AirGenius Awards Recognize Top Canadian Cities with the Cleanest Air

Leading environmental health researchers identify areas with the best air quality; British Columbia cities top the list

MILTON, Ontario, March 20, 2014 /CNW/ - On average, people take more than 21,600 breaths a day, yet we don't always think about the quality of the air we are breathing. The AirGenius Awards, sponsored by the makers of the new Honeywell AirGenius Air Cleaner, set out to 'clear the air' by assessing Canada's cities based on specific criteria related to air quality. So where can you find the cleanest air in Canada? In short, the answer is British Columbia. The awards, evaluated by scientists at the global consulting firm Environmental Health & Engineering, recognized British Columbia metropolitan areas in the top four, with Langley in first place.

"Cities known for heavy traffic or manufacturing ultimately will have worse air quality than others, but environmental factors like proximity to mountains or an ocean breeze can trap and also sweep away air pollution," said Dr. Ted Myatt, ScD, a senior scientist at the leading environmental consulting company Environmental Health & Engineering. "These results are relevant to city dwellers and homeowners, particularly the elderly, young children, and individuals with allergies or asthma."

Below is a list of the top ten Canadian cities with the cleanest air:

Langley, British Columbia
Kelowna, British Columbia
Abbotsford, British Columbia
Richmond, British Columbia
Thunder Bay, Ontario
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Ottawa, Ontario
Vancouver, British Columbia
Burnaby, British Columbia
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
As one tool to help combat potential spikes in poor indoor air quality, homeowners should consider the ongoing use of an air purifier. The new Honeywell AirGenius 5 Air Cleaner takes the guesswork out of air purification with smart controls that do the thinking for you with five intuitive operation settings: Sleep, Germs, General, Allergen, and Max. The patented filtration system captures up to 99.9 percent of particles that pass through the filters – the larger particles that you can see and the really small microscopic particles you can't see (as small as 0.3 microns).

To view the complete AirGenius Awards list of the air quality rankings of the Canadian areas, visit AirGenius.ca.

Methodology
Data on ambient air pollution (24-hour concentrations for fine particulate matter [PM2.5], ozone, sulfur dioxide [SO2], nitrogen dioxide [NO2]) and weather data for the most populated Canadian cities were used in this assessment. For each city, a score was calculated based upon the data collected and weighted by the expert judgment of environmental health researchers. Once each city was scored, an overall ranking of air quality was determined. For the air quality rankings, a ranking of 1 corresponds to the city with the best air quality while a ranking of 50 corresponds to the city with the worst air quality relative to other cities in Canada, which is typically cleaner than many cities world-wide.

This report was a qualitative meta-analysis of existing environmental data available to the public and subjective by nature. The Environmental Health & Engineering researchers who conducted the analysis were focused on a within group comparison of cities to see how regions across the U.S. compare to one another. Local communities and governments should continue to make efforts to reduce pollutants caused by vehicle emissions, industrial facilities and other factors.

About EH&E
EH&E (http://www.eheinc.com) has provided an extensive range of environmental and engineering consulting services for over 20 years. The EH&E team consists of more than 60 experts with an outstanding record of providing solutions for issues that affect the environment. EH&E has a depth of knowledge and credibility unmatched in the industry.

About Kaz
A world leader in high quality healthcare and home environment products, Kaz is a state of the art, dynamically-managed, global leader in healthcare devices, home comfort and water filtration products that operates in over 65 countries on six continents with a brand portfolio that includes PUR, Vicks, Honeywell, Braun, SoftHeat, and more. Kaz is a global marketer of humidifiers, air purifiers, heaters and fans under the Honeywell brand. The Honeywell trademark is used by Kaz Canada, Inc. under license from Honeywell International Inc. Kaz Canada, Inc is a wholly owned subsidiary of Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ: HELE). For more information about Helen of Troy Limited, please visit www.hotus.com. For information on other quality products for home health, home comfort, water filtration and insect control visit www.kaz-canada.com.



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