Coronavirus Technology Solutions
May 1, 2020
HEPA Filtration Systems for Locker Rooms
Amaircare has Air Purifiers Ranging From 20 to
10,000 CFM
CDC Guidance for Meat Packers Does Not Specify
N95 Masks
Air Purifiers with H2O2 Used by Gliers Goetta
Extreme Microbial Technologies has Three Stage
Air Purifier for Food Plants
A New Plane Seat Design Could be the Future of
Travel Post-Coronavirus
RAYCOP Products' UV Sanitizing Light Kills
Viruses and Bacteria
Virus Particles Less Than 4 Microns Detected in
Air in Isolation Rooms
Sartorius Air Samplers Have Been Used for
Extensive Coronavirus Monitoring
Large Number of COVID-19 Cases at Nuclear Plant
Construction Site
EverBlock Systems Providing
Temporary Isolation Rooms
Buses In China Transmit Virus Through Air
Conditioning System
______________________________________________________________________________
HEPA Filtration Systems for
Locker Rooms
There are two main reasons to
use an air purifier in a locker room setting.
The first of these is the fact that locker rooms
are home to unpleasant odors that can make
people less interested in coming to a gym. The
second is the fact that bacteria, viruses and
fungi are quite common in these environments.
Removing these contaminants from the air can
help your gym patrons stay healthy and ensure
they can change and shower in a clean setting.
Related
to this last point is the fact that the right
air purifier can help to keep chemicals from
building up in the air. For purposes of
cleanliness, many gyms use strong chemical
cleaners in their locker rooms. While this is
necessary to get rid of potentially harmful
bacteria, the fumes from these cleaners can
build up and have a negative impact on people
who suffer from asthma or other respiratory
illnesses.
Amaircare has Air Purifiers Ranging From 20 to
10,000 CFM
Amaircare has a 20 year portfolio of custom air
treatment solutions and projects diverse in
scope, competency and scale. Amaircare combines
proprietary technologies with flexible
components to create the highest of quality
and performance solutions with air flow
options between 20 CFM and 10,000 CFM.
Over the years, Amaircare products have provided
tailored solutions for a wide range of
applications, including:
-
protection of employees in
industrial plants and workspace
-
controlling ambient biologicals
in food processing
-
reduction of emissions in
receiving areas
-
process control of emissions
reducing or eliminating the need
to exhaust
-
creating a safe environment for
medical patients with reduced
immune systems after cancer
treatment
-
protection of medical
practitioners dealing with
airborne pathogens, such as: the
COVID -19 outbreak
CDC Guidance for Meat Packers Does Not Specify
N95 Masks
The following CDC guidance for meat packers may
be poor based on the new evidence that aerosols
will float around plexiglass barriers and that
social distancing means little compared to the
travel pattern of the aerosol. Plexiglass
barriers may even create turbulence if air is
moving horizontally instead of downward and the
HVAC system does not have HEPA filters. Most
cloth masks will not protect against aerosols.
To ensure continuity of operations of essential
functions, CDC advises that critical
infrastructure workers may be permitted to
continue work following potential exposure to
COVID-19, provided they remain asymptomatic and
additional precautions are implemented to
protect them and the community,” the CDC’s Critical
Infrastructure Guidance states.
The agency also notes that screening workers for
COVID-19 symptoms is “an optional strategy”.
Meat processing workers are not exposed to
COVID-19 through product handling; they can be
exposed via close contact with other employees
in a facility. The CDC and OSHA have released
interim guidance for meat
and poultry processing workers and employers that
details how communal work environments should be
laid out and how employers should be promoting
social distancing. Engineering controls include
the following:
-
Reconfiguration of workstations
to allow employees to be six
feet apart, if possible
-
Establishing physical barriers
(i.e., plexiglass or strip
curtains) to separate workers
-
Working with an HVAC engineer to
establish proper ventilation
that limits potential exposure
to coronavirus; removal of any
pedestal or personal fans
-
Setting up handwashing stations
or hand sanitizer (60% alcohol)
stations
-
Reconfiguring break rooms and
other communal areas to promote
social distancing
The CDC also recommends that workers wear cloth
face coverings that fit over the mouth and nose.
For workers who have experienced COVID-19
symptoms and have self-isolated at home, the CDC
advises they do not return to work until they
meet specific
criteria.
Air Purifiers with H2O2 Used
by Gliers Goetta
Glier's
Goetta is not a large meat manufacturer. Only 18
people work inside the factory. The company
still faces the challenge of getting the job
done in close quarters.
"It's a tough one just
because of the way the process runs, the
disassembly lines, if you will. The meat
cutting, the boning, things like that. People
are fairly close to each other. And yes, we can
put up shields, but that's still not going to do
the job. It takes technology like this to really
get us over the hump," said Dan Glier, CEO of
Glier's Goetta.
A white box-like machine is
the technology Glier said is keeping his
employees working.
"When we're working in, you
can't smell anything. You can smell...when you
first walk in the room, but it just cleans
everything, including people," said Glier.
