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Useful things to know about air pollution control at the workplace
Taking a deep breath - this must not be a luxury in the workplace. Because the health of your employees can only be ensured if the air is clean. At the same time, a high oxygen content improves the ability to concentrate, and in return productivity. Our #filterspezialisten know: a custom-fit filter system makes all the difference. But what exactly must such a system be capable of? How can you tell if you found the right one? And which legal regulations need to be considered when buying and operating the system?
Questions upon questions - we know the answers. Here, we briefly summarized the basics of this complex topic for you. Need more details? We will be happy to provide them to you during a comprehensive consultation.
Air pollution control in the workplace: principles and basic knowledge
What exactly is dirty air? Air pollution is defined as all changes in the natural composition of the air, especially through smoke, soot, dust, gases, aerosols, vapors, or odorous substances. Fortunately, awareness of the potential dangers of these substances has grown considerably over the past 30 years.
One milestone is the Federal Immission Control Act passed in 1974, the revised version of which came into effect with the subtitle "Technical Instructions on Air Quality Control" (TA-Luft) in 1990.
The primary goal of these (and other) legal regulations and rules is to protect people and the environment from the nuisance or harmful effects of air pollution. Therefore, to facilitate this, modern extraction and filtering systems are installed in the industry and trade businesses to effectively clean the polluted air.
The filter technology used and the capture of polluted air directly at the point of origin play the most important role to ensure that this works. Capturing pollution at the source, i.e., by extraction arms, prevents substances from being dispersed in the ambient air and environment. It also enables an optimized feed to the exhaust air purification system.
The typical attempt to improve working conditions at polluted workplaces is to merely install an air-conditioning system. Due to lower effectiveness and increased sizing of such a system this should only be done if a direct, point-by-point collection of emissions with hazardous substances is not possible.
Modern extraction and filter systems enable filtration of pollutants in the extracted air flow volume of up to 99 % and more.
High-performance filter technology must be capable of this:
- The air containing pollutants must be captured directly at the point of origin
- The filter system must be designed in such a way that air containing pollutants cannot, under any circumstances, bypass the filter medium and enter the clean air stream
- The filter medium must be selected according to the purpose of use. Important factors for selection are filter class, quality of the material and filter surface area
- According to BGR and TRGS, a contamination-free filter change is mandatory to ensure that neither people nor the environment are endangered by the pollutants.
Our #filterspezialisten have developed a product that effortlessly achieves all this (and much more): the AEROgreen® filter cartridge!
#rulesandregulations
These are the german regulations on air pollution control you need to be aware of:
DGUV Regulation 109-002 (formerly BGR 121)
The inspection of extraction and filter systems is mandatory and to be conducted at least once a year.
Ordinance on Hazardous Substances, GefStoffV Annex I No. 2 "Particulate hazardous substances".
Extraction units and filter systems must be state of the art and checked for function and effectiveness at least once a year.
Occupational Health and Safety Act, §5 ArbSchG "Assessment of working conditions".
The operator has the duty to take protective measures, to check them regularly and to document them. Work must not be started without protective measures.
You don't have time for testing, documentation and everything that’s needed? No problem, we are here to do it for you:
- Inspection and testing of system components according to VDMA 24176
- Functional measurement (from € 250 per year and system, depending on the number and type of existing filter systems)
- Inspection of the respective extraction and filter system independent of type and manufacturer
Eddie's tip for even more spare time: Relying on the FILTER flat-rate from the #filterspezialisten, your systems are always fully functional and properly inspected.