Go Back  PPRuNe Forums > PPRuNe Worldwide > Fragrant Harbour
Reload this Page >

Air pollution in HKG

Fragrant Harbour A forum for the large number of pilots (expats and locals) based with the various airlines in Hong Kong. Air Traffic Controllers are also warmly welcomed into the forum.

Air pollution in HKG

Old 1st May 2011, 22:20
  #41 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Accruing MilliSiverts
Posts: 561
Received 14 Likes on 7 Posts
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.
Al E. Vator is offline  
Old 1st May 2011, 22:56
  #42 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: asia
Posts: 947
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
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
hongkongfooey is offline  
Old 2nd May 2011, 05:30
  #43 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Gweriniaeth Cymru
Posts: 577
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
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
N1 Vibes is offline  
Old 9th May 2011, 13:49
  #44 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Longitude East 114 degrees
Posts: 272
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
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
Prince of Dzun is offline  
Old 10th May 2011, 06:58
  #45 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: asia
Posts: 947
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
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 .
hongkongfooey is offline  
Old 10th May 2011, 14:18
  #46 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Longitude East 114 degrees
Posts: 272
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
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.
Prince of Dzun is offline  
Old 11th May 2011, 04:53
  #47 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: SE Asia
Posts: 194
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
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
freightdog188 is offline  
Old 11th May 2011, 08:09
  #48 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Longitude East 114 degrees
Posts: 272
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
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.
Prince of Dzun is offline  
Old 11th May 2011, 10:20
  #49 (permalink)  
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Canberra, ACT
Posts: 83
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Just to clarify guys, Is it correct to say that the upmarket IQair systems are capable of removing the SO2 and NOx concentrations?
Roxy_Chick_1989 is offline  
Old 13th May 2011, 14:03
  #50 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: asia
Posts: 947
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
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.
hongkongfooey is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.