Air pollution in HKG

[Roxy_Chick_1989]

Interested to get an overview on how the air quality (or lack thereof) in HKG affects the families of expats, and the expats themselves living in HKG. There seems to be quite some commotion on Prune from a couple of people who regularly harp on about it. Is it really shaving years off your live(s)?

[The Messiah]

Well I have a theory that it is going to allow me to live forever, and so far so good :ok:

[Flying Phoenix]

Roxy C.

I lived in Hong Kong for close to 11 years. At first I was sick a great deal, probably because I partied to hard. After settling down, getting married, and having children the issue of the air quality (an oxymoron if there ever was one) in Hong Kong came front and center. I lived on a steady diet of Actifed and Flixonase in order to keep my sinusitus at bay. It worked for the most part, but there were times that the pollution was too great for my system to cope. Then there my kids. As soon as they were old enough they too lived on a steady supply of cough syrups and sinus medicine. Not a day went by when they weren't taking one or the other. The final straw was when we had to take one of them for a chest x-ray, only to be told by the doctor that he was going to be asthmatic - both of them were in fact going to be. So we moved to Thailand, the land of smiles and clean air (not Bangkok of course) and the symptoms for all of us disappeared immediately. Amazing how quickly things turned around.

Not everyone is going to experience the same effects from the poor air quality in Hong Kong. However, if you or your children are susceptible to air pollution it is not a great place to live.

[Flaps10]

I never get sick and I jog and hike outside regularly. That's not to say that the air quality isn't &#)$ but it does effect everyone differently. Worst for me is scratchy eyes once in awhile.

We all know it's crap, it's not going to get better, so deal with it or leave. Haven't we been over this a million times on here?

[Dirty Lungs]

Roxy,

it's bad, and getting worse every year (except for a brief respite during the financial crisis). After a few years of putting up with it our family left with no reservations. Our kids are quite young, and we thought - given the abundant evidence of what these levels and types of pollutants do to you - that it was madness to wait until some symptoms started to manifest themselves before we got our family out.
We acted not based on symptoms you can see now, but on what the future holds for our health. Unless we went into Central or Kowloon we didn't actually suffer too much (eyes, throat, chest), but that is a poor indicator of what this sh!t is doing to you. Remember that not only are the levels very, very high (the authorities refused to use an index used by western countries) it is also the types of pollutants here. I am sure you will do adequate due diligence on your prospective HK employer - for you and your family's sake I would think doing the same level of research on the air quality here would be at least as important.
There are plenty of expats who don't really notice the air - and exercise/hike etc in it to their heart's content. That's fine, but it in no way diminishes the very real risk to your life and health that this air is exposing you to. It may "effect everybody differently" on a day to day basis, but certainly not after years/decades of exposure.
Finally, ask yourself why you would be willing to bring your family an yourself here and accept it. Unless you have previous HK ties, the answer is almost certainly going to be one thing - money. Where do YOUR values lie, no one elses. Are you prepared to expose your family to the clear and indisputable risk to fly a shiny jet?

[Lowkoon]

AIR POLLUTION IN CHINA - China | Facts and Details (http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=392&catid=10&subcatid=66)

With Beijing admitting to 500,000 deaths related to pollution a year, lets assume for a minute they are right. THat is the equivalent of everyone in Geelong, Sunshine coast and townsville dying every year from pollution. In another country it might raise eyebrows.

[Capt Toss Parker]

I actually like the pollution ... nice sunsets .... don't get to sunburnt ... get to sleep in a little longer .... good excuse to hang out in bars and tie one on.

[Sqwak7700]

THat is the equivalent of everyone in Geelong, Sunshine coast and townsville dying every year from pollution. In another country it might raise eyebrows.

In China, it is population control. I don't think China is concerned about deaths as much as it is about births.

[Air Profit]

If you are single, then you can make this choice with the knowledge that the only one you are harming (and you will harm yourself) is you. I think it unconscionable that any man would bring his wife and kids to live full time in this environment. They wouldn't really have a choice in the matter. Your kids will suffer the most, as their bodies are growing and adapting....and the effect from some REALLY NASTY SH*T will follow them their whole lives. Don't doubt it.

