Asthma Awareness Month in Puerto Rico and Identifying Occupational and Residential Asthma Triggers

The month of May is recognized as Asthma Awareness Month across Puerto Rico and in many places around the globe. As one of the most common chronic lung diseases impacting approximately 19% of the islands’ population, the condition has a direct impact on countless families, schools, institutions and businesses.
 
Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that asthma costs the U.S. $56 billion dollars each year. For local businesses with workers that have asthma, this equates to sick days, medical costs and lost productivity.
 
Fortunately, there are steps business owners and managers can take to manage asthma in the workplace. A key component of this is to identify occupational asthma triggers so that steps can be taken to eliminate or minimize exposure risks. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), more than 250 substances are known or believed to cause or exacerbate occupational or work-related asthma. These substances include many chemicals used in manufacturing; paints; cleaning products; dusts from wood, grain and flour; latex gloves; certain molds; animals; and insects.
 
“Asthma Awareness Month is the ideal time to increase our understanding of the potentially life-threatening lung disease that can be managed and controlled in most circumstances,” said Harry Pena, President of Zimmetry Environmental. “With so many workers in Puerto Rico suffering from asthma, it’s important for the health and bottom line of businesses and institutions to pay particular attention to occupational asthma triggers. At Zimmetry, we offer testing services to identify environmental asthma triggers in all types of buildings. If these substances are found at elevated concentrations, our building science professionals can help find solutions to eliminate or mitigate exposure risks.”
 
Zimmetry also recently sponsored an educational video about what happens during an asthma attack that can be seen at: https://youtu.be/hoRE47q-11E
 
To learn more about Zimmetry’s asthma trigger, indoor air quality (IAQ), occupational, environmental, and compliance testing and consulting services, please visit www.zimmetry.com, call (787) 995.0005 or email info@zimmetry.com .
 
About Zimmetry Environmental
Since 2002, Zimmetry Environmental has been providing environmental consulting services to building owners and managers, architects, engineers, EHS professionals and Fortune 500 companies.  The company is based in Puerto Rico and provides services across the Caribbean and Central America.  The professionals at Zimmetry offer environmental compliance, indoor air quality, asbestos, lead-based paint, Phase I ESAs and general environmental consulting services.
 

Contact Information

Paul Cochrane

President

Cochrane & Associates, LLC

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