Sweet smell of success

One of the most successful Australian safety products ever developed will be on show at this year's Safety in Action. Victorian-based company Essa has launched an aerobic biocide, Safe-T-air, using Tea Tree oil, which is proved to reduce the number of dangerous organisms in air conditioning systems.

A major producer of liquid natural gas ordered an initial shipment of 450 kg, with repeated orders on a regular basis, when the product was launched. The product was ordered for residential accommodation in equatorial Africa, and was found to dramatically reduce the dangerous yeasts and mould that live in the air conditioning systems of the ex-pat dwellings in the region.

Safe-T-air disperses miniscule amounts of Tea Tree oil into the atmosphere of buildings, apparently killing E-coli in six hours and Candida Albicans on 24 hours. One company using the product has reported that the rate of chest infection has been cut from 38-44 cases annually to only four.