[hongkongfooey]

Surprisingly ( for PPRUNE ) all good, well thought out, informative posts...except of course Tosco;)

Roxy, HKG has one of the highest life expectancies in the world....thats now, we will see in 15-20 years when the younger population are approaching middle age and the children have had 15-20 years of breathing this disgusting crap that on a good day is 5 times the WHO limit, on a bad day 20 times, those bad days are getting more and more regular.
Of course, a statistic that is not available is quality of life, sure you might live to 70 or 80, but you might spend a lot of time at the doctors, and wheezing, coughing and hacking like so many do around here. There are approximately 7,000,000 doctor/hospital visits every year attributed to pollution.
I also think there are an alarmingly, abnormally high number of my colleagues whose family members have had brushes with death, more than a dozen out of 400 pilots in 3 years.

If someone put a gun to your head and said " heres xxxxxxxxxxHKD and if you accept this I will pull the trigger and you have a 1-5000 chance of dying " what would you do ? ( roughly 1500 die from pollution here each year )
Unfortunately kids don't have the option of saying yes or no, they rely on their parents to do the right thing by them.

You could smoke a pack of smokes a day for your entire life and die of old age, or you could die at 30, again, are you willing to take the risk and do you have the right to make your kids accept that risk ? ( not you personally )

Check this site out, the guy that started/runs it has moved back to the UK due to his ill health which he attributes directly to HKG, as every time he went home he got better HEI - Home (http://hedleyindex.sph.hku.hk/home.php)

To answer your question, yes the pollution has had a strange and profound effect....its made all my belongings and my family move 8000Ks south :}

[Roxy_Chick_1989]

Does anybody implement any possible remedies such as



Wear one of those surgical masks (not sure how effective these will be against the gaseous substances)
Air purifier in apartment
Stay indoors (effective?)
Commuting from other neighbouring regions (probably financially ruinous given the current pay offerings)
Seek basing (unsure how likely this is for a new joiner after FO upgrade)
Full facial respirator/gas mask :yuk: - Nah just kidding:D

As you can imagine, it is a very tough call deciding whether to seek the 'foot in the door' with a major airline at a young age, and put up with the pollution, or perservere at home for a considerable period of time for the chance to do the same in AUS minus the pollution.

Appreciate the helpful input thus far.

R

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/z367/RB211-524G-T/Police_officer_wearing_half-mask_respirator.jpg

[hongkongfooey]

Surgical masks : completely useless against the microscopic particles that do you the most harm.

Air purifiers : Yes, the good ones ( 12-14000HKD each ) work well in bringing down the particle/litre to below 60K, the IQ air, running 24/7 can bring the PM/litre down to below 10,000 which is good, but you have to leave the apartment sooner or later.

Stay indoors : Bah ha ha ha, the stupid, inane, pathetic HK government tell you to stay indoors on really bad days where the air quality is almost EXACTLY the same as outside ( unless you have air purifiers ). Are people really that stupid to think their flats ( especially here ) are air tight :ugh:

Commuting : People do, from Thailand, NZ, Oz, even SA etc, there are many financial penalties, visa/living issues of course and eg Thailand you/your family have to leave every few months.

Basings : depending on who you talk to at CX, these could become extinct, at the moment tho I think Oz bases are not that hard to get bearing in mind you will be an S/O for 4-5 years and then JFO for another 6 mths min., so 5-6 years before you can even apply, that is a long time to be breathing in this 5hit.

If you are young/single your lifestyle would be 100 times better with VB/Jokestar/National Joke etc in Oz than it will be up here, IMHO. Most of those have staff travel and you wil enjoy seeing the world a lot more in your own time.

Good luck

[Bye Bye Baby]

HKF
If you got on the 146 I'm not sure the air is any better........;)

[freightdog188]

hongkongfooey said: Stay indoors : Bah ha ha ha, the stupid, inane, pathetic HK government tell you to stay indoors on really bad days where the air quality is almost EXACTLY the same as outside ( unless you have air purifiers ). Are people really that stupid to think their flats ( especially here ) are air tight

actually ... some just might be that dumb.. Coz they think that holding a hand in front of your nose will protect you from street level pollution - you see it all the time...
I however advocate the "place extended index finger across your nostrils" method, which realiably filters out any pollutants bigger than a broadbean (or even a pea for that matter) and looks even more ridiculous ;)

http://www.thecuttingedgenews.com/uploads/cmimg_2207.jpg


@Roxy_Chick_1989

sad but true, the full face filter picture you posted is the only way of getting clean air outside. Not that I'd see anyone wear them, because air pollution doesn't cause acute pain so most people try to ignore it ....

