Electrocorp air cleaners available worldwide

Electrocorp's RAP series air purifiers

Electrocorp air purification systems have become a go-to product for businesses and workers in North America and beyond, who are looking for cleaner, more breathable air.

The customizable air cleaners feature a substantial activated carbon air filter as well as HEPA and pre-filters to remove not only fine particles and dust, but also airborne chemicals, fumes, odors and gases.

Now Electrocorp offers shipping to international destinations such as Australia, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. 

For more information on Electrocorp's industrial and commercial air cleaners, contact Electrocorp by writing to info@electrocorp.net or by calling 1-866-667-0297. For international calls: 514-335-4277.

Electrocorp is the industrial division of AllerAir Industries.

Fragrance company claims to be committed to health and safety measures

The fragrance manufacturing company
promised to have odor controls in place.

A Japanese fragrance manufacturer plans to relocate operations from New Jersey to Harriman, officials say.

The international fragrance manufacturing company will spend $10 million dollars to renovate the 130,000-square-foot former Manhattan Beer site, which will employ 80 workers.

The company plans to open in stages and to be fully operational by the end of this year.

Concerns over possible odor problems in Harriman, which used to have some problems with chemical companies and the sewer district plant, have been met with assurances that odor controls will be in place.

Takasago International Corporation was founded in in Japan in 1920, and has developed flavors and fragrances for some of the world’s most successful food, beverage, fine fragrance, household and personal care products, according to the company’s Web site. It operates in 24 countries and has more than 3,000 employees worldwide.

Source: The Photo News

Control odors with activated carbon air cleaners

Air purification systems with granular activated carbon can help remove irritating odors, chemicals and fumes from the air.

Electrocorp's line of air purification systems for industrial applications is equipped to handle different kinds of air contaminants and provide cleaner air.

Beside activated carbon, the air cleaning units feature HEPA particle filters and other technologies such as UV germicidal filtration.

For more information about air cleaners for chemical processing plants or a consultation with an IAQ expert, contact Electrocorp.

Cleaner air a must to stop China tourism losses

Hotels and other providers of room and board accommodations need to take measures for cleaner indoor air

Activated carbon in air purifiers
can help remove fumes, gases,
chemicals, odors and more.

China has always been a major draw for tourists, but an ever growing problem of smog and poor air quality has caused a huge drop of visitors this year.

In January, China experienced extreme levels of smog, which were reported worldwide. Since then, the numbers of overseas visitors have declined and many long-term foreign residents have decided to leave the country.

China is the world's third most popular destination for international travel after France and the United States.

The decline could be long-term if Beijing fails to make visible progress in dealing with pollution, experts say.

An analysis of U.S. Embassy readings of smaller, more harmful airborne particles, show this year's pollution is significantly worse than in the past three years.

The Chinese government has announced ambitious anti-pollution measures but people whose jobs depend on foreign tourists aren't hopeful.

Source: The Telegraph

Cleaner air in hotels and other accommodations 

Visiting a country that suffers from high levels of air pollution is hard enough, but the thought of sleeping in a room with the same levels of poor indoor air quality might turn potential visitors away.

The tourism industry can respond by cutting prices - or by offering cleaner and healthier air inside their buildings.

In order to tackle the fumes, chemicals and particles inherent in city smog, an air purifier for smog not only needs a HEPA filter for particles and dust, but also a comprehensive activated carbon filter to remove chemicals, gases and fumes.

Electrocorp has worked with environmental consultants, the hospitality industry and many other professionals to provide cleaner indoor air. For hotel rooms and the hospitality industry, Electrocorp recommends air purification systems such as

Electrocorp's 9000 Series air purifier
is a versatile unit with carbon and HEPA. 

9000 Series - This air purifier offers a 15-60 pound activated carbon filter and medical grade HEPA filter and a pre-filter to prolong the main filters' life. The air purifiers can be mounted to the wall, attached to the ducts or used on the ground.

