As you have learned, methane gas detection is a primary concern in landfill operations due to the risks posed to workers and the surrounding environment.  It is vital to achieve highly accurate measurements of methane because of migration, leakage or build-up.   Also of primary importance is being able to get close enough to accurately detect landfill gas without putting workers in harm’s way.

BPA’s new Laser Methane Handheld Remote Gas Detector provides accurate methane survey’s without requiring direct contact with methane gas, allowing detection from a safe distance.

The intelligently designed Laser Methane is very selective and doesn’t present false readings, even with other gases present.  This precision device can detect methane at concentrations between 10-10,000 ppm-m up to almost 500 feet away in less than 0.1 seconds!  This versatile unit can also be fixed in a permanent location to monitor a given area. 

The Laser Methane is lightweight, compact, portable and easy to carry and operate because the device comprises a single gun unit without additional parts or battery packs.  There is a built-in test cell which self-tests the gas leak detector when switched on and during use.

Features of the Laser Methane Include:

• Lightning fast gas detection - as fast as 0.1 seconds
• 20 times faster than FID technology
• Lightweight & compact - needs no separate black box or battery
• Responds to methane when other gases are present
• Simple to read LED output for methane detection
• Built in memory for data storage
• SD memory card available

When methane is detected, the Laser Methane basic unit’s LED light gives visual signals and the buzzer provides an audible alarm.  The Laser Methane Portable Gas Monitor also offers an upgrade option that displays actual gas readings in a graphical format that can be saved to a built-in SD memory card and downloaded to a PC. 

Keep your landfill operation safe from methane gas with BPA’s new line of Laser Methane gas detectors.

If you are reading this blog, chances are that you’re a landfill owner or operator looking for quality gas detectors for your operation.  You already know that when landfill gas (biogas) combines with air in certain proportions, an explosive mixture may be formed.  Landfill gas usually contains a mixture of gases, but the highest concentrations are methane and carbon dioxide.  Methane is the gas most likely to pose the greatest explosion hazard in a landfill.  Due to the inherent risk posed by landfill gas, there is a definite need to monitor the gases produced by landfills with gas detection equipment. 

The concentration level at which gas has the potential to explode is referred to as the explosive limit.  The explosive limit is determined by the gases lower explosive limit (LEL) and upper explosive limit (UEL).  These are measures of the percent of a gas in the air by volume.  When methane is mixed with air at a volume between its LEL of 5% and its UEL of 15%, it is dangerously explosive.  To be aware of potential dangers from high gas levels, landfill operators need quality gas detectors.

For years, Crowcon has provided innovative sampling systems that offer landfill operators a great solution for permanently monitoring flammable and/or toxic gases in applications where fixed-point monitors may prove impractical.  These sampling systems have proven highly effective for landfill borehole monitoring.  Like all cutting edge companies, Crowcon didn’t get fat and lazy because they had successful landfill gas monitoring products; they developed a new ingenious unit to give landfill operators even better technology for leak detection.

We are proud to announce the new Crowcon PGSi Programmable Monitoring System that has the ability to monitor up to 4 different landfill gases at once from up to 32 individual sampling points!  The sample times for each point are individually adjustable and can be sequenced in any order.  A duel-pump arrangement ensures that samples reach the gas sensors as quickly as possible.  Internal gas leak detectors, flame arrestors, filters and flow-fail devices are all fitted as standard to ensure safe and reliable operation at all times.

The system is controlled by an industrial PC which displays individual sample locations, gas levels and alarms.  It operates up to 32 relays and provides comprehensive data-logging facilities; with gas data displayed either in graphical or tabular formats.  The PC can be monitored remotely via an optional modem, allowing status checks and the uploading of datalog files.  The system can be supplies with a PC or can be operated with the user’s PC.  Using Windows XP-based software, the PGSi is ideal for landfill gas monitoring on boreholes or for protecting structures built on landfill sites.

Do you have a new baby or small child in your home?  Are you aware that several different researchers have discovered a correlation between respiratory illness, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and air pollution?  Did you know that scientists and health care professionals’ consistently rank indoor air pollution among the top environmental health risks in the United States?

The August 2006 issue of the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics reports that researchers in California have recently found another link between air pollution and respiratory illness and death in infants.  Research showed that infants recently exposed to high levels of air pollution were likely to become ill or die and that they faced a somewhat higher likelihood of dying from SIDS.  Study co-author Michelle Wilhelm, an adjunct assistant professor of epidemiology at UCLA, reflected that "It just adds to the body of evidence showing that exposure to high (levels) of air pollution can lead to infant death."  The research also showed that pollutants inhaled by pregnant mothers can reach fetuses via the umbilical cord.

According to the Environmental Working Group, nearly one in every five SIDS cases in major metropolitan areas is associated with airborne particle pollution.  There is a substantial body of evidence showing that short-term increases of particulate air pollution, even at exposure levels below the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards, increase mortality and morbidity rates.  Data from historic air pollution episodes in London during the 1950’s and in Mexico City during the 1990’s led to acute increases in infant mortality.

Another study by scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Basel in Switzerland revealed that almost 3,000 infant deaths per year in the United States may be the result of microscopic airborne particles.  The study also concluded that as particulate matter in the air increased, infant mortality rates rose between ten to forty percent.  The researchers at UCLA warn parents to be careful about exposing infants and young children to both indoor and outdoor air pollution.  They caution that while we breathe in gallons of air each day, infants and children are particularly vulnerable to ambient air pollution because their lungs and immune systems are not fully developed and the lungs have a small capacity.

The link between air pollution and infant death has caught the attention of government officials.  Just recently, the District of Columbia joined thirteen other states in suing the EPA to strengthen the restrictions on the amount of pollution released into the air.  The states complain that the EPA has ignored scientific evidence and the advice of its own experts about illness and premature death caused by microscopic air pollution, also known as fine particulate matter.  The EPA’s own analysis revealed that even a relatively small reduction in yearly fine particulate matter emissions could reduce chronic respiratory illnesses and prevent thousands of deaths in the United States each year.

The National Institute of Child Health & Human Development research has found that more babies survive when the air around them is clean.  Although there is still some debate as to how much air pollution actually causes specific diseases in adults, scientists agree that people who live in places with polluted air are likely to have more health problems.

Did you know that most people spend over ninety percent of their time indoors?!  Being inside doesn’t make you safer.  Although many individuals feel safe from air pollution when they are indoors, pollutant levels of indoor air may be two to five times higher than outdoor air according to the EPA.

You can protect the health of infants, toddlers and everyone in your home with Airpura residential air purifiers.  The Airpura features an innovative round filter design that is similar to the latest cartridge filter used in high powered industrial air cleaners.  The Airpura uses a smartly designed 3 stage filtration system to remove airborne contaminates from your home.  The Airpura’s true HEPA filter traps particles 0.3um and larger.  Even smaller gaseous particles are absorbed by its hefty 18 pounds of activated carbon.  

For even more protection, the Airpura UV offers the same features of the standard unit, along with a high output germicidal UV.  This advanced home air purifier captures germs and bacteria and kills them on contact.  

Polluted air is a major concern for all of us; it is especially alarming when infants and young children are involved.  Give them clean, fresh smelling air with the Airpura home air purifier.