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Weiss New
Zealand
would like to announce that it has taken a major shareholding in
Air Movement Solutions limited (AMS).
Friday
May 1, 2009
The Directors of both Air Movement Solutions and Weiss New
Zealand have agreed that in order to have sustained growth in a
hypercompetitive market, the future strategic framework of both
organizations would be strengthened by the amalgamation of each
organizations core attributes and assets, foremost the
amalgamation of the Weiss (NZ) Limited manufacturing
capabilities and the direct marketing facet of AMS.
Cold houses thought to contribute to high winter death
rate
10:27AM Wednesday May 28, 2008
New Zealand death rates soar in the winter months and
researchers believe cold, damp and poorly maintained homes are
at least partly to blame. Otago University researchers analysed
deaths over a 20-year period and found 1600 more people died
during the four winter months. The "excess winter mortality"
death rate is among the highest in developed countries which
measure it. The study, published in the BMC Public Health
journal, found that the bulk of the deaths were caused by
circulatory, respiratory illnesses and infectious diseases.
Infants and elderly people accounted for many of those who died
during winter, and almost 10 percent more women died in winter
than men, the study found. "Excess winter mortality is a huge
problem," said Otago University researcher Michael Baker. "It
accounts for four times the number of people who die in the road
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One of the problems,
though, is that it's not immediately clear all the reasons for
it." Dr Baker said he was now doing research to understand what
impact insulating a house had on death rates during winter.
A 2006 study by the Commissioner for the Environment Morgan
Williams showed more than a million New Zealanders were living
in homes which were damp and cold - below the minimum
temperature of 18degC recommended by the World Health
Organisation.
At 16degC, the risk of respiratory illness
increases. Below 12degC, there was a higher risk of strokes and
heart attacks, the study said. Christchurch Hospital social
worker Anne Crawford told The Press that every winter she and
her colleagues dealt with a deluge of respiratory patients
struggling to keep their homes warm. Otago University researcher
and healthy-housing expert, Philippa Howden-Chapman, said there
were many big, wooden houses in New Zealand which were hard to
heat. New Zealanders also deferred maintenance more than in
other developed nations. Sharp increases in the cost of living
would mean people were even less likely to pay to maintain or
insulate their properties, she said. "The indoor environment has
a huge impact on people's health whether they get sick and
whether they stay sick."
NZPA. Source:
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