I-6500 Series for bigger spaces - The reception halls, lobbies, hallways, dining rooms and other larger spaces in hotels and vacation accommodations will benefit from clean air that has been filtered by activated carbon and HEPA.

RAP Series - Electrocorp's Radial Air Purifiers provide around the clock operation and a multi-stage filtration system to remove airborne chemicals, odors, particles and biological contaminants.

For more information and a consultation with an IAQ expert, contact Electrocorp by calling 1-866-667-0297 or by writing to info@electrocorp.net.

Construction dust a big health and safety risk

Inhaling dust and particles at construction sites is a
major health and safety issue, officials say.

Construction workers that don't protect themselves from inhaling even small amounts of dust on the job could put their health at risk, health and safety officials say.

In Britain, about 500 workers die each year from conditions related to the inhalation of dusts from concrete, wood, sandstone, mortar and gypsum.

In order to reduce these numbers and improve the health and safety for construction workers, Britain's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) offers a free seminar on Sept. 20 on the dangers of construction dust and measures of protection.

The seminar is organized by the Working Well Together group and will take place in Coalville, Leicestershire, to increase awareness among managers and supervisors about health effects associated with dusts.

Dust inhalation linked to ill health

One major health effect is the possible development of silicosis, a respiratory disease caused by breathing in silica dust.

Silica is a common, naturally-occurring crystal and it is present in many construction materials.

Intense exposure can lead to health problems right away, but typically, health effects only emerge after 10 to 15 years of regular exposure.

"Construction dust is not just a nuisance, it is a serious risk to workers' health," said Chris Lucas of HSE’s Health Risk Management Unit in a news article about the seminar. He'll be speaking during the seminar. 

"Regularly breathing in even small amounts of dust over a long time can cause life-changing and life-threatening lung diseases, including cancer," he added. "Common jobs like cutting or grinding concrete, chasing out mortar, drilling in enclosed spaces or sanding wood can be high risk if not properly controlled." 

For a free information sheet, visit http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/cis36.htm.

Source: Occupational Health and Safety Online

Air purification systems for construction and renovation projects 

Apart from personal protective systems, a portable yet highly efficient air cleaner helps provide cleaner air at construction and renovation work sites.

Electrocorp's IAQ solutions for construction and renovation include:

Air Marshal Series 
Equipped with powerful activated carbon and HEPA filters, these portable air purifiers help control airborne dust, particles, chemicals and fumes. Variable speed controls, pressure light indicator, negative air ready and various options available for different construction sites or projects.

The AirRhino is a highly efficient and portable air
cleaner for construction and renovation projects
as well as other industrial applications.

AirRhino Series 
Job site employees and building occupants alike will breathe cleaner and healthier air with an AirRhino air purification unit on site. The AirRhino can easily go from a dust and particle filtration system to a chemical, gas and odor abatement unit or a combination of both. Various filter options available.

5000 Series 
For smaller areas and renovation jobs, Electrocorp offers the 5000 Series air purifiers with HEPA and activated carbon filters for the abatement of dusts, particles, odors, chemicals and fumes.

For more information or a consultation with an IAQ expert, contact Electrocorp at 1-866-667-0297 or write to info@electrocorp.net.

Health club fumes an occupational hazard

A recent chemical fumes leak in a health club in South Wales serves as a reminder about how important clean air is in a work environment.

In the incident last Sunday, more than 25 fire and rescue service officers were dispatched to the men-only Greenhouse Health Club in Newport just after 9 pm, when a chemical leak was reported in.

An explosion in the club's pump room is being blamed. The chemicals stored in the room include hazardous substances used for sauna and pool maintenance.

Indoor swimming pool and hot tub maintenance
often involves the use of harsh chemicals.

Due to the explosion, a small amount of bromine was released, a chemical that is used to sterilize hot tubs, for example.

