Specifications

6
Air pollution
Clean air consists of nitrogen, oxygen and noble gases. But the air we breathe consists of more, it is
contaminated with air pollution. Air pollution is either of particle matters or gaseous matters. Particle
matters include dust, pollen, pet dander, allergens, dust mites and their feces, bacteria, virus, fungus
and mold spores and other lung damaging particles. Gaseous matters include smoke, VOCs, odors
formaldehyde and ammonia.
Air pollution is implicated in a wide range of illnesses from irritating to severely debilitating and even
fatal.
Particle sizes
The particles that we see for example in the stream of light from the sun are only a small part of what
the air consists of. Airborne particle pollutants are measured in microns. To give perspective, one
micron is 1/1000th of a millimeter. A sharp pencil point is about 50 microns in diameter and human
hairs are between 30 and 120 microns. The eye can see to around 40 microns.
There are basically three size ranges of indoor pollutants:
Large range •
Large particles are greater than 1.0 micron in size and include dust and pollen. These particles
tend to fall out of the room air quickly, settling on furniture and floor. Particles of this size are a
less serious health hazard in that the cilia (hairs) that line our noses and our sinuses catch these
particles before they enter our lungs.
Medium range •
Medium range particles consist of pollutants that are 0.3 to 1.0 micron in size e.g. bacteria.
Particles of this size present the greatest health risk in that they remain airborne for long periods
of time, are small enough to pass the cilia (hairs) in our sinuses but too large to be easily exhaled
again. These particles become lodged in our lung tissue and are implicated in a wide variety of
asthma, allergy, respiratory and other serious illnesses.
Small range•
Small range particles are smaller than 0.3 micron in size and include smoke and viruses. These
particles are so small that they are easily inhaled and then exhaled again. However, these small
particles can also become lodged in lung tissue and create serious health concerns.
For the reasons noted above, it is very important that an air purifier is able to filter particles 0.3 micron
and smaller in size. Blueair air purifiers filter indoor pollutants to a 99.97% efficiency at 0.1 micron –
higher than most other air cleaners.