If you own or operate a commercial or industrial business, making sure that you and your employees have good air quality can mean the difference between higher profits and productivity or employee illness, loss of productivity, lawsuits and more.
A recent report states that air pollution from coal plants, for example, kills over 13,000 people per year, and The American Lung Association has estimated that the health costs related to air pollution-based cancer, lung disease and respiratory illness costs U.S. companies around $185 billion per year. For companies with employees working in poor air quality conditions, those illnesses and deaths mean one thing: loss–loss of productivity, loss of revenue, and loss of a business’s good name.
Good industrial air quality at the work site is fairly to maintain, however, with the right air filtration or “air scrubber” systems in place. By removing dust, fumes, and other pollutants from the workplace, it has been shown that employee down time from air quality-related illness can be reduced by over 90%. OSHA has specific regulations that dictate how many air changes are required in certain industrial settings, but in general, any situation where employees are working at individual stations or sites where pollutants are being produced (such as welding, laser engraving, soldering, etc), it is recommended that you have one portable source-capture air purifier removing particles and gases at the source before they can be inhaled.
Many business owners also install an overall room air scrubber that attaches to the air conditioner system as an extra measure to remove any remaining pollutants from work areas and offices. Some businesses also use portable commercial air cleaners, as well, so that the air purifier can be moved from site to site or room to room to ensure that the air is clean wherever needed. Having the proper air filtration systems in place not only protects you and your employees, but can also make it more difficult for anyone to attempt any litigation against you for negligence.
It is important, however, to remember a couple of things with regard to purchasing industrial air cleaners: First, time is of the essence: don’t wait around any longer if you know or even suspect that you have polluted air in the workplace-the sooner you install the right commercial air cleaner system, the less chance there is that you’ll have problems with employee health, lawsuits, OSHA fines, etc.
