Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Air Purifier Reviews! AllerAir on Flickr

We love finding AllerAir air purifier reviews from our customers. This client liked our unit so much they uploaded a picture of their AllerAir unit on Flickr!

"I got this AllerAir purifier for my bedroom after spending a few years in an moldy apartment (complete with hoarse, sore throat for two years). It works beautifully!"

AllerAir Cited Among the "Ten Top Air Purifiers That Deliver"


AllerAir is proud to be recognized among the top air purifiers that deliver on HEPA performance! This informative blog post discusses the  problems that arise with cheap HEAP filters.

AllerAir HEPA filters are warm-rolled to prevent cracks in the filter which could reduce performance and filtration efficiency.

Add our superior deep-bed carbon filters to the mix and you have the perfect air cleaner!

EPA to release data from oil spill dispersant testing

Paul Anastas, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s assistant administrator for Research and Development, will hold a press conference call today, June 30 at 2:30 p.m. to discuss the data from EPA’s first round of independent dispersant testing.


On May 22, EPA directed BP to analyze potential alternative dispersants for toxicity and effectiveness. BP reported to EPA that they were unable to find a dispersant that is less toxic than Corexit 9500, the product currently in use. Following that, EPA began its own scientific research into eight dispersant products on the National Contingency Plan Product Schedule (NCP-PS).

Anastas will discuss data from the first round of that research on the call.

Due to limited lines, this call is for credentialed members of the media only.

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Visit our Oil Spill Air Quality Blog: http://oilspillairquality.blogspot.com/

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Are more oil disasters in our future?

I just read some shocking information at the end of an oil spill article in the Washington Post:

"During World War II, 452 oil tankers were sunk in the North Atlantic, as were an unknown number of the 1080 wrecks lying on the bottom of the Pacific. Little is known about the total amount of oil that spilled directly in to the ocean, but it's likely much went to the bottom in ships that remained virtually intact. It is known that two oil tankers sunk in 1942 lie only a few hundred miles from Australia's Great Barrier Reef and are estimated to contain as much oil as the Exxon Valdez. It's only a matter of time before rotting hulks pose enormous potential to foul fragile environments."

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Visit our Oil Spill Air Quality Blog: http://oilspillairquality.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Oil Spill Air Quality Blog

In response to the serious concerns over air quality in the Gulf oil spill region, AllerAir staff is compiling information, news and video in a special blog:

http://oilspillairquality.blogspot.com/

Concerned residents can chat with an Air Quality Expert directly via the blog live support link, Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm ET or can call
1-888-853-8247.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Air Quality in The Aftermath of The Oil Spill Disaster

The rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico that occurred in April has caused a catastrophic oil spill that continues to gush. This is possibly America’s largest environmental disaster yet, given the impact it has and will continue to have on both water and air quality. Although the spill appears to have hit Louisiana the hardest, the effects will be felt across the Gulf States (including Florida, Alabama and Mississippi). While some action is being taken to address aquatic issues, little is being said with regards to the air quality disaster that has clearly developed, and that continues to worsen.


The evaporation of crude oil releases noxious air contaminants, particularly volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) like: toluene, benzene and xylene. The EPA “says” that it is currently monitoring air quality with Trace Atmospheric Gas Analyzers (TAGA); they expect the thick sheets of oil will impact air quality in the Gulf region and higher concentrations of dipropylene glycol mono butyl ether and butoxyethanol (dispersants) are to be expected. The question now is how it is possible that, thus far, their findings indicate that everything is normal in this region?

Kindra Arnesen revealed the answer to this burning question on CNN.  Arnesen’ s husband, Dave, and his fellow shrimpers have all fallen ill since the oil spill disaster; symptoms include: headache, nausea, a hacking cough and other respiratory problems. Although BP has suggested these symptoms are due to food poisoning, Arnesen believes otherwise.  Fishermen are scared to lose the only income they have right now, but it’s costing them their health. The air quality in the immediate and surrounding areas of the oil spill are toxic.

Air quality is compromised fairly quickly when an oil spill occurs. History has shown that VOCs tend to disperse quickly once oil reaches water surfaces. Long-term exposure to VOCs can cause a number of respiratory diseases, and in many cases, cancer. SVOCs are released from weathered oil and take longer to reach shore; they evaporate slowly. Normally, exposure to these air pollutants is a result of vehicular exhaust, which is known for its toxicity and carcinogenic chemicals.

