Camfil – Euston Office London – Air Quality Case Study

Posted on 17/06/2014 by Camfil UK

This case study looks at the air quality being experienced on a daily basis in London by people working and travelling about london.

It looks at how a combination of a standalone CamCleaner City air purifier, effective air filtration and a well-sealed building envelope can deliver clean, healthy, Indoor Air Quality.

In general terms the main health hazard comes from exposure to traffic pollution. Fine combustion particles and gases in a toxic mix that can be inhaled by people and are classed as a Group1 (highest level) carcinogen by the World Health Organisation.

Camfil recently opened a new London office and being close to Euston station it is good for business and transport links of all types. Unfortunately transport such as trains buses and taxis produce this air pollution.

There are other outside sources such as the much publicised recent southern UK air pollution incident involving desert dust and also volcanic events causing disruption to air transport because of airborne particles.

Clearly these fine particles can sometimes travel in concentrated plumes over long distances and stay airborne almost indefinitely.

This also applies to traffic air pollution particles and gases that can stay in the air and react producing chemical smog.

The results in graph 1 show the particulate air pollution level was measured at in the range 0.3 to 0.5 microns Dia. which is a particle size range that can easily make deep lung penetration and cause health problems.

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Air quality inquiry launched as pollution continues to cause worry

Posted on 06/05/2014 by Camfil UK

Last week the House of Commons select committee launched an inquiry into UK air quality examining the latest evidence on health impacts in light of the UK smogs and the published data in April on increased mortality from air pollution from Public Health England.

The Environmental Audit Committee issues call for evidence on progress towards tackling air quality in the UK and has issued a call for evidence and written to the London Mayor, Boris Johnson, seeking information on the UK’s progress on recommendations outlined in a 2011 report published by the committee. The Environmental Audit Committee wants to assess Action on Air Quality since it warned about the urgency of the problem in reports during 2010 and 2011.

The new inquiry will aim to identify the state of progress on the recommendations from its 2011 report on Air Quality which focused on a need for action in six areas:

the priority and targets on air quality in Defra’s planning
strategy and inter-departmental co-ordination, including on transport and planning matters,
support for local authorities in tackling air pollution, and how any European Commission fines might fall on them,
the implications of local authorities’ enhanced responsibilities for public health,
Low Emissions Zones and vehicle emissions limits, and  public awareness campaigns. Continue reading →

Public Health England issue air pollution deaths defined by region in new report

Posted on 16/04/2014 by Camfil UK

A breakdown of the number of deaths linked to air pollution across the different local authorities in the United Kingdom has been estimated in a new report.

air pollution

Public Health England (PHE), an executive agency of the Department of Health, has issued estimates of the number of people that die in different regions due to long-term exposure to particulate air pollution. It is the very first time that these estimates have been released and they are attributed to different local authority areas.

The report looks at the average concentrations of PM2.5 pollution – particulate matter that measures less than 2.5 micrometres – across different areas throughout a year. The figures released by the PHE build upon previous estimates that were calculated for the Public Health Outcomes Framework. The previous figures looked at the percentage of deaths within local authorities that could be attributed to long-term air pollution exposure. Continue reading →