One person was treated and taken to the hospital after inhaling the chemical fumes.

There were eight clients in the club at the time.

The fire and rescue service officers secured the site and evacuated all guests, wearing chemical suits and breathing apparatus. The incident took almost five hours to resolve.

Source: BBC News

Air purification systems for health clubs and spas

RAP series air purifiers feature
activated carbon and HEPA filters.

Health club and spa employees who regularly handle or use chemicals and hazardous substances may be inhaling fumes that can affect their health.

Proper handling techniques and personal protective equipment are a must, but a portable and efficient air purification system can easily provide healthier air for employees and guests.

The air handler should feature activated carbon and HEPA filters as well as a UV filter to remove odors, fumes, gases, chemicals, dust, particles, viruses, bacteria and mold.

Electrocorp offers a wide range of air purifiers for health clubs, spas and beauty establishments. Contact Electrocorp for more information and options.

Bosses must stick to consequences to stop employees from wasting time online, researcher finds

Are your employees watching cat videos, shopping online and updating their Facebook statuses?

A Kansas State University researcher studied cyberloafing -- wasting time at work on the Internet -- and the effects of Internet use policies and punishment on reducing cyberloafing.

Joseph Ugrin, assistant professor of accounting at Kansas State University, and John Pearson, associate professor of management at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, found that company policies are not enough to stop workers from wasting time at work and that sanctions with policies must be consistently enforced for policies to be effective.

The study will be published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior.

Cyberloafing results in lost productivity and could put companies in legal trouble when workers conduct illegal activity or unacceptable behavior like viewing pornography on work computers. Between 60 and 80 percent of people's time on the Internet at work has nothing to do with work.

Although organizations benefit from positive aspects of the Internet like improved communication, some have trouble addressing cyberloafing, Ugrin said. Companies spend time, money and effort trying to monitor computer usage, detect what employees are doing online and write policies for employees on acceptable Internet behavior.

The researchers, who surveyed office workers and university students, found that both older and younger workers find ways to waste time on the Internet -- but in different ways.

"Older people are doing things like managing their finances, while young people found it much more acceptable to spend time on social networking sites like Facebook," said Ugrin, who studies behavioral and ethical issues related to accounting and information systems.

Threats of termination and detection mechanisms are effective deterrents against activities such as viewing pornography, managing personal finances and personal shopping, according to the study. However, that may not be enough.

Policies must be enforced to discourage activities like excessive personal emailing and social networking.

"We found that that for young people, it was hard to get them to think that social networking was unacceptable behavior," Ugrin said. "Just having a policy in place did not change their attitudes or behavior at all. Even when they knew they were being monitored, they still did not care."

Researchers discovered that the only way to change people's attitudes is to provide them with information about other employees who were reprimanded.

But that strategy can have negative consequences in the workplace and can lower morale, Ugrin said.

"People will feel like Big Brother is watching them, so companies need to be careful when taking those types of action," he said.

The study allows questions for further study, Ugrin said.

"We don't want to make everyone at work upset because the corporate office is watching over their employees' shoulders," he said, "but what if workers are wasting all of their time online? Where's the balance?"
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Looking for other ways to improve workplace productivity? Cleaner indoor air raises productivity and reduces absenteeism. Visit www.electrocorp.net for commercial and industrial air quality solutions.

Air cleaners for wide format solvent printers

That distinctive print shop smell was once considered just a part of the job, but the pervasive odors associated with wide format solvent printers are now known to cause serious health issues.

Electrocorp's air cleaners for wide format solvent printers and other industrial printing applications prevent the toxic build up of printing solvents and other pollutants, by adsorbing harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and trapping paper and toner dust.

Our air purifiers are compatible with wide format solvent printers manufactured by*:
Hewlet Packard ®, EFI - Vutek ®, Mutoh ®, Mimaki ®, Roland ®, DGI ®, Seiko ®, and numerous other brands.