[Rook]

Has anyone ordered an IQair filter online from the US? Seems they are a lot cheaper (about 1/2) than in Hk.

[hongkongfooey]

Has anyone ordered an IQair filter online from the US? Seems they are a lot cheaper (about 1/2) than in Hk

Hope it comes with a step-down transformer Rook, otherwise the pollution inside your apartment might be worse than outside :}

[Al E. Vator]

Lived in HK, kid got very sick. Respiratory infections all the time.
Cupboard full of Watsons cold and flu remedies.

Left HK. Kid never been healthier. Change occurred almost immediately.
Cold and flu remedies all time expired and in the bin.

No amount of $ is worth my conscience being tarnished by hurting my child.

[FR8R H8R]

I wouldn't advocate putting the kids through the "haze" either. As for adults, well, they can make the choice for themselves. Cosmic radiation, Fukushima radiation, HK pollution, Dhaka pollution, Indian pollution and food poisoning. It's a fantastic career.

I have found that the "Pull-Your-T-Shirt-Up-Over-Your-Mouth-And-Nose" technique can produce favourable results. Not necessarily from the pollution, but from various bodily odours emanated from the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds.

[rick.shaw]

Roxy Chick. I could name at least half a dozen of my colleagues who swear that their own and children's health improved markedly as a result of returing to their home country permanently or even just on extended holidays. And the improvement was almost instantaneous in most cases. This suggests the improvement in air quality was the main factor.

Some people are more susceptible to showing symptoms related to the air quality than others. Regardless, the bad air WILL affect ALL those living in HKG. Younger children in particular are more susceptible with their developing lungs. The Hong Kong government are burying their heads in the sand on this issue and will continue to do so for a long time to come. Donald Tsang once remarked that since Hong Kong has one of the longest life expectancy's in the world, there simply can't be a problem.

We have one of the IQ Air machines and two smaller purifiers and can reccommend the IQ Air in particular. Unfortunately they(IQ Air) are very expensive to buy. The replacement parts are also expensive, but we order our spares online and get them posted to one of the crew hotels in the USA. At least we are getting clean air for 14 or so hours a day.

I know of no one that has ordered one from USA. They are significantly cheaper than in Hong Kong, but would be difficult to get on as crew luggage unless thay can be broken down. Shipping would be expensive too. Voltage is not a problem - step down transformers are just a few dollars here.

Hope this helps.

PS. There is also a hidden danger with new renovations/furniture. Alot of the (cheap) glues used to put stuff together in China(where much of the new furniture/laminates/built -in's etc are made) have some pretty dodgy chemicals in them. They can give off some nasty fumes(e.g. formaldahydes) over a considerable length of time. Consider getting a purifier that can absorb some of these. A simple google search will yield information on all of this.

[capt_einz11]

Bare in mind that, although many of you guys or your kids got better leaving HK for a while, the destruction of airways/noses can be irreversible. Picked up my nose allergies in HK, even out of HK for an extended time I still never breath like I used to do.

[N1 Vibes]

I made my mind up to move before my daughter was 3, as that's when they say asthma set's in. We'll be gone by August.

Adios!

[Coastrider26]

On the bright side: on your public holidays the weather is always nice and sunny...can not have anything to do with offices/factories closed in HKG today can it?????

[hongkongfooey]

On the bright side: on your public holidays the weather is always nice and sunny...can not have anything to do with offices/factories closed in HKG today can it?????

Coast, sorry to rain on your parade but the REALLY sad thing is that when everyone is looking out saying " oh, what a beautiful Hong Kong day " for example, yesterday ( 24/4/11 ), the pollution is still double the WHO maximum. Yesterday the sulphur dioxide, PM10 and nitrogen dioxide where all double or more and at no stage did they get below the maximum WHO level, of course the muppet government reported yesterday as green ( 2nd best level according to HKs BS out of date system )

Bare in mind that, although many of you guys or your kids got better leaving HK for a while, the destruction of airways/noses can be irreversible. Picked up my nose allergies in HK, even out of HK for an extended time I still never breath like I used to do.

And there in lies the rub, I hear people say " when I see the first sign of pollution damaging my kids, I'm outta here " , well I'm sorry to tell you at that point it could be too late.


and Vibes, I'm with you :ok:

[Coastrider26]

Ofcourse it is still the most ****ty and polluted air you will ever encounter coming from the western world..or from the island(s) down south.. But I was just trying to look at it on the positive side...But still nice sunny days over eastern.