It's an air and space
purification system made by Dayton-based Extreme
Microbial Technologies. The system uses hydrogen
peroxide to clean the air. To keep production
up, Glier's has three air purifiers inside and a
fourth on the way.
"It's good for our people
too. We don't have colds like we used to because
people are living in this, you know, probably 8
to 10 hours a day," said Glier.
Extreme Microbial
Technologies has Three Stage Air Purifier for
Food Plants
This surface & air purification equipment has a
design for a variety of industrial and
commercial applications. Some of these include
warehouses, production facilities, large office
spaces, hospitality, athletic facilities, food
production facilities and more. It provides a
safe and effective three-stage solution for the
reduction of bacteria, viruses, molds, fungi,
mildew, and VOC’s (which cause odors).
Additionally, each PRO™ features a pre-filter, a
HEPA filter and two specially enhanced
Photocatalytic Oxidation cells to flood the
space with powerful and effective air and
surface scrubbers.
A New Plane Seat Design Could be the Future of
Travel Post-Coronavirus
The new designs would see hygiene screens fitted
in each seat, as well as new middle seats which
would face backwards while flying.
4
The revolutionary sitting arrangement was
revealed by Aviointeriors, the same company who
created stand-up seats for aircraft cabins.
In economy class, each seat would have a plastic
screen around the head and side, preventing
contact with the passenger next to them.
The screen, called Glassafe, is transparent to
allow communication but will prevent the spread
of any viruses between travelers.
It can also be fitted onto existing economy
seats and leaves the lower part of the seat free
for passengers to continue using the in-flight
entertainment or to eat their meals.
The design firm explained: "Glassafe [creates]
an isolated volume around the passenger in order
to avoid or minimize contacts and interactions
via air between passenger and passenger, so as
to reduce the probability of contamination by
viruses or other."
Other designs previously suggested to make plane
travel easier include "privacy panels" which can
be folded out of the side of the seat.
The design, called Interspace Comfort System,
looks like your regular plane seat but if you
lift up the seat back, you'll find two hidden
panels behind it that fold out, effectively
creating a privacy divider on either side of
you.
The ease of access means that passengers can get
in and out of their seats easily and create
private spaces for families and friends who are
sitting together.
It will be important for designers to integrate
the divider design into the air flow system.
Each seat has an adjustable nozzle which
should direct air downward and not to other
seats
RAYCOP Products' UV Sanitizing Light Kills
Viruses and Bacteria
According to just-released new research from the
Kitasato Research Center for Environmental
Science,
using an Ultraviolet C (UVC) sanitizing light
can help kill viruses such as influenza.
Commissioned by RAYCOP, a maker of UV allergen
vacuums, the
research
noted that UVC wavelength light, as opposed to
UVA or UVB, is the most effective against
viruses.
Immunologist Dr. Michael Lee founded RAYCOP to
help people make their homes healthier and to
mitigate allergies. He sought products he could
recommend to his patients with the goal of
preventing the onset of allergies and avoiding
the need to take medications. To that end, Dr.
Lee invented RayClean Technology©, which
captures 99.9% of potentially harmful
microorganisms that you can’t see such as
viruses, bacteria and dust mites.
“My goal was to help my patients by creating a
safe and effective UV light sanitizing vacuum
for the home,” says Dr. Lee. “Keeping homes
healthier is of the utmost importance -
especially now as people are sheltering in place
- and our RayClean Technology has been in use
since 2005. This technology kills dust mites and
also greatly reduces allergens in the home,
lessening symptoms year-round for allergy
sufferers.”
“Our mission is to clean the unseen,” explains
Hirobumi Suzuki, CEO, RAYCOP North America.
“During this uncertain time, we especially want
to make your home a safer and cleaner place to
live.”
RAYCOP’s hand-held UV allergen vacuum, the RN,
includes a four-stage filtration system. This
system incorporates a high-efficiency
particulate air filter, UVC ultraviolet light,
optimized suction and a dual-motor brush head.
The RN utilizes RayClean Technology to remove
99.9% of bacteria and viruses from fabrics
within a few seconds. According to a study by
the
National Center for Biotechnology Information,
UVC light also reduces the hatchability of dust
mite eggs. This in turn reduces future
allergy-causing dust mite populations.
Virus Particles Less Than 4 Microns Detected in
Air in Isolation Rooms
Understanding the particle size distribution in
the air and patterns of environmental
contamination of SARS-CoV-2 is essential for
infection prevention policies. In an aim to
detect SARS-CoV-2 surface and air contamination
and study associated patient-level factors. 245
surface samples were collected from 30 airborne
infection isolation rooms of COVID-19 patients,
and air sampling was conducted in three rooms.
Air sampling detected SARS-CoV-2 PCR-positive
particles of sizes >4 μm and 1-4 μm in two
rooms, which warrants further study of the
airborne transmission potential of SARS-CoV-2.