Electrocorp's air purifiers for wide format solvent printers and other industrial printing applications remove airborne chemical fumes and gases, as well as capture paper dust, toner dust and printing odors from:

Alcohols Inks Dyes

Cleaners Ammonia Lead

Paper dust Solvents Formaldehyde

*Note that these registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Screening tool helps identify health and safety impacts of shift work on individual workers

An international team of sleep researchers has developed the world’s first screening tool to help reduce workplace accidents and illnesses, including cardiovascular disease and cancer, caused by shift work.

Published in the journal Sleep, the new tool will enable health professionals and industry to better understand individual vulnerability to the health and safety impacts of shift work.

This screening questionnaire for a condition known as shift work disorder (SWD) has been developed by researchers from Monash University, and US partners, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and the Henry Ford Hospital.

At least 15 per cent of workers in Australia, the US, and the United Kingdom, and around 23 per cent of workers in Japan are estimated to work outside normal hours, causing significant disruption to their natural sleep-wake schedules. SWD, characterised by extreme sleepiness and/or insomnia, is thought to affect around 10 per cent of shift workers.

Associate Professor Shantha Rajaratnam, of Monash and Harvard University, said the prevalence of shift work has been unknown due to the lack of accurate assessment tools.

"Shift work is a reality of modern economies, but research has shown that there are very real health risks associated with working outside regular hours," Associate Professor Rajaratnam said.

"Aside from associated health problems, shift workers are significantly more at risk of workplace injuries. The workers most affected by sleep disruption - those with SWD - account for a significant proportion of this risk and need to be identified."

Shift work, especially overnight, is associated with a higher rate of car crashes, industrial accidents, actual and near-miss injuries and quality-control errors on the job.

Secondary health problems linked with shift work include cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, gastrointestinal diseases and mood disorders, including depression.

"This questionnaire is an important step in better understanding causes of vulnerability to shift work, and targeting interventions to those who most need them," Associate Professor Rajaratnam said.

"However, this is only a first step and further tests of actual impairment from lack of sleep must be developed for implementation in occupational settings."

"More collaboration between researchers, industry and government partners is needed to tackle these significant challenges and make shift work as safe and productive as possible."

Photo: freedigitalphotos.net

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Cleaner air improves workplace productivity and reduces liability and heath care costs. Contact an Electrocorp air quality expert for a customized clean air plan for your business.

Study: Smaller Companies Bearing the Financial Burden of Employees with Cancer

Disability in Workers with Cancer Equals 20 Percent of Healthcare Spending

Each year, more than three million American workers are diagnosed with cancer, leading to high productivity losses that mainly affect smaller companies, reports a study in the December Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 

Analyzing a national survey of medical spending, the researchers found that cancer in U.S. workers leads to productivity losses of more than 33 million disability days per year, amounting to $7.5 billion in lost productivity. Based on the average wages of the workers surveyed, disability costs due to cancer were equal to 20 percent of total healthcare spending.

Nearly 85 percent of the workers with cancer worked for smaller companies with fewer than 500 employees. These small-business employees had higher rates of other health problems as well, including high blood pressure, depression, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. They were also more likely to be uninsured.

Certain types of cancers, including women's cancers and melanoma, were associated with higher burdens of illness. For breast cancer, health care costs and hospitalizations were twice as high and disability days 55 percent higher than for other cancers.

The study is one of the first to document the economic impact of cancer in the U.S. workforce. The true cost in terms of lost productivity is likely even higher than the disability days measured in the study. The authors call for further efforts to reduce the burden of illness associated with cancer and its treatment—perhaps including supportive care interventions to reduce cancer-related disability.

Photo: freedigitalphotos.net

Looking to reduce absenteeism and raise productivity? Improve the indoor air quality in your facility. Contact an Electrocorp air quality expert for an industrial air cleaning solution that's customized to meet your needs and reduce airborne chemicals, fumes, odors, particles and allergens.