Clearly all the pollution comes from the mainland.. I mean they close the factories for Eastern as well or any other HKG public holiday......

OR MAYBE (and this is just an assumption) lots of this pollution we breathe is actually from HKG but it's easier to blame the mainland factories (which most are owned by hkg people anyway) Cos the commies are only interested in money not in health or environment except their personal ones ofcourse

[MrClaus]

The daily pollution levels here would make front page news in most countries and all but a small minority don't seem to give a damn. One thing I have learn't about Hong Kong is that the only thing that matters is $$$. People here, expats and locals seem to be willing to sacrifice their kids for the almighty dollar. Well, you all have 3 choices;

1. Leave and never come back
2. Commute from somewhere nice if you are able
3. Get a base, once again if you are able and when/if they open

Take your pick. I made my choice and it was the best thing I ever did.

[Che Xindamail]

A nice day in Europe will see pollution levels of 5k-20k particles/l. EU guidelines recommend not exercising outdoors if levels reach 105k particles/l.

A company in Eastern HK (the supposedly cleaner side), on an average day, measured 800k particles/l, indoors and outdoors. Air-conditioning on/off had no effect whatsoever.

These are micro-particles that enter the bloodstream and can cause chronic diseases.

Explain to your kids when they get lung cancer at 40 that you thought it was worth it for the money.

[hongkongfooey]

Coast, even the most die hard pollution fighters agree that around 50% is local and 50% from the mainland, HK has a power station that burns coal as dirty as possible to make more money ( even heard that the shutters are only used for EPA visits, theres a ton of vehicle pollution and don't forget about the ships.

A nice day in Europe will see pollution levels of 5k-20k particles/l. EU guidelines recommend not exercising outdoors if levels reach 105k particles/l.

Yep, a nice day here on Fantasy Island is 250K/L, faark knows what it is in central. An IQ air agent sent an email telling them that the pollution reached 1,200,000/L late last year, IQ air thought he was taking the pi55.

The daily pollution levels here would make front page news in most countries and all but a small minority don't seem to give a damn

Sadly the minority that give a damn wont hang around and damage their families health, even if they did wan't to try and fight it. But why would you bother, nobody honestly believes our northern brothers will do anything about it anytime soon, and when the average HKer puts education and sporting prowess above health for their children, well what hope have they got ?

I wonder how long it will be before China is unable to sustain life ? Think I'm joking.................

[N1 Vibes]

Coastrider 26,

sorry to disappoint, but Easter is not a public holiday in Shenzhen, so whilst the 7 million people in HKG are all 'havin a barbie' the 9 million people in Shenzhen are working like stink producing rubber-dogsh!t.

Regards,

N1 Vibes

[carl baker]

HKG Fooey etc.

Thanks for pointing out the obvious - not sure how much you got involved to bring about change or protest except here on Prune, but

Just go. Thanks for your time, but do something constructive or don't press return.

[freightdog188]

I think it is quite important to raise an awareness of how bad it really is.
For example, today. Almost blue skies and you can see Central from your balcony in DB... Must be a healthy clear air day then, right?
Nope. Far off the mark.
The fine particle pollution is still above the WHO "short time exeedance" 24h limit and approx. 2.5 times the annual limit, above which negative health effects can be expected.
Just to make it more clear what that means
If you were exposed only 24h to pollution levels like today the doctors would consider this a health risk.
If every day of the year was as beautiful as today you would exceed the healthy limits by a factor of 2.5

if that was "obvious" to you then you have done your homework well. Most people haven't ...

[Roxy_Chick_1989]

Out of curiousity on an SO roster, per 30 day period, how many days will you be in HK as opposed to all over the world? I think i read somewhere SO's do 2 trips per month, how many days would each trip be?

[MrClaus]

Roxy Chick
The SOs do about 3 to 4 trips a month, each pattern being 3-4 days on average. There are off course exceptions to this rule. 777 guys may only get a couple of New Yorks and an airbus guy might get a long layover in Paris. Swings and roundabouts in the end really. Overall, lots of time off.

However...given the title of this thread and reading between the lines (dangerous I know) I get the feeling you are thinking about commuting. The problem there is not lack of time, but lack of money. Without the expat housing allowance or somewhere to stay for free in Hong Kong ie family, rich dad or whatever, you will be hardpressed to afford commuting from anywhere.

