![\"Purifiers](\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/school-air-purifier-covid-protection-release-toxic-chemicals.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe type of air purifiers at the center of the controversy are ionizer air purifiers. One of the many school districts that purchased this type of air purifier was Montclair School District in New Jersey. After listening to a marketing pitch<\/a> by Global Plasma Solutions (GPS) on their “bipolar ionizer technology,” the district bought $635,900 worth of ionizers from the company for their classrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What’s more, many parents expressed concern over the purchase, and some even organized a petition<\/a> against it. One parent went as far as producing a detailed Youtube video <\/a>explaining why the system proposed by Global Plasma Solutions should not be used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So what are these purifiers? Why are schools falling for the marketing pitches, and what’s got parents so worried? In this article, we cover all this and exactly what schools should be doing to protect themselves from COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The types of purifiers purchased by the Montclair School District are ionizer air purifiers. Schools are buying these ionizer purifiers hoping they can help reduce COVID-19 and virus transmission in the classroom. The problem? Studies<\/a> show that ionizers do little to remove COVID-19 virus particles from the air. What’s more, they even emit harmful pollutants into the air including formaldehyde, acetone, ethanol, toluene, and butyraldehyde.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lack of evidence that ionizers work has not stopped schools around the world from being coaxed into spending millions by fancy marketing pitches.\u00a0A recent<\/a> study showed the ineffectiveness and dangers of ionizers. The study tested the same ionizers used in New Jersey classrooms: GPS bipolar ionizers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The ionizers did not remove significant levels of particles .01-.3 microns in size from the air. COVID-19 particles are in this size range, ranging from .05-.14 microns<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, the company claims their ionizers do not produce any ozone or harmful byproducts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the study proved this to be false. The study showed the ionizer produced a variety of dangerous gases, including acetone, ethanol, toluene, butyraldehyde, and acetaldehyde. This isn’t unique to the GPS machine. Previous research shows ionizers can produce many VOC gases including formaldehyde.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Read More: What Are Ionizer Air Purifiers and Why They Shouldn’t be Used \u00bb<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Global Plasma Solutions argues that ionizers help clump together particles making them larger and therefore easier to get trapped in filters. There is little evidence<\/a> to support this. Furthermore, HEPA filters on their own typically capture over 99.95% of all coronavirus-sized particles<\/a> in one pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n GPS funded their own study<\/a> to show the effectiveness of their bipolar ionizer. The problem? The study used a shoebox-size space and blasted it with more than 13x the number of ions that would actually be used for a whole classroom. An actual classroom is over 30,000 times the size of a shoebox. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While New York State<\/a> is “not permitting bipolar ionization, ion generators, corona discharge, or UV technology in schools” due to “potential negative health effects”, others don’t have such rules. New Jersey has spent millions on this ineffective technology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Newark schools have purchased<\/a> more than 3,200 Odorox hydroxyl generator purifiers from a company called Pyure. Like ionizers, these purifiers do not use effective and safe HEPA filters for mechanical filtration. Furthermore, each Odorox hydroxyl generator costs $5,100. The product is proven to produce dangerous levels<\/a> of ozone, which the California air quality regulators have warned consumers<\/a> about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the biggest reason ionizers are unnecessary is that there\u2019s already technology out there that is low-cost and highly effective. That’s HEPA filters<\/a>. HEPAs capture over 99.95% of small, dangerous particulates on the first pass. That includes particles the size of the coronavirus–and they are backed by empirical tests (1<\/a>, 2<\/a>, 3<\/a>, 4<\/a>, 5<\/a>, 6<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n For more information on exactly how schools can protect their classrooms from COVID-19, read our Air Purifier Guide for Schools: COVID-19 Protection<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read More: Air Purifier Guide for Schools: COVID-19 Protection \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n To find out if your purifier releases harmful chemicals, first find the make and model of your purifier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, head to the California Air Resources Board list of approved air purifiers<\/a> and search for the purifier.\u00a0Air purifiers that may generate ozone and other harmful chemicals are listed as “Electrical” under the type column. Those that do not generate ozone or ions are listed as \u201cMechanical.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Smart Air’s purifiers, shown above, are all of the “mechanical” type and do not use ionizers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Smart Air is a certified B Corp<\/a> committed to combating the myths big companies use to artificially inflate the price of clean air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Smart Air provides empirically backed<\/a>, no-nonsense purifiers<\/a> like the Blast and Blast Mini air purifiers. These purifiers use only HEPA filter filtration, and do not include any ionizers. That’s why schools across the world are using them to filter the COVID-19 coronavirus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Blast and Blast Mini air purifiers<\/a> are perfect for the classrooms from 250sqft to 1400sqft. They’re quiet, effective and affordable school solutions for COVID-19 protection. Best of all, they’re data-backed, 3rd party tested, and certified by the California Air Resources Board<\/a> as mechanical type purifiers that do not release ozone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Since the COVID-19 outbreak, thousands of schools in the US have spent millions of dollars on air purifiers for their classrooms. And that makes sense. Re-opening schools is vital, and protecting teachers and students from COVID-19 transmission in the process is something to take seriously. But two recent reports show … <\/p>\n![\"Global](\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/gps.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nSchools are Spending Millions on Ionizer Air Purifiers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Ionizers in the Classroom<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/bipolarionizer.png\")
![\"False](\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ionizerschool-2-e1621200590371-1024x98.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nWhat Does Global Plasma Solutions (GPS) Say About Their Bipolar Ionizer?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Global](\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/shoebox-1024x576.jpeg\")
Other New Jersey Schools Are Also Spending Millions on Ineffective Non-HEPA Air Purifiers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Newark,](\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Untitled-design-7.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nSo, What Should<\/span> Schools Use To Keep the Classroom Safe?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How to Tell if My School is Using Harmful Ionizer Air Purifiers?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"How](\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/carb-smart-air-purifiers-mechanical-1024x642.png\")
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\n\n\n\nHere’s How Schools Are Properly Protecting Their Students From COVID-19<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"Blast](\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Blast-Mini-Office-Working-Environment-AirVisual-air-quality-Monitor-s.jpg\")
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