• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Newest Environmental Chamber Technology Commissioned for Product Certification and Product Safety Studies

Posted on: Wednesday, 18 March 2009, 13:33 CDT

ATLANTA, March 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Measuring down to parts per billion of formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and ozone is no small feat, yet emissions testing of indoor products to meet today's sustainable programs and public health protection require such precision on a daily basis. Air Quality Sciences (AQS), a leading global authority on indoor air quality (IAQ) and environmental chamber evaluations, routinely tests products for very low pollutant emissions. These tests are for third party product certification programs including GREENGUARD, Blue Angel, Green Seal and the new California-UL ozone emissions product regulation. In addition, AQS conducts tests for a wide variety of industry and product specification programs, which include the Carpet and Rug Institute Green Label Plus, ANSI/BIFMA X7.1-2007, California 01350 and CHPs (the national Collaborative for High Performance Schools Program). AQS has developed and validated precision test methods meeting certification requirements or program specifications for a wide range of products and materials including paints and coatings, flooring, insulation, wallboard, adhesives, office equipment, consumer products, cleaning chemicals, office, educational and residential furniture and many others. All these test protocols are included in the AQS ISO 17025 accreditation, which is internationally recognized and a rigorous measurement standard. AQS is also the only facility in the Unites States approved for European Blue Angel testing.

AQS has tested over 50,000 products, and to commemorate the Company's 20th Anniversary, twenty new environmental chambers were commissioned. These chambers employ the most technologically advance control and sampling systems available and permit testing for extended periods. According to Tony Worthan, President of AQS, "our engineers designed and constructed the newest chambers to better serve the needs of product manufacturers by producing accurate and reproducible test results in an efficient and economical manner." New advances allow for odor measurements at the part per trillion levels and also facilitate rapid chamber flush-out between samples, greatly reducing turnaround time. Advances in the air purification system ensure each chamber is a Class 10 clean room with no measurable levels of background contaminants. In order to accurately measure the very low levels of VOCs emitting from products that can cause irritation, odor or other adverse health effects, the air circulated in the chambers must be free of all measurable contamination.

The newest AQS large chamber is 32 m(3) and allows for realistic room studies including the full installation of large products such as office furniture, daycare furnishings and fixtures, office machines or even a baby's complete bedroom. The variety of AQS chambers ranging from 0.05 m(3) to 32 m(3) brings the Company's chamber total to more than fifty. This large number and wide size range provides maximum testing flexibility for manufacturers, who are developing non-toxic products for the marketplace and want to verify their "green" products for the USGBC LEED(R) program and other green building specifications. These AQS capabilities can be used to test the emissions of practically anything.

About AQS

Air Quality Sciences, Inc. is a fully integrated indoor air quality (IAQ) company that provides solutions to create healthy indoor environments and avoid potentially dangerous indoor pollution. As the only indoor air quality firm with laboratories that are ISO 9001:2000 registered, AIHA EMLAP accredited and ISO 17025 accredited, AQS sets the standard for accurate diagnoses and reliable solutions. The Company provides product emissions testing for the GREENGUARD Certification Programs, German Blue Angel Eco-label, Green Guide for Healthcare, LEED EQ credits, and other prominent IAQ and green product criteria requiring third party verification. To learn more about AQS, Blue Angel or GREENGUARD, visit www.aqs.com, www.blauer-engel.de or www.greenguard.org, respectively. For more information on indoor air quality, visit Aerias the AQS IAQ Resource Center at www.aerias.org.

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link.

Tony Worthan

https://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=86509

SOURCE Air Quality Sciences, Inc.

Source: PR Newswire

More News in this Category