Portland State University will be open this fall, but with a significant layered risk reduction protocol on campus. 1/
Required vaccinations (w/ some exceptions), required masks inside buildings, increased % outdoor air in supply air, MERV-13 filtration, & an army of very good & appropriately-sized portable HEPA filtration systems in classrooms. 2/
We will have in-person courses and some of these will be taught w/ simultaneous live streaming for those who are unable to come to campus. We will also have on-line course offerings. 3/
1/ A little over 6 mos ago - my webinar on how to reduce risk of COVID-19 infection in schools. Reduced inhalation dose: masks, ventilation, room HEPA filtration, improved central filtration, classroom air cleansing periods, cool down after recess, etc.
2/ Many of us were discussing what needed to be done as far back as March/April 2020, used social media, did media interviews, webinars, op-eds, websites, and more. NOTHING that we described was anything close to rocket science. We stuck to proven technologies & approaches.
3/ Every school in the US ought to be substantially safer and healthier beyond the pandemic by now. But leaders failed & some w/ financial interests confused matters. Despite real advances in some districts others continue to struggle and many are making really bad decisions.
1/ Schools (in Texas) and ventilation.
I've done extensive work w/ schools in Central Texas and the Rio Grande Valley. All schools have centralized mechanical ventilation w/ AC (it's Texas) in permanent buildings w/ unit systems on portables.
Here's the upshot ...
2/ A large fraction of classrooms are woefully under-ventilated (well below minimum standards established by ASHRAE).
Why? The reason given is singular. It is NOT that "we did not know." It is always to conserve energy, always for budget, and never to save the planet.
3/ Just getting these schools to ASHRAE 62.1-2019 would be a win for students, teachers, and staff. Here is a plot (on right) of occupied day outdoor air exchange rates for permanent & portable classrooms in high schools.
2/ This course will have 3 major modules: (1) basics on indoor air quality and particles in indoor air, (2) fundamentals of indoor transmission of COVID-19 by aerosols, and (3) layered inhalation dose (and thus risk) reduction. Modules 1 and 2 are primarily day 1. (3) = day 2.
3/ This is not a 1-hour webinar. The intent is to provide a robust 8-hour discussion that allows business or school leaders to understand & explain "why" to their employees (and patrons), and for employees and patrons to understand & explain "why" to business & school leaders.
1/ Increased ventilation is critical. Period. But remember, it is NOT everything. Inhalation dose = D = C x B x t x f. Ventilation affects C (concentration of virus-laden aerosol particles in air - in #/L). A tripling of ventilation will reduce C by a maximum factor of 3.
2/ If ventilation is increased and that causes a person to stay in a building for more time (t in minutes), that will obviate some of the benefit of increased ventilation.
3/ If a person goes into a building and does aerobic exercise and increases their respiratory minute volume (B in L/min) by a factor of 10 they will receive a greater inhalation dose than if they were in the building at rest at the lower ventilation rate.
1/ "There is nothing remotely similar to the CAA (Clean Air Act) for nonindustrial indoor environments. In the opinion of the author, the time is long overdue to explicitly address indoor air quality in future CAA amendments ..." (next)
2/ "and to formally address what may be the most important and relatively overlooked environmental issue of our time." Note that "our time" was over two decades ago.
3/ Almost 20 years ago I postulated that we could do more to reduce population exposure to harmful air pollution of outdoor origin than several decades of (highly beneficial) efforts to improve outdoor air quality, by designing, constructing, & operating buildings correctly.