Air monitoring equipments for material emissions and product testing - Monitoring and Testing
A wide variety of products that are used in our indoor environments may emit harmful substances, raising health and safety concerns in homes, offices, public places and vehicles. There is increasing demand to reduce VOC emissions from indoor sources, backed by European legislation. REACH regulation is a European initiative for the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical Substances. It was implemented to protect human health and the environment from harmful emissions of chemicals into the air we breathe. The REACH regulation places the responsibility on manufacturers and importers to test their products and provide safety information to the purchaser, end user or consumers.
Sources of pollution:
Sources of pollution:
- Building materials.
- Furnishings and upholstery.
- Paints, varnishes, inks and adhesives.
- Flooring - plastic, wood and laminate flooring, carpets.
- Office equipment.
- Consumer products, including toys.
Locations:
- Inside buildings.
- Inside vehicles, boats, aircraft.
Possible health effects:
- Eye irritation.
- Respiratory effects.
- Headaches.
- Tiredness.
Materials emissions and product testing can be used to identify dangerous substances in currently used products or in the research and development of low emission products. Even very low levels of potentially harmful substances can be detected. Gradko offer a pre-screening test in microchambers to give an indicative measure of emissions before companies complete full tests in large chambers.
An assessment of the levels of VOC emissions can be made using various techniques:
- Microchamber/ GCMS techniques to test product samples and identify emitted pollutants
- VOC sorbent tubes to test ambient VOC pollution in indoor environments
- FLEC emissions cell for direct measurement from the installed material – a cost-effective alternative to testing in an emissions chamber.
Who requires these tests?
- Manufacturers.
- Importers.
- Suppliers.
- Retailers.
- Health and Safety professionals.
- Trading Standards authorities.
- Consumers