On this Earth Day, ActivePure is urging for immediate action to tackle the negative impacts of relying solely on traditional ventilation and filtration to enhance indoor air quality.

DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / April 21, 2023 / In 2022, the White House’s Healthy Buildings Challenge introduced new Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) recommendations for increased ventilation and filtration to mitigate the spread of airborne infectious pathogens in indoor environments. While the global leader in air and surface purification technology, ActivePure Technology, applauded the increased focus on IAQ they noted even more opportunities the plan did not address. For example, in areas where outdoor air quality is already poor, increasing ventilation inevitably introduces more pollutants indoors despite the existence of traditional filtration. An even larger concern with increasing ventilation is the need for buildings to run their HVAC systems longer. Naturally, this requires enormous energy to maintain thermal comfort, which drives up operating costs and counters global decarbonization goals.

These IAQ recommendations stand in direct conflict with the vision of the 2050 Carbon Neutrality Goal. However, modern IAQ technology, such as ActivePure a patented and award-winning advanced photocatalysis process, is available as a sustainable alternative, helping organizations recognize that they no longer need to choose between protecting their workers and protecting the environment.

As organizations worldwide strive to modernize their ventilation systems, they face an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) paradox: heating and cooling buildings leave a heavy carbon footprint. In the United States alone, HVAC operating costs account for a sizable portion of the total building’s energy consumption at nearly 40 percent. When a building continuously increases its ventilation and filter efficiency, energy consumption will skyrocket due to greater space conditioning and fan power demands. The economic and environmental impact will be catastrophic as 20 percent of America’s carbon footprint already comes from the built environment’s energy demands. Increasing ventilation, therefore, presents a direct conflict with accomplishing global decarbonization goals. As organizations become more ESG focused, any solution that involves even a minor increase in cost or carbon footprint will most likely be a non-starter for many decision-makers.

“On this Earth Day, ActivePure calls for urgent action to address this consequential paradox,” said Joe Urso, CEO of ActivePure Technologies. “It is time to focus on developing innovative 21st-century solutions that reduce the carbon footprint of buildings while also ensuring healthy indoor air quality. There is an urgent need for collaboration among policymakers, building owners, businesses and technology providers to address this challenge.”

ActivePure Technology, an advanced 21st-century solution effective on a wide range of airborne and surface pathogens, could improve IAQ just as implementing drinking water disinfection and treatment in 1908 dramatically decreased waterborne diseases nationwide. ActivePure’s efficacy in third-party unaffiliated laboratory studies and real-world settings demonstrates that the technology reduces over 99.9% of indoor airborne environmental contaminants, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus, mold, bacteria, fungus and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The ActivePure Medical Guardian powered by ActivePure Technology was also registered and cleared as an FDA Class II Medical Device.

Anchored in science and innovation, ActivePure replicates the natural process of photolysis, which occurs when sunlight interacts with air moisture. Ambient indoor air is introduced into the ActivePure cell, which then converts the humidity into the same therapeutic molecules as those produced by the sun to cleanse outdoor air. These specialized ActivePure molecules target and neutralize airborne and surface-based pollutants without chemicals, ozone or the need for ventilating, trapping or filtering them.

ActivePure helps the built environment set the standard in custom solutions for 24/7 indoor air and surface protection. The technology gives employees, customers and patients confidence that the air they breathe and the surfaces they touch have been treated. It maintains healthy environments as the technology has demonstrated effectiveness against multiple clinically-relevant pathogens and facility spread of illnesses. ActivePure also reduces energy consumption by HVAC components and comes installation-ready without the need for building retrofitting. ActivePure works with numerous organizations on the achievement of ESG benchmarks through the deployment of the technology, helping leaders not only demonstrate a commitment to sustainability but also increase corporate resiliency against future pandemics.

“There is a growing recognition of the importance and need for modern and reconciliatory IAQ technologies such as ActivePure’s advanced photocatalysis,” said Amy Carenza, ActivePure’s Chief Commercial Officer. “Our studies demonstrate this technology can help improve indoor air quality and building performance, meanwhile also reducing infectious disease transmission and protecting public health.”

ActivePure has already left a world-changing impact on over 51 million customers across more than 45 countries who work, live and play in indoor spaces protected by this state-of-the-art technology.

“We urge organizations to take action to reduce their carbon footprint and promote sustainable practices that support a healthy planet and safe indoor environments. We do not need to trade off one for the other,” Urso said. “Let’s work together to create a world where the objectives of ESG are not a challenge but a reality.”

