1/ Indoor Air Quality Matters

On average, Americans live to be 79 years old and spend 69 of those years INSIDE buildings. Of these 69 years, 54 are spent INSIDE our own homes.

I explain more in this 2019 presentation @AAAS.

2/ The air pollution that we breathe during our lifetime, even pollution of outdoor origin, is dominated by the air we breathe INDOORS.
3/ We can dramatically reduce our exposure to air pollution by reducing emissions from indoor sources, removing pollutants of indoor origin (ventilation & good engineering controls), & designing/operating buildings to reduce outdoor pollution from penetrating indoors.
4/ While properly ventilating and reducing outdoor pollution that enters a building might seem contradictory, they do not have to be if we control where air enters a building and remove outdoor pollution before it enters the occupied indoor space.
5/ The indoor air quality field is relatively small given the significant impact of air pollution we breathe indoors. Still so much to be done to improve the healthiness of buildings. I hope those looking for future careers will consider a field that contributes to improved #IAQ.

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More from @CorsIAQ

28 Nov
This would be a BOLD move by my alma mater, @humboldtstate, but one that I like a lot.

"In many ways, HSU is the obvious candidate to become the state’s third polytechnic."

now.humboldt.edu/news/humboldt-…
Highest % of courses with a hands-on component in the entire CSU system.

3rd highest % of students in natural resources and STEM programs in CSU.

CSU’s highest % of STEM grads who go on to earn doctoral degrees, ranking 8th nationally among 660 master’s level institutions.
It's always had a robust Environmental (Resources) Engineering degree program, among the largest and oldest in the US. That program has graduated a large number of highly-qualified engineers who have served the State of California & beyond.
Read 6 tweets
27 Nov
1/ I agree with @Don_Milton. It is important to distinguish between near- and far-field aerosol particles. In the near field (close contact) there is potential for much higher concentration of aerosol particles in the breathing zone of a receptor.
2/ The actual concentration depends on extent of emissions from infector, body positioning of infector and receptor, mixing conditions between infector and receptor (which depends on a number of other factors), and DISTANCE between infector and receptor.
3/ Aerosol particles do not vanish beyond the near field. They exist in the far field and will accumulate until an approximate steady-state is achieved (more on this later) as long as the infector(s) stay in the space.
Read 10 tweets
26 Nov
Sad that we have come to this point. We are here because throughout this mess political leaders, health authorities, and the general public were irresponsible, stubborn, & impatient. Will we learn from this that "fits and starts" is the worst possible policy?
We did not invoke the precautionary principle early on this pandemic, deciding (without any scientific evidence) that only three of four transmission routes were relevant and downplaying transmission by aerosol particles.
Across the board, there was a lack of unified effort to starve this virus of its hosts & manage it. We did not need major investments. What needed to be done was obvious to many scientists from the start, but lacked acceptance by leaders, unified messaging, & public commitment.
Read 5 tweets
21 Nov
1/ Most important thing at the moment is to starve this virus of hosts. Need political leaders, business owners, bldg managers, school officials & public all acting in concert to substantially reduce inhaled dose of virus-laden aerosol particles in indoor near- & far-fields.
2/ We will find ourselves w/ similar challenges again. So, we also need to reflect on all of the things done wrong to get us into this horrific mess, learn from mistakes, and be prepared to do the right things next time.
3/ There have been unconscionable failures of leadership that fueled this mess. But there have also been many other failures, from general public to academia, media to businesses, medical profession to much more.
Read 6 tweets
17 Nov
1/ Reviewing data from past school study in Texas. On average ventilation rates are considerably higher in portable than in permanent classrooms, but with much greater variability.
2/ Portables are much more connected to outdoor environment - greater infiltration and opportunity for natural ventilation (open door/windows).
3/ But interestingly, portables (on average) appear to have higher rebreathed fraction of air (fraction of inhaled air that was exhaled by others in the indoor space) than permanent classrooms due to higher density (occupants per classroom volume).
Read 5 tweets
16 Nov
1/ As a senior in high school I ran for Mayor of @TorranceCA, Calif, against a sitting Councilmember (James Armstrong). At the time I believe I was the youngest candidate to ever run (& lose!) in California. Gr8 experience and learned a new meaning for the term "landslide".
2/ I conceded immediately after the votes were counted. Within a couple of days my "opponent" and I had lunch together at the Good Earth in the Del Amo Mall. We kept in touch over the years until Jim's passing & would occasionally discuss our campaign and debates.
3/ We had several public debates, including one on the radio that I wish I could find. To this day, I am haunted by a question regarding my views on binding arbitration.
Read 4 tweets

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