Chemical exposure at work is putting plastic workers at risk of breast cancer

A new study published in the journal New Solutions presents strong evidence that women employed in the plastics industry are exposed to workplace chemicals that can increase their risk of breast cancer and reproductive abnormalities.

The study, by the University of Stirling, Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers and the National Network on Environments and Women’s Health, supports recent research led by the University of Stirling which reported a five-fold increased risk of developing breast cancer in premenopausal women who work in the plastics industry. Together these studies reveal the need for swift regulatory action on carcinogenic and endocrine disrupting chemicals on a global scale.

One Canadian worker taking part in the study explained the way chemical exposures affect her at work: “I don’t know if it’s from the smoke or if it’s from the fumes. You smell fumes, you taste [it] in your mouth, and then you get—it’s like a light-headedness, dizziness.”

Scottish plastics workers have reported similar experiences when interviewed by researchers:
“My concern was that the chemicals were openly used. Some people would be using different chemicals at more or less every bench. And when some of the ovens were on with no extraction…that was another complaint. I felt my eyes with the heat and the fumes building up – it was almost unbearable. It was really horrendous. F. didn’t bother about PTFE [flu] and he didn’t tell us when he was putting parts in the oven to cure them. It was only when we smelt the fumes and shouted, ‘F, have you put something in the curing?’ and he would go ‘Aye’. I would go like, ‘Get out of the road until it’s cured’. When the oven cools down it means that the fumes are going to stop.”

“Round the fabrication, and you would maybe be doing a job, maybe cementing like the clear acrylics, you would actually go to start work and you could actually see the dust landing on it and you would have to tell him to stop sweeping up because all they were doing was agitating all the dirt in the place and you had to tell him to stop while you got your job done. Because of them having no windows and no extraction, there was nowhere for it to go”.

"Sometimes you would go into the coating shop and when you opened the door, you would get a ‘yuuugh’ and you were gasping to get out of the place [because] you couldn’t breathe…They were spraying stuff and they were coating. What they used to have was these big tubs of powder, they attached a blower to it so that there was air getting blown through it. As soon as you attached the blower it was all over the place…also they used to take parts out of the [back door] and burn the plastic off with a blow torch and all the fumes would blow in.”

The study’s synthesis of scientific findings on carcinogens and endocrine disruptors is one of its most important contributions. Workers in the plastics industry are reported to have high body burdens of hormone disrupting chemicals such as acrylonitrile, styrene, BPA and phthalates.

Professor Andrew Watterson of the University of Stirling said: “In Europe a number of countries have banned bisphenol A (BPA) and took action to ban baby bottles that were manufactured using the known hormone disruptor.

“But often there are still limited or no effective safeguards in place to protect workers who are directly exposed to BPA (and several other carcinogenic and endocrine disrupting chemicals used as additives in plastics manufacturing) on a daily basis.

“In the UK there are some 200,000 workers in the plastics industry in around 6000 workplaces and well over 90% of the workplaces are in small and medium enterprises. Yet the HSE, the UK enforcement agency, has recently floated proposals to remove active inspection of the plastics industry and only engage in reactive visits.

“Our research indicates the need for more not less oversight and investigation of health hazards facing workers in the plastics industry. Endocrine disruptors may also affect men’s health in potentially serious ways and merit serious surveillance.”

Glass container manufacturer will have to spend $37 million to reduce pollution from plants

Electrocorp pollution control equipment. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice announced that Ohio-based Owens-Brockway Glass Container Inc., the nation’s largest glass container manufacturer, has agreed to install pollution control equipment to reduce harmful emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and particulate matter (PM) by nearly 2,500 tons per year and pay a $1.45 million penalty to resolve alleged Clean Air Act violations at five of the company’s manufacturing plants.