[Prince of Dzun]

Is there anyone here who has an IQ air purifier installed in their flat who might care to advise on a couple of simple questions?

(1) If the IQ is run 24 hours continuously is the air noticeable sweeter than the air outside?

(2) Is the quality of sleep improved in so much as you wake up more refreshed?

(3) If you run an airconditioner in the same room as the IQ is the IQ cleansed air downgraded by the incoming airconditioned cooler air?

(4) If the IQ is placed in say the 3rd bedroom can it handle the rest of the flat if all doors are left open?

I'm thinking of getting an IQair Health Pro 250 model ( the larger of the two available ) and at $HK14,000 I'm really not knowledgeable enough to assess if it's worth it. Any comments much appreciated.

Prince of Dzun

[boxjockey]

I have 2 IQ 150s, and they do make a noticeable difference. The main problem you encounter here is the terrible workmanship in flats, and the fact that nothing is even close to being air-tight. My kids sleep with one in their bedroom, but hopefully in a few months we'll be gone and I can sell you mine!! I wouldn't live in this city without at least two.

box

[Coastrider26]

That was my whole point N1...But even on the HKG days pollution levels are general lower than on normal working days...And like you say when Shenzen factories do operate we still have pollution however not as much as when the ones in HKG are operating as well

[SMOC]

In the paper last week it said a study carried out for 3 months last year the pollution was over the WHO safe limit for 99.1% of the time, there are bad days and there are shocking days. Have a month off somewhere where it really is good and you'll see that so called good days in HK still are bad.

[N1 Vibes]

Thanks Coastrider.

Carl Baker, for you:

Oh! Carl, I am but a fool,
Darling I love you tho' you treat me cruel,
You hurt me and you made me cry
But if I don't leave HKG I will surely die.

Darling there will never be another (blue sky)
Cause I love you so,
don't ever leave me,
Say you'll never go
I will always want you for my sweetheart
No matter what you do
Oh! Carl, I'm so in love with you.

You're so manly you're so bristley
Are you the son of Capt Toss?
Oh you're so deeply
Intelligent and cool
Your grey matter it intrigues me
In everything you say
Oh Carl, get a grip boy!


Best Regards,

Somebody Slightly Older and Wiser than Yourself :p

[Prince of Dzun]

boxjockey;

Thanks for the info. The IQ air assessors are coming next week to check out the flat and give a report on the suitability of installing a purifier. They have asked that on the day of the check ensure all doors and windows are closed from early morning and the air conditioners are off. However if it's a hot day the air conditioners may be switched on. This seems a bit contradictory but no doubt the test makes some allowance for whatever, or does it!! I may be interested in your 150s. Regards,

Prince of Dzun.

[hongkongfooey]

Prince, 1 x IQ no matter how big will not do an entire flat, unless your flat is 500sqft. It will definitely improve the air quality, but on a day like yesterday when the PMs exceeded 1,000,000 ( no not a typo ), the air inside your flat will still be above the WHO limit of 60,000, you really need one in every room.
As for A/Cs, most, if not all of them recirculate the inside air so should not be an issue.
When the IQ guy comes around what will knock your socks off ( well it did me ) is how the pollution is just as bad inside your unfiltered flat as it is outside which makes a joke of the government telling us to stay inside on really bad days.
As an aside to that, I have noticed no government warnings recently inspite of readings exceeding 500,000 and yesterday which was over 1,000,000.:yuk:

[Prince of Dzun]

hongkongfooey,

Appreciate your comments, every little bit helps in understanding how best to handle this pollution problem. I'll post here what the IQ assessor's (being done on 9th May) have to say along with the numbers they come up with.
Regards

Prince of Dzun

[Al E. Vator]

Filters after the event seem crazy.

Why is there no huge pressure on the SAR Government and regional counterparts to put filters on at source?

Stop the incredibly lethal stuff escaping into the air and people's lungs from where it is generated.

Costs too much??? I'll bet the health ramifications outweigh the cost of industrial filters by a big margin.

