Think better and be healthier for $40? It’s true!

What happens when the following occurs?

• Janice is out because she has a massive headache
• Roderick can’t concentrate and isn’t doing great work
• Julio is at home sick, again
• Chen has been diagnosed with cancer
• Zena has to come into the office: she is clinically vulnerable and you want to protect her health

If you’re like many people, you might have a policy or directive on this, but, is that up-to-date with modern standards? 

What if I told you that there are silent enemies lurking in your place of work, worship or community? What would you be willing to do to protect those that you care about?  Would you spend $40? Of course you would – and yet, there are many people who are actively embracing indifference in the lives of others.

These silent enemies, like Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), viruses and germs, are lurking in the air in the office. Why?

• Sometimes we bring them with us. Johnny, ever the soldier, came in with who knows what virus yesterday. He’s not sure if he got it at church or the kid’s daycare, but he was sick. Now? Charlene is sick, too. Was that in-person meeting worth it? There are a vast array of airborne illnesses that are spreading around the world right now that can be helped by using clean air: or, even better, if you’re sick, stay home, Johnny!

• We bought materials laden with VOCs. Until a few years ago when I was doing client research for Pure Paint, I was largely unaware of how much these horrible gremlins contribute to conditions like cancer, and they are in SO many things. Your new office chair? Probably. The paint on your walls? Likely! Even the photocopier, among many other things. 
• There are fires, industrial plants, or other polluters around you. Those plumes of smoke? Those waste or slurry ponds? Car fumes? Those aren’t good for you.

Clean air wasn’t something that I knew much about until the Covid Pandemic. While I was a bit resistant at first, I’ve found that clean air has been a very helpful strategy for me with my work and my family life alike. 

It helps you not just stay healthy, but, it also helps you do your best work! And perhaps, not surprising, as research from Harvard shows a clear connection between particles in the air as well as CO2.

• We found 0.8-0.9% slower response times for every 10ug/m3 increase in PM2.5. Throughput (correct responses per minute) was 0.8-1.7% lower for the same concentration increase. Slurry pond? Downtown traffic? Fires? Those kinds of things are contributing.

Fine Particulate Matter (also known as PM_2.5) are particles in the air that measure less than 2.5 micrometers (μm) in diameter, and typically consists of a mix of things like smoke, soot, liquid or solid particles in aerosol, or biological matter like mould, bacteria, pollen and animal dander. PM_2.5poses a risk to your health because, when inhaled, it can travel deeply into your lungs.

• We also found effects of CO2 (a proxy for ventilation) on cognitive function. For every 500ppm increase, we saw response times 1.4-1.8% slower, and 2.1-2.4% lower throughput. More people in the room? Yelling or singing? The more exhalation that happens, the more CO2 in the air.

A few basics?

• Keep the CO2 low. When we breathe out, we release CO2. Unless you are refreshing your room with fresh air in some way (like an open window), the CO2 is likely to rise. Depending on your application, the recommendation for C02 levels will vary, but, according to new standards to help with Infection Aerosols, they are relatively low to what is seen in many buildings. A CO2 monitor can help, too. 
• Use air purification: Portal HEPA filters (good ones recommended here), Corsi-Rosenthal Boxes (you can build those yourself, or, get some children in your life to do it), or even furnace filters like MERV-13s can help. These are not mutually exclusive, of course.
• Be strategic! Where are you holding your gatherings? Do you have to meet in person?  Things like opening a door or window can help decrease CO2: not only does that help people to think their best, but it decreases viruses in the air (higher CO2 keeps more viruses in play). So, can you hold your meeting in a certain spot? What assets do you have? Should you stage people in groups versus stuffing the room? Or, can you augment the room to make it safer with extra air purifiers to keep harmful bugs to a lower level? Keep in mind, exhaled air and viruses can stay aloft for hours, so if you don’t have any mechanism to clean the air, there is additional risk for time spent together, and it’s multiplied by the number of people in the room, too. 

What is exciting is the emerging use of things like upper air UV technologies being used to help in the battle, too.

Much as we would no longer willingly drink dirty water, why are we willing to breathe dirty air? We’re thinking about these problems like it’s the 1700s and meanwhile, we have ALL the tools to help us live healthier, happier and more productive lives. That’s what we should do, isn’t it?

Oh, and the $40… Joseph Allen of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health says that is the number, according to his research, that is needed per person to help clean air. One of the biggest wins?

“…(The) productivity benefits from doubling ventilation rates would be roughly $6,500 per year. ‘Ultimately, managers would be wise to routinely incorporate health impacts into all of their cost-benefit calculations,’ he wrote.”

Not to mention, you can help reduce pollution related risks like lung diseases, cardiovascular diseases and more. On the viral side, you can help mitigate conditions and diseases like Long Covid, Measles, Tuberculosis, Whopping Cough (these have seen a recent uptick in various places, including Canada). Your friends are worth $40 a piece, yes? Your stakeholders? 

What can I do to help myself and my team? 

Here are a few suggestions:

• Educate yourself and find out more from the various links here. Engage with an engineering partner who deeply understands ASHRAE 241 and other key standards that can help you.
• Don’t rely solely on public health to inform your policies and decisions. Many jurisdictions are prioritizing political capital over health, and it’s not congruent with best practice. I’m looking at you, California (for instance). 
• Ensure your policies have time for people to stay home, get healthy and recover, as necessary. Allow for remote meetings to reduce risk, have happier employees (in general) and to promote a more equitable environment, especially for those who are vulnerable.

To help you understand more, explore this article that was developed through collaboration earlier this year with the Erb Institute at the University of Michigan on the topic of Using Strategic Intelligence for Growth and Resilience in a Polarized World, and focused on several case studies, including clean air. You can read the post with the Erb Institute or see the full post on my own website. 

Be well, stay healthy, and take care of each other!