"The pollution controls required by today’s settlement will significantly reduce emissions that can impact residents’ health and local environment in communities located near glass manufacturing plants,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “These new pollution controls will improve air quality and protect communities from Georgia to Texas from emissions that can lead to respiratory illnesses, smog and acid rain.”

“This agreement will significantly reduce the amount of air pollution, known to cause a variety of environmental and health problems, from the nation’s largest manufacturer of glass containers,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. “The settlement, the latest in a series of agreements with the glass manufacturing sector, addresses major sources of pollution at facilities located in four states and will mean cleaner air for the people living in those communities.”

The pollution controls required as part of the settlement to reduce NOx, SO2, and PM will cost an estimated cost of $37.5 million. Owens-Brockway will also spend an additional $200,000 to mitigate excess emissions at its plant in Atlanta by working with the Georgia Retrofit Program to retrofit diesel school buses and fleet vehicles with controls to reduce emissions, or it will assist with the purchase of new natural gas, propane, or hybrid vehicles.

Reducing air pollution from the largest sources of emissions, including glass manufacturing plants, is one of the EPA’s National Enforcement Initiatives for 2011-2013. This is the fourth settlement in EPA’s National Glass Manufacturing Plant Initiative.

NOx, SO2, and PM, three key pollutants emitted from glass plants, have numerous adverse effects on human health and the environment. NOx and SO2 contribute to ground-level ozone, or smog, acid rain, and the destruction of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. NOx and SO2 can also irritate the lungs and aggravate of pre-existing heart or lung conditions. PM contains microscopic particles that can travel deep into the lungs and cause difficulty breathing, coughing, decreased lung function, and even death.

The facilities covered by the settlement are located in Atlanta, Ga.; Clarion, Penn.; Crenshaw, Penn.; Muskogee, Okla.; and Waco, Texas.

VIDEO: Work crews evacuated as test reveals elevated chemical levels at train derailment site in New Jersey

Responders, work crews and officials were pulled from the site of Friday's train derailment in New Jersey this morning after elevated chemical levels were detected in the air. Officials say they hope to resume the offloading sometime this afternoon. One of the train cars involved in the derailment was carrying vinyl chloride and ruptured on impact.

Electrocorp air quality experts are currently assessing the best air quality solution for local businesses and homeowners. We carry over 40 custom blends of activated carbon for heavy chemicals and toxic gases such as the vinyl chloride.

Watch the news conference here:

Asbestos lawsuit targets Honeywell, 3M, Black & Decker, Ford, Georgia-Pacific + 23 other companies

Source: The West Virginia Record

A West Virginia couple are suing more than two dozen of the country's most prominent companies over asbestos exposure.

Allen Johnson says he was exposed to large quantities of asbestos-containing products during his career which lead to his lung cancer and other asbestos-related diseases.

 Johnson and his wife, Janet Canterbury Johnson, claim the defendants required him to handle products containing asbestos and exposed him to other asbestos products present in the workplace.

They also say the defendants failed to timely and adequately warn him of the dangers of asbestos and failed to provide him with information on safety and proper protective equipment.

The Johnsons are seeking compensatory and punitive damages.

The 28 companies named as defendants in the suit are 3M Corporation; A.O. Smith; Black & Decker (U.S.) Inc.; Blue Bird Corporation; Blue Bird Motor Company; Borg Warner Morse Tec, Inc.; CBS Corp.; Certainteed Corporation; Eaton Electrical, Inc.; Ford Motor Company; Genuine Auto Parts; Georgia-Pacific Corporation; Honeywell International, Inc.; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Ingersoll-Rand Company; Kelsey-Hayes Company; Maremont Corporation; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Ohio Valley Insulating Company, Inc.; Pneumo-Abex Corporation; Rockwell Automations, Inc.; Schneider Electric USA, Inc.; State Electric Supply Company; Thomas Built Buses, Inc.; UB West Virginia, Inc.; Union Carbide Chemical & Plastics Company; Vimasco Corporation; and West Virginia Electric Supply Company.