[hongkongfooey]

One thing they will never be known for around here Al e is being visionaries, until people start literally dropping dead in the street I gaurantee you nothing will be done about it.
Open the window, take a big whiff, that is money you can smell, I hope for everyone's sake in hong kong it's worth it :suspect:

[N1 Vibes]

Al.e.

great point, but it just highlights the 'Hong Kong Spirit' instead of fixing the problem at source, you can boost your economy by selling very expensive air-filtration units to the fearful. And although the IQAir units are "assembled in Switzerland", i don't think all the raw material and piece parts are made there....probably a lot closer to the Peak, than the yodelling filled valleys around the Matterhorn!

Best Regards,

N1 Vibes

[Prince of Dzun]

The IQ Air technicians came to check the apartment on Monday 9th May and here is the result. Unfortunately I could not have selected a worse day as the pollution index at location was a very low 15.. They came with a standard IQ150 purifier and two high tech air measuring units. All windows and doors of the apartment had been fully closed for 24 hours and the air quality was initially measured in each closed room. The outside air was then measured on the balcony and through opened windows. Surprisingly both the inside air and the outside air were similar at around 30,000 particles per litre of air.
The IQ150 was then switched on in one of the closed room and after 15 minutes the numbers fell from 30,000 particles per litre of air to 6000 particles per litre of air. The agent remarked that if the purifier was left running for 2 hours then the level in the room would be close to zero.
When the probe of the air measuring unit was placed in the fresh air outlet of the IQ150 it registered single digits which indicated it was doing its job.
The apartment also registered high levels of volatile organic compounds which the agent said came from paint, varnish, glue and cleaning agents. The origin of these volatile organic compounds could not be established.
After the initial purchase price the running costs is about HK$100 per month for occasional new filters and power. The filters are not cleanable, they have to be replaced.
Is it worth it?? Perhaps but I am not sure at this stage mainly because I still do not know if the heavy metal bad guys are actually being removed.

Prince of Dzun

[hongkongfooey]

Prince, bear in mind that Sunday, Monday and today are not the norm, they are as good as it gets, and yes if it was like that all the time that would be fine. But the facts are that more than a 1/3 of the year is below 8Ks viz and last week there were 2 days that exceeded 1,000,000PMs ( 60,000 being the WHO limit ). Also, the WHO estimate that exercising outdoors in Hong Kong is safe for around 1 month/year.

No filter will get rid of all the nasties but do you really want you and/or your family to be breathing the PMs PLUS the organic materials ?

Unfortunately, with summer coming and the mostly clear days, everyone soon forgets that they will be choking again in less than 6 months, and it is statisically getting worse each year .

[Prince of Dzun]

hongkongfooey;

Of course everything you say is perfectly correct and the test would have been more convincing on a day when it was socked in with a pollution index of 120 !! I asked about purchasing an IQ hand held digital particle scanner similar to the one used on the test and was told can do at $HK 25,200. Another interesting fact that came to light was that the IQ250 model has three filters and the IQ150 has only two filters. Not sure what the third filter is for. I'm in touch with the engineering department of the agents to try and find out. Regards,

Prince of Dzun.

[freightdog188]

you can compare the IQAir models here, the 3rd filter is activated carbon and some other neutralizing chemicals for gaseous pollutant and odour control

http://www.iqair.com/uk/pdf/iqair-hp-series.pdf

don't worry, they will deliver the very same result on a 500.000 p/l day ...

and if you really want to buy a L aser particle counter you will have to fork out at least a few thousand US$ ... thats just what they cost:

Handheld Particle Counter: Experts Review Handheld Particle Counters (http://www.particlecounters.org/handheld/)

[Prince of Dzun]

freightdod188;

Thanks for the info, very informative. I'm slowly starting to come to grips with what's involved in breathing fresh air but can't understand why the agents of air purifiers don't volunteer more particulars about their products. It seems that if one wants a good understanding of all that's involved then one can only ask one question at a time. Regards,

Prince of Dzun.

[Roxy_Chick_1989]

Just to clarify guys, Is it correct to say that the upmarket IQair systems are capable of removing the SO2 and NOx concentrations?

[hongkongfooey]

Roxy, the IQs pretty much spew out clean air, but on a day in excess of 500,000PMs/litre, which is becoming commonplace in HKG between October and May, any purifier will struggle. I can't give exact figures but if it's +500,000 outside then your IQ will struggle to get that below the WHO limit of 60,000.
Of course, you and/or your family can't hide in your flat all day and very few places in HKG have air purifiers running and the ones I have seen are way too small for the area they are servicing and never cleaned.