This week, wildfire smoke pushed air quality across the Greater Toronto Area into the Very High Risk category, reminding us how quickly outdoor conditions can change.
For laboratories, these events deserve more than a passing glance.
Unlike most commercial buildings, laboratories continuously bring in large volumes of outdoor air to maintain safe research environments. On poor air quality days, that air can also carry elevated levels of smoke and fine particulate matter that laboratory systems must manage.
For facilities performing sensitive research or testing, understanding outdoor air quality becomes an important part of understanding the laboratory environment. While indoor environmental conditions are routinely monitored, outdoor air quality is not always measured alongside them. Yet having visibility into both can provide valuable context when interpreting laboratory conditions and making day-to-day operational decisions.
During events like this week's wildfire smoke, that information can help laboratory teams determine how to manage ventilation, better understand unexpected changes in environmental conditions, or decide whether certain sensitive activities are best scheduled for another time.
At AirGenuity, we believe better laboratory decisions start with better information. Understanding both the environment inside the laboratory and the conditions outside the building provides a more complete picture of laboratory performance.