In industrial environments, indoor air quality is often overlooked, despite the fact that it is a crucial factor in workers' health and production efficiency.

Many people think that opening windows is enough to ensure healthy air, but the reality is quite different. Without a proper extraction and filtration system, indoor air can be more polluted than outdoor air, increasing risks to safety, health and productivity.

Why can indoor air be more dangerous than outdoor air?

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), indoor air can contain 2 to 5 times higher concentrations of pollutants than outdoor air. Under special conditions it can reach levels up to 100 times higher.

This is true for offices, schools, and hospitals, but it has an even more serious impact in industrial settings.

Here, processes such as welding, laser cutting, machining, painting or use of solvents release pollutants such as fine dust, VOCs, fumes and oil mists.

Moreover, opening a window is not always a solution. Outside air can bring with it urban particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10), ozone and nitrogen dioxide. When these particles mix with those already present indoors, they can form secondary compounds that are even more harmful.

Health risks and sources of pollution in industrial environments.

Although we often talk about PM2.5, it is PM1 that is of greatest concern. These are ultrafine particles, less than 1 micron in diameter, which are able to penetrate deeply into the lungs and reach the bloodstream. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), these particles are associated with serious respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological diseases, including asthma, heart attacks and even early dementia.

Prolonged exposure to contaminated indoor air can also cause a range of ailments, including:

• Eye, nose and throat irritation
• Headaches and fatigue
• Respiratory problems such as asthma and bronchitis
• Sick Building Syndrome, with nonspecific symptoms that improve by moving away from the contaminated environment

This not only puts workers' health at risk, but can also have negative effects on business productivity, increasing absenteeism and reducing operational concentration.

In manufacturing settings, the presence of these pollutants is fueled by both external sources and, more importantly, those internal to the industrial process. Lubricants, oils and emulsions, welding fumes, oil mists generated by machine tools, dust from machining (cutting, sanding, grinding), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from drying, painting, or chemical processes all contribute to making indoor air hazardous to people and to the plants themselves.

In fact, the accumulation of particulate matter, fumes and vapors can damage sensors, electrical panels and delicate components, increasing the risk of malfunctions and extraordinary maintenance costs.

The solution: industrial extraction and filtration systems.

To protect workers' health and improve environmental quality, installing effective extraction and filtration systems is critical.

HF Group designs tailor-made systems for air treatment in industrial environments, choosing the most suitable technology according to specific production needs. Our systems make it possible to:

• Remove oil mists with coalescence technologies, static and centrifugal filters
• Abate fine dust with cartridge or bag dust collectors
• Eliminate VOCs and odors with activated carbon, scrubbers or regenerative thermal oxidizers
• Monitor air quality in real time to ensure consistent standards

Breathing clean air in the workplace is not an optional extra, but a right and a priority. In an industrial setting, where sources of contamination are numerous and continuous, a professional extraction and filtration system is the only effective answer.

Thanks to these technologies, today companies can make a real investment in the quality of the air in their workplaces. A step that means protecting the health of workers, improving productivity and strengthening the sustainability of the entire organization.

Today, more than ever, this is a key element of a responsible industrial strategy. Discover HF Group's solutions!