Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

FREE HEPA FILTERS

Thompson Rivers University professor giving away HEPA Air Filtration units to non-profit organizations

Oct 31, 2023 | 7:30 PM

KAMLOOPS — A group at Thompson Rivers University is looking for organizations that work with seniors, kids, and other vulnerable folks to help ensure they have clean, safe air to breathe through a donation of HEPA air filtration units from a company in Ontario.

Dr. Michael Mehta, Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies at TRU was contacted this summer by Amaircare, a manufacturer of portable HEPA air filtration systems. The company wanted to donate several units to Thompson Rivers University so they could be distributed throughout the community.

“Over the summer, I was doing a lot of interviews about wildfire smoke and risk and [Amaircare’s] CEO saw me do one of those,” Mehta recalls. “They reached out and offered to donate 12 of these high-end HEPA filters to Kamloops.”

So far, Mehta has found homes for about half of the HEPA units. Karl Fultz, former Chair of Sustainability at TRU has been helping Mehta by dropping off the units with organizations to which they’ve been donated. Fultz says the response from those organizations has been great.

“The first units went to the Secwépemc community for their Little Fawn Daycare and also the Secwépemc Language program. They went out on September 29th,” Fultz tells CFJC Today. “We also delivered a unit to the Boys and Girls Club of Kamloops. They have an infant and preschool daycare on the North Shore with exactly the type of space we look for – 1600 square feet, 8’ ceilings. This unit can change and filter the air in there in an hour.”

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There are still several units up for grabs for organizations that qualify. Mehta says it’s an easy process to apply to receive a HEPA Air Filtration unit.

“We have been somewhat successful finding homes for them in Kamloops, but we still need others who want to reach out to us and get one of these units,” Metha says. “They’re free, they’re a charitable donation. The recipients just have to fill out a small disclaimer for the university and that’s it.”

If you’re interested in applying for one of the filtration units for your organization, you can email Dr. Mehta at mmehta@tru.ca.