1/ SARS-CoV-2 travels in aerosol particles emitted from an infected individual. You want to reduce the amount of these particles you breathe (lower inhalation dose is important). We know from decades of research that the following lower your inhalation dose of aerosol particles.
2/ Masks: The higher the quality and better the fit the less aerosol particles you inhale that came out of the respiratory system of an infected person. No rocket science here.
3/ Ventilation: The greater the amount of ventilation the lower the aerosol particle concentration that originated from an infected individual(s) in the air of indoor spaces. That means you will inhale less. No rocket science here.
4/ Improved filtration in HVAC system: Higher MERV-rated filters (if properly seated and maintained), e.g., MERV 13 over MERV 8, means greater efficiency at capturing aerosol particles emitted from an infected individual. That means you will inhale less. No rocket science here.
5/ Portable HEPA filters, properly-sized for the indoor space, reduce the amount of aerosol particles in indoor air that came out of an infector's respiratory system. This lowers how much you breathe. No rocket science here.
6/ If you get fully vaccinated (a gift to humankind) and follow these simple methods (known for decades to over a century in the case of masks) for reducing inhalation dose of aerosol particles you will take a GIANT leap toward protecting yourself and those around you.
7/ And, of course, avoid non-essential, and especially crowded, indoor environments, wask hands, get tested if you have any concern about being exposed, and quarantine if exposed or feeling symptoms.
8/ No rocket science to any of this. No need to wait for RCTs. Reducing inhalation dose is critical and has been from day 1. We know how to do this. Just do it!
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The Corsi-Rosenthal Foundation is a tax-exempt 501(c)3 nonprofit organization (EIN: 35-2779639). Our goal is to provide cleaner air in school & other public buildings with particular interest in underserved and/or vulnerable communities.
We do this largely through financial grants, materials, or a combination of the two to build Corsi-Rosenthal boxes (CR Boxes). The Corsi-Rosenthal Foundation is run by consensus of a Board of Directors.
All Board members are volunteers and receive no salary. As such, 100% of donations go directly to grantees for cleaning the air for their communities. No donations are used to purchase materials from companies affiliated with any Board members.
The "Sources" chapter of @theNASEM
report on "Health Risks of Indoor Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter & Practical Mitigation Solutions" is approx 60 pages and full of source-specific details. Check out the report here: (some highlights in thread)
Cooking is a very large source, whether heating w/ natural gas, propane, electric. Emissions specific to natural gas for cooking & other heating processes considered in (2)
The "Sources" chapter of @theNASEM report on "Health Risks of Indoor Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter & Practical Mitigation Solutions" is approx 60 pages and full of source-specific details. Check out the report here: 👇 (some highlights in thread)
Cooking is a very large source, whether heating w/ natural gas, propane, electric .. Emissions specific to natural gas for cooking & other heating processes considered in (2)
(1) Americans spend the vast majority of their time indoors. Prior to the pandemic, on average Americans lived to be 79 yo (now lower) & spend almost 70 of those years indoors, 54 years insides residences.
(2) Most fine particulate matter (particles with diameters of 2.5 microns or less) are inhaled indoors. This is true for fine particles of both indoor as well as outdoor origin. (more on sources of fine PM in a future tweet).
(3) There is ample evidence that exposure to fine particulate matter causes a range of adverse health effects (will summarize in a future tweet).
1/ This CR Box (the one on the right!) has now totaled operational time equivalent to an entire in-classroom school year. Both it and its cohort of three other CR Boxes continue to perform with a high level of effectiveness across a wide range of particle sizes.
2/ Four CR Boxes were placed in different indoor settings on the UC Davis campus, from a relatively clean 4-person office suite w/ VCT flooring to a particle-challenged soils lab.
3/ Each CR Box consists of four 20" x 20" x 2" MERV-13 filters (3 boxes w/ filters from the same manufacturer and the 4th from a different manufacturer). A 20" x 20" box fan was used to draw air through each CR Box.