REVIEW: Tested! Respro® Pollution masks… And they’re awesome!

Posted on January 18, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

We all love biking, but the one down part about urban motorcycling is the exposure to the elements. Pollution to be exact. We have all been behind a fume spewing bus or truck, or worse still, stuck behind either while waiting for a light to change. We have been there, we know.

And if you are Malaysian or Singaporean, there is the devilish annual haze fest. Millions of acres of forest is annually burnt down in Indonesia, and all that smoke, spills over to us. It does not only make breathing difficult, but simply stepping out is dangerous. Let alone riding a bike.

There are ways around it though.

Meet Respro®, a British company that develops masks for almost all uses; anti-pollution and reflective safety gear or race support products. These guys have been in the business since 1993 and lay claim to the title of ‘the original and the best’. And we believe them.

We were shipped three models of Respro® masks towards the end of last year, which has given us enough time to test them out. And yes, they work. Though it does take some getting used to, but once all is nice and tight, it just makes sense to wear one while riding.

We were given three models – the ‘bandit’ (our favourite), the ‘City’ and the Foggy anti-fog, breath guard.

Unfortunately there is no dealer for any of these products in Malaysia as yet, but you can buy them online by visiting: http://www.respro.com

The City

The City anti-pollution mask is arguably one of the meaner looking masks in this trio. It is made of hypo-allergenic Neoprene and is “wrapped” around your head and is held in place by a contoured design.

It may look like just another hardcore looking mask, but it is actually quite intelligent. It features an activated charcoal filter with particle filter liner, a particular matter rating of PM10 and two Techno exhalation valves. The inner filter is replaceable.

KSD_8303

It was designed for cyclists, motorcyclists, walking and for those who spend a lot of time outside in polluted areas.

It takes some time to get used to it but once the stretch gets comfortable and the material loosens up, you won’t even notice that it is there.

Price: GBP 26.99 (RM147)

KSD_8290

 

Bandit

The Bandit Scarf is our personal favourite. It looks great and unlike the City, it does not look very intimidating. You should see the faces of some drivers who suddenly see you next to them in a City mask.

But the Bandit does have its drawbacks. Because it’s a scarf, it requires you to really tie it up tight, or risk the chance of it loosening while riding. It however, works a charm too.

KSD_8323

Utilising strategically placed filters, the Bandit scarf screens against nuisance dusts and odours. And because it is made of cotton, it is perfectly comfortable too. There is a drawstring that you can tighten around your chin area to give it a perfect fit.

Unlike the City, the Bandit will eventually expire. According to Respro®, the Bandit has been made to last for at least six months, while the filter is fully washable.

Truly one of the better face masks in the market today.

Price: GBP 19.99 (RM108.48)

KSD_8298

 

Foggy Mask

The Foggy Mask is unique, but we never truly got to test this mask properly. Reason being that it is mostly suited for cold weather riding. Breathing out of it in our humid Malaysian weather was difficult and ultimately tiring.

KSD_8299

The Foggy mask works to prevent your visor from fogging up, which can be a major problem for a lot of us. It works first by strapping one end to the inner side of the cheek pad of your helmet, and the other to other inner side of your helmet. According to major reviews and user comments on this product, it is supposed to work excellently. Even Respro® says that it is 99.9% effective.

Sadly it was just too hot to use here, but if you are looking to ride in a cold weather country then this could just be the product for you. It does not require any gel, film and is easy to strap on.

It works for most major helmets like Shoei, Arai, Shark, AGV, Bell, HJC and others.

Price: GBP 19.99 (RM108.48)

via Tested! Respro Pollution masks.. And they’re awesome!.

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Bacon blamed for air pollution in northeast Sichuan

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

While experts point to car emissions and construction projects as the cause of China’s air pollution, a government official in Dazhou in Sichuan has laid the blame on smoked bacon.

The city of Dazhou in Sichuan province has been plagued with heavy smog since the new year began, with the PM 2.5 reading frequently exceeding healthy levels.

Rao Bing, deputy head of Dazhou Environment Protection Bureau, said on January 4 that one of the causes of the city’s lingering smog is the smoking of bacon.

Eating smoked pork and sausages is a long-held tradition in Sichuan, and almost every household makes smoked bacon before the Chinese lunar new year, which falls on Feb. 19 this year.

