiological organisms such as mould and dust mites, outdoor air pollution, the ground under the building, among others.
Gasera’s products and technology enable extremely sensitive real-time indoor and outdoor air pollution monitoring
A number of instruments exist on the market for simultaneous measurement of carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), temperature and humidity, which are fundamental measurements in the context of indoor air cleanliness and safety monitoring. However, there is a distinct gap in relation to affordable gas analysers that can provide real-time measurements of harmful Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) which are ubiquitous in the indoor environment. The number of VOCs detected in indoor air is usually higher than in outdoor air and has been increasing over the past decade. Some examples of these compounds include formaldehyde, toluene, benzene, xylene, perchloroethylene, etc.
Indoor air quality experts have confirmed that VOC species are important to gain knowledge about and monitor as they pose a serious health risk even at very low concentrations. Experts have also confirmed that Gasera’s gas analysis instrumentation is unique due to its extreme sensitivity, multicomponent analysis, and real-time measurements.
Currently the only way to monitor VOC species with acceptable sensitivity is using air samples that are then analysed in the laboratory (method is described in ISO 16000-6 standard). Gasera’s unique extremely sensitive portable gas analyzers are the solution for the complexity of today’s indoor air quality monitoring.
GASERA ONE FORMALDEHYDE analyzer can detect ppt levels (parts-per-trillion) of formaldehyde both in indoor and outdoor environment with a time resolution and response time of less than one minute. GASERA ONE FORMALDEHYDE is an autonomous analyzer baser on laser spectroscopy and it does not require any consumables or externals pumps. Read more about GASERA ONE FORMALDEHYDE.