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Are you concerned about chemical exposure in the workplace?  Improve productivity and reduce liability by improving indoor air quality. Contact an Electrocorp industrial air quality control rep for affordable solutions.

Worker files suits against Refineries in PA, NJ, OH, DE for benzene exposure

Source:HarrisMartin.com
A former independent laborer has filed a lawsuit in Pennsylvania state court, claiming that his exposure to benzene-containing products lead to his acute myelogenous leukemia.

The suit contends that Andre Harvey’s work as an independently contracted laborer and boiler maker at several refineries in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Ohio exposed him to the chemical.

Benzene is a colorless, flammable liquid with a sweet odor. It is among the top 20 most widely used chemicals in the U.S. The EPA has classified benzene as a Group A, know.n human carcinogen and says people occupationally exposed to benzene have an increased incidence of leukemia




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Concerned about workplace chemical exposure? Contact an Electrocorp air quality expert for a customized solution. We specialize in industrial chemical, odor and particle removal.

VIDEO: Dangers of Formaldehyde in Indoor Air

Formaldehyde is a chemical widely used by industry, in laboratories, as embalming fluid, and as a sterilizer.

Are your employees protected? Contact an Electrocorp air quality expert to customize an air cleaning solution for your business.

Video uploaded to YouTube by Paul Cochrane:

HVAC installers find $300k in gold dust

If only we can all have a work day like this...the downside is they didn't get to keep it.



If the only dust in your workplace is the dirty kind, we can help. Electrocorp air cleaners and air scrubbers offer reliable cleaning power and can be built to meet your exact needs. Contact and Electrocorp Air Quality expert to learn more.

New study says you can save $100 per employee on healthcare just be doing this

Encourage your employees to make a few healthier lifestyle choices and you'll see almost immediate cost savings says a new study. 

"The bottom line for employers is that if you start to change employee behaviors, you will start seeing health care cost savings very quickly. In fact, an employer can save an average of $100 in health care costs per employee per health risk eliminated in the year of the change, and $105 per risk reduced in the year following the reduction," said said Steven Nyce, senior economist at Towers Watson and lead author of the study.

"But if you don't keep healthy people healthy and employees start accumulating new health risks, you not only negate this savings but stand to add health care costs of $145 per employee per health risk added within just one year."

Specifically, the study authors suggest that employers can benefit from understanding the following key findings:

• The financial implications for prevention may be even greater than for risk reduction. For every health risk added, costs increased by 45 percent above the cost savings that resulted from eliminating a risk. This means that if organizations prevent individuals from adding new health risks over time, their cost savings will be greater than if they focus on eliminating a health risk after it emerges. 

• A long-term solution is better than a quick fix. In this study, a greater immediate savings was realized from reducing health risks for people with chronic conditions than for the average employee.  Cost savings were four times greater for those with chronic conditions compared to those without chronic conditions. The study authors stressed that although there always will be a highest-cost group, an ongoing focus on prevention can benefit the entire population by avoiding chronic disease altogether in some cases or slowing the progression and diminishing the severity of chronic disease. All of these potential outcomes from prevention will improve the company's total health care spend.

The study, "Association Between Changes in Health Risk Status and Changes in Future Health Care Costs: A Multi-employer Study," was published in the November 2012 issue of Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (JOEM) and is available on the JOEM website.


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Poor workplace air quality has been associated with an increase in absenteeism and productivity. Contact an Electrocorp air quality expert for customized industrial air cleaning solutions for your workplace.

Manufacturer of asbestos containing joint compounds to pay $1,979,228 to retired L.A. brickmason

A Los Angeles jury has found against Kaiser Gypsum Company, Inc., a manufacturer of asbestos containing joint compounds, in the case of a 63 year old cancer patient and former brickmason.