Local city inspectors or chengguan, have launched raids against bacon-smoking sites and forcibly demolished them.

The claim invited public ridicule and skepticism after Rao’s statement found its way online on Wednesday.

On Sina Weibo, netizens mocked the official’s argument by saying that Dazhou’s air might “smell like smoked bacon.”

“Smoking bacon has a long history, but smog does not,” said one comment.

Smoking meat only contributes to a small degree of air pollution, according to volunteers at the Bayu Public Welfare Development Center, a non-government environmental protection organization, which conducted a three-day survey at a dozen bacon-smoking sites.

“The impact of the smoking process is confined within a 50-meter radius,” a volunteer told Chinese-language Chongqing Evening News.

It is not the first time that Chinese government officials have suggested controversial explanations for smog. In October, environmental watchdogs in Beijing and the adjacent Henan province, two severely polluted places, blamed the smog on farmers burning straw, an agricultural practice with a long history.

In recent years, swathes of the country have frequently reported heavy smog, slashing visibility and posing health hazards. China has taken a variety of measures to contain severe air pollution, including restricting industrial production and vehicle use.

via Bacon blamed for air pollution in northeast Sichuan｜Environment｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com.

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Air quality alert issued for southwestern New Hampshire

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

New Hampshire

The state Department of Environmental Services has declared an “air quality action day” for southwestern New Hampshire.

The state officials said they expected air pollution concentrations on Thursday to reach unhealthy levels for children, older adults and anyone with heart or lung disease such as asthma, emphysema and bronchitis.

The air quality concern is the result of local pollution stagnating under calm winds and temperature inversion conditions. That happens on calm, cold nights when warm air above traps cold air below, and prevents pollution near the ground from mixing with cleaner air.

Much of the locally emitted pollution comes from heating devices such as wood-burning fireplaces, stoves and boilers.

Conditions were expected to improve by Friday morning as wind speeds increase.

via Air quality alert issued for southwestern New Hampshire | Weather – WMUR Home.

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Review: Análisis de máscara Respro® City™ Mask

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

Josema Fuente prueba la Respro® City™ Mask

via BikeZona

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Worst smog of the year leaves Beijing choking as US embassy’s air quality reading hits 545

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

Beijing is choking in its worst smog so far this year, with air pollution at hazardous levels and the reading at the US embassy hitting as high as 545 on Thursday afternoon.

An air quality index (AQI) reading of more than 300 is considered “hazardous”. Anything beyond 200 is “very unhealthy”. The United States embassy measures PM2.5 particulates as an indication of the air quality at its compound in Chaoyang district.

The average AQI reading released by the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau was slightly lower at 430, which is still considered “seriously polluted”. Residents were advised to don face masks and avoid outdoor activities.

Thursday was the first seriously polluted day of the year, but strong winds and a cold front starting on Friday morning are expected to disperse the smog, theLegal Evening News reported.

But on Thursday, the yellow pollution alert – the third highest in a four-tier system – remained in place amid stagnant, humid air in most parts of the capital, according to the Beijing Meteorological Bureau. The yellow alert had been hoisted since Saturday evening.

Pollution – albeit less severe – was also expected to blanket Tianjin, Hebei, large parts of Shanxi in the west, and parts of Sichuan. Hunan, Yunnan and Guangdong were also likely to experience “dense fog” that would limit visibility.

via Worst smog of the year leaves Beijing choking as US embassy’s air quality reading hits 545 | South China Morning Post.

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Beijing in first smog alert of year

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

Beijing issued its first smog alert of 2015 on Tuesday, with the PM2.5 index passing the 200 level.

The alert will probably remain in force until Friday, the municipal environmental authority said.

Based on the official daily air quality forecast, the capital issued a yellow alert and adopted emergency measures to rein in emissions on Sunday, one day before the smog descended. A yellow alert is the third-highest level among four grades.

Shanghai, which emerged from three days of smog on Monday, will experience another round of air pollution on Wednesday, according to the regional air quality forecast centre.

The air quality forecast, which is as important as the daily weather forecast, has begun to attract more attention, especially from people living in large cities like Beijing and Shanghai, which witness frequent air pollution.

By the end of 2014, cities in three major industrial zones – the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area, the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta – were required to provide a daily air quality forecast, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

This will be expanded this year to more cities that have the requisite equipment and technology.

