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In With The Good Air

Many Americans are becoming sick at their jobs - not necessarily their daily tasks, but the environment in which they work. In fact, workers have sued companies around the United States, alleging that they have become ill or preexisting conditions such as asthma and emphysema have been aggravated by the lack of fresh air in their work environments.

Sam Sofer, professor of chemical engineering at NJIT, has developed a successful prescription for what medical specialists have labeled "sick building syndrome."

In the late 1980s and 1990s, there were proprietary air filtration systems developed by such mega-companies as Lockheed Martin and Johnson & Johnson, but small- and medium-sized companies didn't have the space or the funds to create their own systems.

So, Sofer founded Nutley, N.J.-based SRE Inc. to provide clean air solutions to small- and medium-sized companies and, in the process, developed the CAP Clean Air Plant in seven different sizes to accommodate the indoor air filtration needs of those companies. In fact, SRE's smallest unit, the CAP-75, is about the size of a water cooler without a stand and can be purchased for about $3,000.

"I've always wanted to own a company," said Sofer, who founded SRE Inc. in 1979. "It is traditional for engineers to start a consulting company, but I wanted to own a business."

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average American spends about 90 percent of his or her time indoors. Pollution levels indoors often can be two to five times greater and more than outdoors.

Modern office buildings offer state-of-the-art conveniences such as instant Internet hookups and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. But, as anyone knows who has worked in office buildings that were built in the late 1970s or later, fresh air isn't easily obtained. To ensure the efficiency of HVAC units, building owners and designers installed windows that could be looked through, but never opened. These buildings use re-circulated, not fresh air, in their HVAC systems to cool, heat and/or ventilate, which usually helps reduce fuel bills for both owners and tenants.

But, these essentially hermetically sealed buildings also have led to the inhabitants, whether employees or apartment dwellers, complaining of headaches, nausea and other kinds of ailments that they claim are related to the lack of fresh air.

The trend in technology has always been "bigger is better," said Sofer, but he quickly found that smaller also could work, especially in air filtration systems.

"Typically, the technologies developed by large companies have been downsized to fit the needs of smaller companies," he said, "but shrinking technology usually doesn't work. The advent of biotechnology has made it possible to adapt existing air filtration technologies to work for smaller users. Miniaturization was my idea."

The air filtration systems manufactured by SRE Inc. actually allowed the company to develop its own specialized marketing niche.

"Smaller companies needed help to ensure the quality of the air, water and soil in and around their physical plant, which I discovered was a totally untapped market," said Sofer, who says a CAP is the only portable indoor air quality system capable of destroying pollutants in the air, eliminating odors and removing airborne particulates. "Unlike conventional filtration systems that merely trap contaminants for later disposal, a CAP will remove heavy metals and particulates from the air and destroy odors, gases and volatile organic compounds by using naturally occurring microorganisms and their enzymes to break down contaminants to non-harmful compounds."

SRE's CAP-75 is 15 inches in diameter, 28 inches in height and weighs about 26 pounds. The CAP-1250, the company's largest unit, is 30 inches in diameter, 50 inches in height and weighs 300 pounds. The units have no filters to change, are easy to maintain and can be set up virtually anywhere, says Sofer, although homeowners and companies with no on-site maintenance staff can arrange to have their units maintained by SRE.

According to SRE, CAP units can even be used to help surpass the stringent air quality regulations enforced by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. CAP units work equally well in manufacturing environments, where contaminants can be continuously released into the air.

But, health issues aren't the only reason why a business might want to purchase a clean air system. The noxious smells produced by permanent wave solutions and other hair treatments led Donna Haines, co-owner of Razor's Edge, in South Plainfield, N.J., to install a CAP-75 in her beauty salon.

"Clients used to come in complaining of the odor," she said. "Now, because of the CAP, chemical odors no longer linger."

As an extra inducement, SRE does offer a trial program to potential clients to prove the efficacy of the system.

"What attracted us to the CAP was their trial program which allowed us to rent a unit to try out for three months," said Haines. "Our customers loved it, so we purchased it."

In fact, at her own cost, she produced a window decal that says "Clean Air for Your Health and Comfort" to entice potential customers.

"We tried to find ways to eliminate the odors, but nothing worked," said Pat O'Brien, co-owner of New York City-based Photographics Unlimited.

Situated in a high-rise office building, the company specializes in custom black and white and color printing, digital imaging and darkroom rentals to professional photographers and photography students. But the smells emanating from the company's photographic processes were the least of O'Brien's worries.

"It really hit home that something had to be done, when, after just five years, we had to replace a 15-ton HVAC unit because the fumes actually had corroded it beyond repair," said O'Brien.

After contacting SRE, it was determined that the CAP-90, which is 15 inches in diameter, 32 inches in height and weighs 50 pounds, would be able to clean the air in the company's main office area. A CAP-75 was placed in a darkroom that was closed off from the main office area and was used by many employees all day long.

SRE systems are currently being used in companies throughout the United States and Western Europe, but Sofer has set his sights on what is virtually an untapped market that he says is in great need of creative solutions to indoor air quality problems.

"We want to be in everyone's home," said Sofer. "SRE is the premier producer of the first micro-biotech air filtration system that can treat indoor air anywhere."

For More, Click: www.srebiotech.com.

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