Vincent Monaco worked as a brickmason at Kaiser Steel, Fontana, California, and at numerous residential sites and commercial buildings throughout Southern California between 1968 and the 1990s.  He was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a debilitating and fatal cancer of the lining between the lungs and chest wall, in August 2011.

The jury found that the defendant's asbestos-containing joint compounds were defectively designed and
 assessed $479,228 in economic damages and $1,500,000 in non-economic damages.
At trial, plaintiffs presented evidence showing that the knowledge of hazards of exposure to asbestos dates back to 1898. Indeed, Kaiser Gypsum’s own internal documents starting in 1965 acknowledge that inhalation of asbestos dust from any source can cause mesothelioma decades later.

"Mr. Monaco can live out his last few months knowing that Kaiser Gypsum was held accountable today for contributing to cause his mesothelioma," stated his lawyers.

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Are you concerned about the air quality in your facility? Improve productivity and reduce liability by improving indoor air quality. Contact an Electrocorp industrial air quality control rep for affordable solutions.

Study Examines Financial Pain of Workers' Heart Attacks

• $8,100+ found in worker expenses
• $52,000+ in employer long-term disability costs

The economic impact of a heart attack goes beyond the hospital to the home and workplace, according to research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2012.

 

Men and women with acute coronary syndrome face additional economic burdens in lost time and income from work and possible inability to return to work, researchers said.

 

Using data from Integrated Benefits Institutes’ Health and Productivity Benchmarking Databases and IMS Lifelink, researchers analyzed medical, pharmacy and short- and long-term disability claims to calculate direct and indirect costs for more than 37,000 employees and their dependents from 2007 to 2010. Of the total, 77 percent were men and 95 percent were younger than 65.

 

They found:

• Annual healthcare cost for each worker, including out-of-pocket expenses, was $8,170. Of that, $7,545 was for hospitalizations and other medical care and $625 for pharmacy costs.
• Workers lost 60.2 days of work in the short term and 397 days in the long term.
• For employers, disability costs outweighed direct costs. The estimated per claim productivity loss for short-term disability was $7,943 and $52,473 for long-term disability.
• Hospitalizations accounted for 75 percent of total annual costs

The study is unique because 95 percent of participants were under age 65.

 

“About 47 percent of all acute coronary syndrome patients  (ACS) are younger than 65, so we were looking at a working class population,” said Page, an associate professor of clinical pharmacy and physical medicine and a clinical specialist in the Division of Cardiology at the University of Colorado School of Pharmacy in Aurora, Colo. 

 

ACS has non-cardiac and cardiac complications such as possible structural heart damage or depression.

 

“We want to target individuals early on in terms of risk factor modification for ACS, including smoking cessation, weight loss, appropriate diet, pharmacotherapy for high cholesterol and high blood pressure,” Page said. 

 

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Looking for an immediate improvement in well-being and productivity in your office or workplace? Improve the indoor air quality by removing airborne chemicals, gases, odors and allergens. Contact an Electrocorp Air quality expert for a customized solution.

Commercial charbroilers pollute more than trucks

Restaurateurs may be the next on the chopping block with air quality regulators after a new study revealed that  commercial charbroilers emit even more particulate matter into the air than diesel engines.

“Emissions from commercial charbroilers are a very significant uncontrolled source of particulate matter…more than twice the contribution by all of the heavy-duty diesel trucks,” said Bill Welch, principal development engineer for the study at UC Riverside’s Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-Cert).

“For comparison, an 18-wheeler diesel-engine truck would have to drive 143 miles on the freeway to put out the same mass of particles as a single charbroiled hamburger patty.”

A proposed control — a device that removes grease from the exhaust and traps it in water — will be tested  at the CE-CERT test laboratory . Researchers will evaluate the air stream released by the commercial charbroiler before and after they pass through the control device and measure how effective it is.

According to Welch, the testing involves “cooking a lot of hamburger patties,” but they don’t go to waste. After the emissions test, the hamburger patties are donated to a Redlands Regional food bank.

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