A vast loss for the
international aerosol family
We the mortals touch the metals, the wind, the ocean shores, the stones,
knowing they will go on, inert or burning, and I was discovering, naming all the these things:
it was my destiny to love and say goodbye...
– Pablo Neruda
My original idea for this issue’s Commentary, germinating way back in December,
was to explain why, in February of 2021, SPRAY was still publishing international
statistics from 2019. The answer is a simple one—the seemingly never-ending
COVID-19 pandemic delayed many of the international aerosol organizations in collecting,
collating and submitting this information in their usual timely manner.
When news reached our offices of the Dec. 13 passing of Antal Geörge Almásy from
COVID-19 at the age of 56, I instead dedicated this column to him.
Antal, a second-generation aerosol scientist, was President of the Brazilian Aerosol
Association (ABAS) and Technical Director at AeroService Tecnologia & Treinamento
As we worked together many months to get his article ready for publication, I was further
struck by his desire to help people with NanoSal—he wanted to save lives with a technology
that drastically reduced salt intake in food. When COVID-19 ravaged Brazil, Antal led a
campaign, via ABAS, wherein 31 Brazilian companies produced and donated 300,000 free
aerosol hand sanitizers to local hospitals, for which ABAS won a Sustainable Development
Achievement award from the European Aerosol Federation (FEA). Antal went beyond just
this considerable donation; he also provided the blueprint, readily available for any aerosol
association in the world to replicate—“as a humble contribution in these times of distress.”
My use of the word vast in the header of this column is deliberate. Many words mean
immense or huge, but only vast means wide. And that’s what I feel, a wide loss for the
aerosol industry that Antal loved so much. He considered himself (and many of you) an
“Aerosaurus”—an aerosol dinosaur who’d been in the industry for eons. When he coined
that word, he no doubt thought he had many more years to contribute.
Space restrictions prevent me from saying all that I want to say about Antal, but to read
his last conversation with this magazine, please turn to our coverage of the Brazilian aerosol
industry on p.28. To read a short obituary and more about the FEA award, see the January
2021 issue of SPRAY. To learn more about NanoSal, see the October 2019 issue of SPRAY.
Contact me at acaridad@spraytm.com and I’ll send you the touching tribute to Antal that
appeared in the Dec. 18 issue of Argentinean newsletter El Aerosologo News, written by Juan
Nolasco, former President of the Mexican Aerosol Institute and current member of the
Latin American Aerosol Federation Technical Committee.
When I asked Juan for permission to make an English translation of this tribute available
to SPRAY readers, he wrote, “I am very grateful for his recognition…Antal’s professional
work and human quality must be recognized.”
Obrigada por tudo, Antal…
6 Spray February 2021
SPRAY Technology & Marketing
Donald J. Farrell
Publisher
dfarrell@spraytm.com
Ava Caridad
Editorial Director
acaridad@spraytm.com
Veronica MacDonald Ditko
Assistant Editor
assteditor@spraytm.com
Montfort A. Johnsen
Technical Editor
montyjohnsen@att.net
Susan Carver
Vice President, Administration
scarver@spraytm.com
Doug Bacile
National Sales Manager
dbacile@spraytm.com
Donald J. Farrell
Production
production@spraytm.com
Miguel Bravo
Graphic Artist
Circulation
circulation@spraytm.com
Volume 31, No 2, February 2021
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The opinions expressed in this publication are not intended
to be, nor should they be interpreted
as, a replacement for
Ltda in São Paulo. Although I consider him
a friend, I’d met Antal only once, at the New
York Aerosol & Dispensing Forum in 2018. He
was presenting a talk on his patented NanoSal
technology and paid an extended visit to our
booth. We clicked immediately and decided
to develop an article about this potentially lifesaving
technology for a future issue of SPRAY. I
was struck by his humility and wicked sense of
humor, which was very apparent even though
English was not his first language (it was approximately
his fifth).
Editorial Director professional, legal advice.
Commentary
At left, Almásy with SPRAY Technical Editor
Montfort Johnsen in an undated photo.