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State-of-the-art environmental testing chamber to Edinburgh's Napier University
BRITISH hopes for the 2008 Olympics are to be boosted by a state-of-the-art environmental testing chamber to Edinburgh's Napier University which can simulate the polluted air of Beijing.The chamber, constructed and installed by manufacturers Weiss Gallenkamp, will enable researchers to test athletic performance in extreme environmental conditions and to investigate how individuals perform in various inhospitable climatic conditions with varying equipment and clothing - an ideal facility to help the UK's athletes prepare for the Beijing Olympics by training in a simulated polluted environment. The chamber was funded by the Scottish Funding Council for research and consultancy, while it is intended to apply for funding for the ozone and particulate pollution testing from the Olympic Medical Institute (OMI) and the English Institute of Sport, headed by Professor Greg Whyte who collaborated on previous ozone research.
Largest facility of its kind in Scotland
The Weiss Gallenkamp chamber, installed on the second floor at Napier's Merchiston Campus, School of Life Sciences, consists of a main athlete test room, anteroom (airlock) and a separate observation and control area and is the largest facility of its kind in Scotland. The room itself is large enough to accommodate several athletes simultaneously and even the tallest rugby player working-out on the treadmill will not feel restricted due to the near 3 metre ceiling height. Euan Strathie, Course Leader at Napier's School of Life Sciences, said: "This is a superb facility which will be used by students and researchers to look at the limitations and capabilities of the human body under conditions of extreme environments. It will be an extremely valuable tool, which will help us, develop the research we have already carried out at Napier. The facility will also be available to commercial organisations and sporting bodies." In operation, the temperature within the chamber can be accurately controlled from -10° to +50° Celsius and the humidity can be increased to almost saturation point of 98% relative humidity. Additional equipment will be installed in the chamber to enable other elements such as ozone, nitrogen (to simulate altitude) and dust particles created by industrial processes to be dispersed into the air.
The information gained from these tests will aid research into how performances of elite athletes are affected by changes in climate, altitude and degrees of pollution. Groundbreaking Research Researchers at Napier University and the British Olympic Medical Centre previously carried out studies into the affects of ozone pollution on athletes prior to the Athens Olympics. The research by Napier's Dr Geraint Florida-James and Professor Vicki Stone indicated that athletes may suffer a decrease in lung function, causing a reduction in distance running performance, when exposed to 100 parts per billion of ozone - a level encountered during the last Olympic Games in Athens. However, the research also found some evidence that, by taking supplements of vitamins C and E, athletes can help prevent lung-function problems that are common when exercise is attempted in areas where high levels of ozone are present in the atmosphere. "Ozone pollution clearly creates a big problem as it can reduce an athlete's competitiveness by as much 10 seconds over 8 kilometres distance," says Dr Florida-James. However, other research will look at the effect of particulates in the air as a result of industrial processes - coal-powered heating plants, car exhausts, factory emissions and construction dust. The results of this will be of great benefit to the elite athletes attending the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Weiss Gallenkamp manufacture & design standard & bespoke Environmental Test Chambers, Temperature Test Chambers Pharmaceutical Stability Test Cabinets and Humidity Test Chambers.
In addition to this, special projects are also undertaken such as Altitude Test Chambers, Pharmaceutical Stability Test Rooms, Plant Growth Rooms and applications for Automotive & Aerospace testing.
Weiss-Gallenkamp
Weiss Gallenkamp is a world leader in the design, build and servicing of all types of controlled environments, temperature test chambers and climatic test chambers. Our product range includes plant growth chambers, plant growth rooms, stability test chambers and laboratory ovens.