Toxicologists warn of the harmful short and long-term effects of dispersants on human health; moreover, Corexit (the dispersant that is currently in use) comes with a label that warns users that as a result of “repeat or excessive use” red blood cell, kidney and liver damage may occur. Albeit BP’s “good intentions”, the 700,000 gallons of dispersants used in the Gulf are composed of chemicals that can cause serious harm to humans and other living species. A review of previous oil spill cases shows that the use of dispersants may cause an increase in the toxicity of hydrocarbons.

Fishermen in Louisiana assisting with clean-up efforts have reported symptoms, such as: nausea, crippling headaches, coughing and respiratory problems. In one report, a fisherman revealed that after experiencing malaise and coughing, he visited a doctor and an x-ray of his lungs resembled that of a lifetime smoker—he’d never smoked a day in his life. On CNN, Arnesen said “Anything that ever starts, starts with one.” I sure hope she’s right in this case.

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Air Filtration: AllerAir / Electrocorp Provides Odor and Chemical Control for BP Oil Spill Region

AllerAir and our industrial division Electrocorp have already sent numerous heavy-duty carbon air filtration units for chemical and odor control to the Gulf coast region.  

Contact us today for more information
1-888-852-8247.
Chat live with an Air Quality Expert. Click the live support link to ask your question. Our experts are available Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm.

Lung Association Seeks Action to Protect Oil Spill Cleanup Workers

The American Lung Association is very concerned about the respiratory impact on the workers on and near the Gulf from the emissions from the BP oil spill and the cleanup response. The Environmental Protection Agency has been diligent in monitoring and sharing information on the onshore levels of pollution from the spill and cleanup. However, we are concerned that the cleanup workers are not getting appropriate protection, nor are air pollution levels for workers being appropriately monitored and publicly disclosed.

In response, the American Lung Association has sent a letter to Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis. The letter urges swift action to monitor air pollution levels and to assure that all workers near and at the spill site are properly trained, equipped with appropriate respirators and protected from dangerous air pollutants and toxics they may inhale.

The American Lung Association will be monitoring this situation closely and will be actively engaged with federal and state officials to ensure that the lung health of those affected by the Gulf oil spill is protected.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) states that if workers are "unsure or think your work is unsafe, STOP and ASK your supervisor" or contact OSHA at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742)."

If you feel you may have been exposed to harmful emissions from the spill, contact your healthcare provider to address any symptoms you may have. To keep up to date about the air quality in your region visit www.epa.gov.

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AllerAir  and our industrial division Electrocorp has already sent numerous heavy-duty carbon air filtration units for chemical and odor control to response workers in the Gulf. Contact us us for more information 1-888-852-8247.

Air Pollution and the BP Oil Spill: Gulf spill workers complaining of flulike symptoms

By NOAKI SCHWARTZ and MATTHEW BROWN (AP)
NEW ORLEANS — For days now, Dr. Damon Dietrich and other physicians have seen patients come through their emergency room at West Jefferson Medical Center with similar symptoms: respiratory problems, headaches and nausea.

In the past week, 11 workers who have been out on the water cleaning up oil from BP's blown-out well have been treated for what Dietrich calls "a pattern of symptoms" that could have been caused by the burning of crude oil, noxious fumes from the oil or the dispersants dumped in the Gulf to break it up. All workers were treated and released.

"One person comes in, it could be multiple things," he said. "Eleven people come in with these symptoms, it makes it incredibly suspicious."

Few studies have examined long-term health effects of oil exposure. But some of the workers trolling Gulf Coast beaches and heading out into the marshes and waters have complained about flu-like symptoms — a similar complaint among crews deployed for the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska.

BP and U.S. Coast Guard officials have said dehydration, heat, food poisoning or other unrelated factors may have caused the workers' symptoms. The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals is investigating.

Brief contact with small amounts of light crude oil and dispersants are not harmful. Swallowing small amounts of oil can cause upset stomach, vomiting and diarrhea. Long-term exposure to dispersants, however, can cause central nervous system problems, or do damage to blood, kidneys or livers, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.

In the six weeks since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, killing 11 workers, an estimated 21 million to 45 million gallons of crude has poured into the Gulf of Mexico. Hundreds of BP contractors have fanned out along the Gulf, deploying boom, spraying chemicals to break up the oil, picking up oil-soaked debris and trying to keep the creeping slick out of the sensitive marshes and away from the tourist-Mecca beaches.

