No matter the type of building you are in, be it a high rise or small building, a factory or your home, the risks of poor ventilation remain the same. Good ventilation and clean air are critical for the comfort and safety of the building’s occupants – be that family, employees or customers.
Poor ventilation is not only a hazard to the occupants of the buildings, but can also have an adverse effect on equipment, goods, and products. Natural ventilation is great to have of course, but natural ventilation does not always guarantee the movement of the air that was stagnant in the building, or ensure that the entire indoor space receives fresh air. Additionally, introducing fresh air into the building by natural ventilation does not mean the new fresh air is clean. The introduction of outside air can also result in additional pollutants and toxins being brought into the building that was not present previously.
So purely relying on this method does not always fully ventilate the building or clean and improve the air quality.
Poor Air Quality Inside The Workplace Leads To Fatigue, Discomfort, Distraction And Poor Health.
Both indoor and outdoor pollution can make you feel lethargic, forgetful and can lower your productivity. Besides larger particulate matter irritating the airways, lungs and the ability to cause asthma attacks, smaller ultrafine particulate matter such as NO2 and PM2.5 can get into the bloodstream (British Lung Foundation) and cause diseases in the lungs and heart. PM10 (dust, soot) can lower your red blood cell count and therefore the body’s oxygen carrying capacity, starving the brain, muscles and organs.
Household chemicals are used every day, to clean and to decorate with little to no protection worn. VOCs – volatile organic compounds can be found in these everyday products that many would be unaware of, alongside this, some products contain bleach or ammonia.
Another unseen perpetrator into your household. When the products are used, the VOC’s evaporate into the air – sometimes this can happen even when they are just stored. Some are less harmful than others naturally, but those products with fragrances added for example pine or citrus can react when released into the air – forming a new chemical.
Your typical household VOC’s are the likes of acetone, formaldehyde and xylene – it is advised to avoid breathing in VOC’s and air purification is an excellent solution.
More rigorous research is needed before we can be certain about the effects of breathing in these chemicals in our homes. About half of studies suggest that being exposed to these chemicals increases your risk of developing an allergy or asthma.
One study recently found that women who were actively cleaning at home or work on a regular basis have been found to have an increase in the decline of their lung function.
Building ventilation has never been easier with our state of the art world-leading, Disinfecting Filtration System (DFS) patented technology that is in all of our machines, bringing clean, fresh, healthy air to your building and eradicating 99.99% particulates, pollutants and pathogens.
Besides The Impact On The Physical Health And Safety Of Employees, Psychological Effects In The Form Of Stress Could Arise In The Workplace.
A Chinese study, referred to by Cardio Smart, found that:
“Evidence suggests that fine particulate matter triggers stress hormones, which over time may increase the risk for high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease.”
Even if the discomfort is not immediately recognisable, the fact that there are pollutants in the air without adequate building ventilation with filtration present is undeniable and the fact that they have health effects is based on hard medical evidence.
Our DFS patented technology in all of our machines at OKTOair are far more effective than HEPA technology, with each machine tested and certified to provide better efficiency than the HEPA filter air purifier and exceeding European HEPA Standard EN 1822, capturing ultrafine particles in the air that pose the greatest health risk as they are actually small enough to penetrate further than the lung.
Poor Ventilation Enhances The Spread Of Transmittable Diseases And Airborne Viruses.
With the wrath of COVID-19, the ongoing and lasting effects in its wake are the consciousness of the air that we are breathing in and the fact that it and all its variants are airborne is something that will be in the minds of all across the nation.
Never before has adequate building ventilation with good filtration been more required than this moment in time. The risk of catching COVID-19 indoors is a worrying amount higher than outdoors, so if the buildings that you spend 90% of your time in are not equipped with the adequate air filtration that eradicates pathogens and pollutants, you are not only at risk of the usual suspects such as pollen and dust but also the airborne virus that has claimed the lives of many worldwide, not to mention future viruses and influenza’s that arise.
Whose Responsibility Is Building Ventilation?
Every employer has a duty of care to provide a workplace that is safe for the employees. Every building service provider, be it managed buildings, building owners right down to the building construction and development has a responsibility to provide an environment that adheres to guidelines and is suitable for the intended operation and purpose of the building and the health, wellbeing and comfort of the occupants.
In broad terms, building ventilation with good filtration that cleans the air is a method of controlling not only the airflow but the cleanliness of the air that the occupants are breathing in. Inhaling fresh clean air not only freshens up the mind and body of employees, but it can increase their productivity and improve their health. If your home, office or business is not well ventilated, get in touch today and we will talk you through the process and find a building ventilation solution for you.