To learn more about Earth Day, visit https://www.earthday.org.
To learn more about ActivePure, visit ActivePure.com.

###

ABOUT ACTIVEPURE
Privately held ActivePure has been the global leader in sustainable, active and continuous surface and air disinfection systems for healthcare and educational institutions, commercial and public facilities and hospitality and residential applications since 1924. The patented ActivePure Technology has been proven in independent university and laboratory testing to effectively control and neutralize indoor contaminants. ActivePure is the only product in its class recognized by the Space Foundation as Certified Space Technology and inducted into the Space Foundation Hall of Fame. In 2022, ActivePure was named on the Inc. 5000 list of most successful and fastest-growing private companies in the United States. The ActivePure Medical Guardian is also registered and cleared as an FDA Class II Medical Device. ActivePure Technology was originally developed exclusively for use in space exploration and has since evolved for use in commercial and consumer products to reduce exposure to pathogens, including RNA and DNA viruses, bacteria and molds, by up to 99.9 percent in the air and on surfaces. For more information, please visit ActivePure.com or call 888-217-4316.

MEDIA CONTACTS
Jo Trizila, TrizCom PR, on behalf of ActivePure
Email: [email protected]
Office: 972-247-1369
Cell: 214-232-0078

SOURCE: ActivePure Technology

Originally Appeared Here

Only 52 people have secured grants to help them upgrade to cleaner vehicles under Newcastle’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ), five months after the cash scheme was launched.

Applications opened last November for drivers seeking financial help to purchase new, lower emission vehicles that would not be subject to the recently-imposed pollution tolls in Newcastle city centre. But Newcastle City Council has confirmed that only 52 requests have since been successful out of almost 3,000 that have been lodged, less than two per cent.

The local authority admitted that there had been “some delays” in dealing with applications, which can be for up to £16,000 depending on the type of vehicle. More than 500 motorists have been told whether or not they are eligible to receive a grant, but 2,304 are still waiting to hear back.

Read More: Newcastle stadium bid could net £98.7m windfall and St James’ Park may be even better by 2028

However, the drivers still waiting for their grant to be signed off are not having to pay the CAZ charges in the meantime, as the council has granted temporary exemptions to anyone going through the application process. Since January, the CAZ has charged older buses, coaches, taxis, and lorries either £12.50 or £50 every day to drive through the city centre if they do not meet certain emissions standards, while tolls for non-compliant vans are due to start in July. All private cars are exempt.

A spokesperson for the Newcastle and Gateshead Clean Air Zone said: “Since we opened the application process for vehicle upgrade grants in November 2022, we have received 2,859 applications. We have issued letters of eligibility to 555 applicants and, of those, 52 have completed their applications with a financial provider and received funding and a further 80 applicants have contacted a financial provider and are progressing their application.

Clean Air Zone charging signs on the approach to the Tyne Bridge(Image: Craig Connor/ChronicleLive)

“The remaining 2,304 applications are currently undergoing eligibility checks or queries by our grants team prior to them being referred to a financial provider or rejected if the application does not meet eligibility criteria. There were some delays in responding to applications initially as we made a number of changes to the grant scheme in direct response to representation from stakeholders.

“These changes included amending the scheme to allow vehicles to be bought and sold privately, instead of only being permitted through a garage or dealership. However, applications are being processed and anyone who has applied will be temporarily exempt from CAZ charges until they have completed the application process.”

Funding for the grants has been provided by the Government and the following amounts have been agreed for each vehicle type:

• Taxis, including Hackney carriage and private hire vehicles – up to £3,500;
• Wheelchair accessible taxis, including Hackney Carriage and private hire vehicles – up to £4,000;
• Light goods vehicles – up to £4,500;
• Heavy goods vehicles – up to £16,000;
• Buses and coaches – up to £16,000.

Read Next:

Originally Appeared Here

NORTH CHICAGO, Il., April 20, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AirAnswers® has announced a new partnership today with Safestart Environmental. AirAnswers and Safestart Environmental join forces to identify and eliminate airborne indoor biological contaminants that leave clients susceptible to environmentally acquired illnesses such as sick building syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, and CIRS. By implementing AirAnswers® Air DiagnosticTM system into their assessments, Safestart Environmental can identify biological contaminants in the air and provide targeted solutions to optimize their clients’ indoor environmental health.

AirAnswers® is the only commercially available comprehensive air sampling system that detects, identifies, and measures all biological particles including molds, mycotoxins, viruses, and allergens, down to 0.1 microns in size. AirAnswers technology provides users the ability to assess, remediate, and monitor indoor spaces for the presence of biological contaminants.