56.7% of rooms had at least one environmental
surface contaminated. High touch surface
contamination was shown in ten (66.7%) out of 15
patients in the first week of illness, and three
(20%) beyond the first week of illness (p =
0.01).
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.29.20046557v2
Sartorius Air
Samplers Have Been Used for Extensive
Coronavirus Monitoring
We
reported on testing in Wuhan which found high
virus levels in changing areas and other
spaces. This was done with Sartorius equipment.
These analyses were made with Sartorius air
samplers. The MD8 air samplers, MD8 Airscan® and
the portable AirPort MD8, are designed to detect
smallest viruses and microorganism in the air by
using the unique Gelatine Membrane Filters (GMF)
and BACTairTM agar plates. MD8 Airscan®
and AirPort MD8 monitors ambient air in
cleanrooms, controlled, and public areas for
viable microorganisms.
The MD8 Airscan® and AirPort MD8 provides
non-stop, active air monitoring for at least 8
hours, using only a single gelatin membrane
filter. Rule out false negative results; the
proprietary, USP-approved filter retains even
the smallest airborne microorganisms and
monitors viability at the most accurate level.
Large Number of COVID-19 Cases at Nuclear Plant
Construction Site
More than 170 workers on a construction project
in a nuclear power facility in Georgia have
tested positive for the coronavirus, and
absenteeism has “increased dramatically,”
according to documents and a spokesman for
Georgia Power, the utility company that is a
part owner of the facility.
The facility, Plant Vogtle, is near Waynesboro,
Ga., about 150 miles east of Atlanta, and has
been in operation since 1987. It is in the
middle of a multibillion-dollar expansion that
has been plagued with setbacks, including
construction problems, cost overruns and the
2016 bankruptcy of Westinghouse, its lead
contractor.
As of March, the expansion employed more than
9,000 workers, making it the largest
construction project in the state, according to
North America’s Building Trades Unions, which
represents many of the Vogtle workers.
But after concerns about the spread of the virus
mounted in recent weeks, the plant’s owners
reduced the work force on the expansion project
by 20 percent.
Of the 171 workers found to have the coronavirus,
90 are “active confirmed positive cases” and 81
are workers who recovered and are “available to
return to work,” John Kraft, the spokesman for
Georgia Power, said in an email late Thursday.
Mr. Kraft said that 439 workers tested negative,
and that 48 were awaiting test results.
The owners learned of the first worker to test
positive on April 4, Mr. Kraft said. Around that
time, some workers told
a local TV station that they were
concerned that not enough was being done to
protect them from the virus on the work site.
The smaller work force, Mr. Kraft said, will
allow for increased social distancing. The site
has banned large group meetings, expanded an
on-site medical clinic, and added portable
bathrooms and hand-washing stations, among other
changes. And testing will continue.
EverBlock Systems Providing
Temporary Isolation Rooms
EverBlock Systems, LLC., the leading
manufacturer and provider of modular building
systems is working with the Governor’s response
team in New Orleans, LA to provide thousands of
modular wall panels and life-size building
blocks to be used in building a temporary pop-up
hospital facility in the Ernest M. Morial
Convention Center.
Sleeping pods, isolation units, nursing
stations, bed areas, testing sites and more will
be built throughout the convention center using
modular and durable building blocks, as well as
EverPanel modular sanitary divider walls to
mitigate the spread of the Coronavirus
(COVID-19).
EverBlock responded to the call to deploy
equipment and personnel within a few days,
enabling the EverBlock team to set up over 2,000
sleeping pods in record time using it’s unique
modular wall panels and building block systems.
Equipment continues to roll off of the
manufacturing line and onto trucks bound for New
Orleans.
Government is monitoring the pandemic and will
determine if additional hospital beds, dividers
and rooms will be necessary depending on how the
outbreak continues to spread in the New Orleans
metro.
EverBlock Systems. LLC, a New York based company
manufactures life-size modular building blocks
and modular sanitary divider walls to segregate
populations, such as for homeless shelters,
temporary hospital installations, disaster
relief facilities, and for disease spread
mitigation.
Buses In China Transmit Virus Through Air
Conditioning System
Practical
Preventive Medicine
published the
paper
in early March titled "An epidemiological
investigation of 2019 novel coronavirus diseases
through aerosol-borne transmission by public
transport," The authors, from institutions in
China, looked at the spread of the virus on a
bus linked to one infected passenger.
According to the abstract, This COVID-19
outbreak was transmitted by a public transport
resulting in 11 confirmed cases including one
asymptomatic case and two third-generation
cases. The farthest transmission distance of
COVID-19 in the airtight air-conditioning bus
reached 4.5 meters.
This contagious virus could float in the air for
30 minutes at least and cause infection．
The researchers concluded: The COVID-19 has
strong transmissibility and can be transmitted
by aerosol in a closed environment. To prevent
infection, personal protection should be done
well when taking public transports
and the ventilation and fresh air volume in
public transports should be guaranteed, and the
cleaning and disinfection in the carriage should
be done well．