Commercial fisherman John Wunstell Jr. spent a night on a vessel near the source of the spill and left complaining of a severe headache, upset stomach and nose bleed. He was treated at the hospital, and sued — becoming part of a class-action lawsuit filed last month in U.S. District Court in New Orleans against BP, Transocean and their insurers.

Wunstell, who was part of a crew burning oil, believes planes were spraying dispersant in the middle of the night — something BP disputes.

"I began to ache all over ..." he said in the affidavit. "I was completely unable to function at this point and feared that I was seriously ill."

Dozens of complaints, most from spill workers, have been made related to oil exposure with the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, said spokeswoman Olivia Watkins, as well as with the Louisiana Poison Center, clinics and hospitals. Workers are being told to follow federal guidelines that recommend anyone involved in oil spill cleanup wear protective equipment such as gloves, safety glasses and clothing.

Michael J. Schneider, an attorney who decided against filing a class-action lawsuit in the 1990s involving the Valdez workers, said proving a link between oil exposure and health problems is very difficult.

"As a human being you listen to enough and you've got to believe they're true," he said. "The problem is the science may not be there to support them ... Many of the signs and symptoms these people complained of are explainable for a dozen different reasons — it's certainly coincidental they all shared a reason in common."

Similar to the Valdez cleanup, there have been concerns in the Gulf that workers aren't being supplied with enough protective gear. Workers have been spotted in white jumpsuits, gloves and booties but no goggles or respirators.

"If they're out there getting lightheaded and dizzy every day then obviously they ought to come in, and there should be respirators and other equipment provided," said LuAnn White, director of the Tulane Center for Applied Environmental Public Health. She added that most of the volatile components that could sicken people generally evaporate before the oil reaches shore.

BP PLC's Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said reports of workers getting sick are being investigated but noted that no one has pinpointed the cause. Suttles said workers were being given "any safety equipment" needed to do their jobs safely.

Unlike with Exxon Valdez, in the Gulf, the oil has been lighter, the temperatures warm and humid, and there have been hundreds of thousands of gallons of chemicals used to break up the oil.

Court records showed more than 6,700 workers involved in the Exxon Valdez clean up suffered respiratory problems which the company attributed to a viral illness, not chemical poisoning.

Dennis Mestas represented the only known worker to successfully settle with Exxon over health issues. According to the terms of that confidential settlement, Exxon did not admit fault.

His client, Gary Stubblefield, spent four months lifting workers in a crane for 18 hours a day as they sprayed the oil-slicked beaches with hot water, which created an oily mist. Even though he had to wipe clean his windshield twice a day, Stubblefield said it never occurred to him that the mixture might be harming his lungs.
Within weeks, he and others, who wore little to no protective gear, were coughing and experiencing other symptoms that were eventually nicknamed Valdez crud. Now 60, Stubblefield cannot get through a short conversation without coughing and gasping for breath like a drowning man. He sometimes needs the help of a breathing machine and inhalers, and has to be careful not to choke when he drinks and eats.
Watching the Gulf situation unfold, he says, makes him sick.

"I just watch this stuff everyday and know these people are on the very first rung on the ladder and are going to go through a lot of misery," said Stubblefield, who now lives in Prescott, Ariz.

Associated Press writers John Flesher from Michigan, Brian Skoloff and Kelli Kennedy from Miami contributed to this report.


Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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AllerAir Provides Odor and Chemcial Control
AllerAir and our industrial division Electrocorp has already sent numerous heavy-duty carbon air filtration units for chemical and odor control to response workers in the Gulf as well as coastal residents. Contact us us for more information 1-888-852-8247.

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Visit our Oil Spill Air Quality Blog: http://oilspillairquality.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Air Quality and Toxic Releases State by State: Benezene, Dioxins, Lead, Mercury, TCE

I discovered a great map on CNN's Toxic Ameria site that shows the airborne emissions of the most widespread and toxic chemicals that we're currently breathing on a daily basis basis including: Benzene, Dioxins, Lead and Lead Compounds, Mercury and Mercury Compounds as well as TCE (trichloroethylene).

All of these compounds have been associated with serious health effects including cancer and birth defects.


Many people aren't aware that a serious home air cleaner with a deep-bed activated carbon filter can remove these types of very serious airborne pollutants. In fact, our units are so reliable for airborne chemicals we've sold them to the U.S. Military, NASA and universities like M.I.T - as well as thousands of American families! See our filtration video.