“Safestart Environmental is very excited about finally being able to obtain information about what contaminants are currently in the air that may be affecting our clients,” said Larry Schwartz, CEO of Safestart Environmental. “Up until now, available airborne tests do not provide us with the detailed levels and needed units of measurement of the airborne contaminants of concern. Using the AirAnswers devices, will give us pertinent information, not only helping us determine current conditions in an environment, but will also be a great tool to monitor moving forward in time of the maintenance of safe indoor conditions.”

“In the words of Peter Drucker, What Gets Measured, Gets Managed,” adds jim Koziarz, CEO of AirAnswers, Inc.  “Our partnership with Safestart Environmental is an important step in employing Air Diagnostics to assess the quality of indoor air so Safestart can facilitate the remediation and management of the environment for their clients. AirAnswers laboratory testing can provide specific information that will directly result in improved conditions for our clients. I’m looking forward to a very successful partnership with Safestart.”

About Safestart Environmental:

Safestart Environmental are experts in preventative risk solutions for your indoor air quality. With over 10,000 indoor air quality investigations completed, Safestart Environmental is the leader in investigating, planning and providing treatments that address the needs of families and individuals. Molds, toxic molds, and other microbial and non-microbial environmental factors, may cause a wide variety of health effects. The triggering of health symptoms experienced may differ by each individual due to several factors including the person’s sensitivity levels to the amount of exposure, the extent of contamination, types of microbial mold, and other contaminants such as bacteria, etc. Safestart Environmental is a specialized firm working with many individuals and their physician’s that are affected by environmentally acquired illnesses. www.safestartiaq.com 

About AirAnswers, Inc:

Based at Rosalind Franklin University’s Innovation and Research Park in North Chicago, Illinois, AirAnswers is the only company providing the most numerous types of specific airborne biological contaminant detection for indoor air quality companies and experts. AirAnswers’ highly sensitive patented technology collects and measures biological agents in the air, including molds, mycotoxins, allergens, and viruses down to 0.1 microns in size. Developed in collaboration with several renowned institutions, including Johns Hopkins University, The University of Chicago, Harvard University, and Argonne National Laboratory, the AirAnswers mission is to deliver customized prevention and management solutions to improve respiratory health and peace of mind by bringing a breath of fresh air to indoor environments everywhere. AirAnswers has been validated with an extensive portfolio of patents* and publications in peer-reviewed literature. www.airanswers.com 

To learn more about this partnership, contact: Katie Gragg, Marketing Manager at AirAnswers® 866-539-4253, [email protected]

Originally Appeared Here

A Ronald McDonald House in Chicago has achieved the UL Verified Healthy Building Mark for Indoor Air, making it the first Ronald McDonald House to earn the UL Verified Mark.

UL Solutions conducted a pro bono building assessment to evaluate the conditions and indoor air quality (IAQ) of the Ronald McDonald House in Chicago. The Verified Healthy Building for Indoor Air program evaluates IAQ and policies and plans for the continual advancement of IAQ. UL Solutions teams inspected the facility’s HVAC systems to verify that preventative maintenance is performed while focusing on ventilation, filtration, and hygiene to help verify continuous IAQ.

Jennifer Scanlon, president and CEO of UL Solutions (right) presents a plaque displaying the UL Verified Healthy Building Mark to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana. Joining here are (left to right) Katie Fitzgerald, president and CEO of RMHC Global and Holly Buckendahl, president and CEO, RMHC Chicagoland and NW Indiana.

 

Last year, UL Solutions’ formed a multi-faceted partnership with Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) as the charity’s first-ever partner dedicated to supporting its global sustainability efforts. The partnership supports the missions of both organizations by leveraging UL Solutions’ scientific expertise to help provide healthier indoor environments for children and their families during their medical journey. Additionally, UL Solutions provides skills-based training to RMHC staff globally and volunteer opportunities to UL Solutions employees through the Families Helping Families campaign.

Originally Appeared Here

Due to severe PM2.5 in Thailand, the development of air purification tower for using in communities came after cooperation between EGAT researchers and inventors, said EGAT governor Boonyanit Wongrukmit.

“The machine can capture more than 80% of PM2.5 and purify up to 30,000 cubic metres per hour, covering area within 250 metres,” he said.

He said air purification towers were initially installed in EGAT areas, so the agency can improve their efficiency further.

He added that machines would be installed in other areas in the future, especially Northern Thailand where the situation is worrisome.

Originally Appeared Here