Fleet drivers can reduce exposure to dangerous air pollutants with Airbubbl

Airbubbl, an in-car air purifier to protect professional fleet drivers from dangerous gases in their vehicle, has been launched.

Research has shown that levels of air pollution can be significantly higher inside the vehicle than outside, up to 140% depending on traffic conditions, with Airbubbl claiming to remove harmful pollutants and more than 95% of dangerous gases from a vehicle.

For professional drivers, exposure to the harmful effects of air pollution inside their working environment is the equivalent of passively smoking 980 cigarettes a year, or actively smoking 54 cigarettes a year, it said.

Marc Ottolini, chief executive of Airlabs, the company that developed Airbubbl said: “If you are someone who drives for a living you unfortunately spend the majority of your day in a vehicle where you are constantly breathing in dangerous gases and pollutants.

"As with any other occupation, professional drivers are entitled to a safe working environment.”

“Commercial drivers are forbidden from smoking in their vehicles because we all recognise the risks associated with smoking and passive smoking, yet we underestimate the damage that a vehicle filled with polluted air is having on the health of professional drivers.

"We want drivers and their employers to understand these risks and help guarantee a safe working environment.”

Developed by a team of atmospheric chemists and airflow engineers from research institutes in the UK and Denmark, Airbubbl removes the most dangerous pollutants from the air inside the car.

Exposure to air pollution has been linked with short-term effects that can impact driving, such as confused visual alertness, impaired reaction time and decision making; and long-term health effects like risk of cancer, asthma, stroke and heart disease.

It fastens behind the front car seat headrest and plugs into the car’s cigarette lighter. It sucks in polluted air that’s inside the car, traps nitrogen dioxide and other gases on a unique, patented, carbon filter, and removes particulates.