Beijing, one of the first cities to issue such forecasts, can predict changing air quality over five days. This enables it to provide accurate statistics for the authorities to take emergency measures to reduce air pollutants a day before smog arrives.

Xie Shaodong, an environmental professor at Peking University, said: “The technology is not a problem. With better cooperation and smoother exchanges of information between meteorological and environmental bureaus, the forecast can be more accurate.”

Yu Yong, a spokesman for the National Meteorological Administration, said it plans to deepen cooperation on air pollution forecasting through regular discussions and exchanges of technology.

According to a development plan released on Dec 17 to help control air pollution, the meteorological administration will build more laboratories in six regions to strengthen weather forecasting by 2020.

Under the plan, by that year China will have built a well-functioning weather modification system and have made progress in experiments on reducing fog and smog through human effort.

via Beijing in first smog alert of year, AsiaOne Asia News.

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Pollutionwatch: Please don’t keep the home fires burning

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

With fewer people travelling to work, the end of December normally has low pollution. However, this year frosty weather meant that air pollution lingered and caused problems across the UK – especially in Merseyside, Manchester and Southampton.

East Sussex Fire Service issued public warnings following a spate of chimney fires on Boxing Day, a symptom of the increasing popularity of open fires and wood stoves as secondary or decorative heating. Coal smoke used to dominate UK winters before natural gas became available in the late 1960s, but now woodsmoke is adding to the particle pollution in our urban air.

Between Christmas and New Year traffic pollution declined in the early evening, but airborne particles continued to increase until just before midnight, indicative of smoke from household fires. This was especially apparent across the south in Bristol, Eastbourne, Oxford and Reading and also in Cardiff, Southampton and parts of London. In Eastbourne particle concentrations quadrupled each evening; in Bristol they increased by more than five times.

Domestic wood burning takes place where people live, at the times when everyone else is at home. Even modest wood burning in densely populated areas can lead to harmful pollution exposures comparable to those from traffic. Home wood burning needs to be addressed before more people invest in stoves or make open fires a feature in their living rooms.

In Paris wood burning has become entrenched and recent proposals for a ban met fierce resistance, despite evidence that home wood burning is causing one third of the city’s emissions of airborne particle pollution.

Pollutionwatch: Please don’t keep the home fires burning | Environment | The Guardian.

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Perth’s Atholl Street one of nation’s most polluted

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

Perth’s Atholl Street is one of the dirtiest streets in Scotland, according to a new report by Friends of the Earth.

Along with the Seagate, Whitehall Street and Lochee Road in Dundee, it has the dubious distinction of being among the top 10 most polluted streets in the country.

The list was drawn up after Friends of the Earth analysed the average level of poisonous nitrogen dioxide.

Emilia Hanna, air pollution campaigner for Friends of the Earth Scotland, said the Scottish Government needs to take action on the issue.

She said: “Yet again, Scotland’s streets are shown to have dangerous levels of toxic pollution, which are breaking legal limits that were due to be met in 2010. Pollution levels in our urban areas are showing little sign of improvement, with some key streets even more polluted than in 2013.

“Air pollution is responsible for more than 2,000 deaths in Scotland each year and costs the NHS here up to £2 billion annually. The time has come for our polluted air to be treated as the public health crisis it really is.

“Although today’s air pollution is mostly invisible, its impact on our health is crystal clear. Breathing in polluted air increases your chances of having a heart attack, a stroke or developing cancer.

“Children are also particularly vulnerable, with exposure to air pollution restricting lung development, leading to long-term health problems. It has even been linked with autism in children. It is unjust children, who are not in any way responsible, are suffering the most.”

Despite remaining in the top 10, the average level of the noxious gas has decreased on the Seagate and Lochee Road.

Andrew Llanwarne, Dundee resident and coordinator of Friends of the Earth Tayside, said more must be done to improve the city’s air quality.

“A more radical approach is needed to reduce rush-hour traffic levels. Bus services are generally good but there are still no park-and-ride facilities for commuters and more could be done to encourage car sharing and cycling.

“Walking and cycling also have valuable health benefits, provided the air is clean.”

via Perth’s Atholl Street one of nation’s most polluted – Perth & Kinross / Local / News / The Courier.

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