Coronavirus Technology Solutions
July 9, 2020
COVID Travels
Like Second Hand
Smoke ______________________________________________________________________________________________
COVID Travels
Like Second Hand
Smoke
The daily Alerts
have used the
image of second
hand smoke on
multiple
occasions to the
travel of virus
clouds. Others
are using the
same analogy.
Dr. Eric
Feigl-Ding, an
epidemiologist
from Harvard
University who
was one of the
first to blow
the whistle on
the pandemic
potential of
COVID-19, has a
unique way of
visualizing it.
“A virus
transmission is
kind of like
secondhand smoke
— it’s
secondhand
breathing from
someone else,”
says Feigl-Ding.
“There is no
such thing as a
smoke-free part
of a restaurant.
Given what we
know about
secondhand
smoke, the smoke
will go
everywhere,
therefore it
hurts the
waitresses and
bartenders and
people who work
there who don’t
want to smoke
but they’re kind
of stuck with
the occupational
hazard of it.”
Thus far, the
evidence on
whether the
coronavirus is
spread through
microdroplets is
still unclear.
But Feigl-Ding
— who is also a
senior fellow at
the Federation
of American
Scientists —
says there is
enough evidence
of masks
providing some
protection
against
microdroplets to
require them
everywhere.
Given the rising
resistance to
wearing masks
and the public
outbursts
against them, he
believes the
U.S. should be
ramping up its
efforts to
mandate masks —
perhaps through
creative
measures.
“The
study
signed endorsed
by 213 experts
highlights the
importance of
masks ... and it
shows that masks
are really
effective, even
cloth masks,”
says Feigl-Ding.
“People are
protesting mask
mandates, but we
need them
because people
are not wearing
them. I think we
have to think
through the
policies —
should the mask
enforcement be
like a civilian
speeding
ticket?”
Feigl-Ding
worries that
holding
individuals
responsible,
however, may not
be the smartest
way, and
suggests that
perhaps
businesses
should be
required to
enforce mask
mandates
instead. “It’s
like, don’t sell
cigarettes or
alcohol to
underage minors,
and if you do,
then you’re
going to lose
your liquor
license,” he
says. “I think
businesses might
be more
palatable.”
Also in favor of
a mask mandate
is Dr. William
Schaffner, an
infectious
disease expert
at Vanderbilt
University. “You
know, if we all
wore masks, we
wouldn’t have to
worry about
airborne
[transmission]
either,” he
says. “They
prevent two
things: the
start of the
airborne
transmission —
because they
hold things in
— and No. 2,
they provide you
some protection
for the airborne
transmission
coming into
you.”
Schaffner says
masks should be
a regular part
of everyone’s
routine. “If I
had a magic
wand, I’d have
everybody in the
United States
wearing a mask
today ... as
long as you’re
close to
people,” he
says. “Of
course, if
you’re far away
from people, if
you’re walking
down the
sidewalk and
nobody else is
around, or
you’re out
jogging and
nobody else is
around, then you
don’t have to
wear a mask. But
if you’re
interacting with
people in any
way, you should
be wearing a
mask.”
Like Feigl-Ding,
Schaffner thinks
mask mandates
may be the only
way to ensure
that they’re
worn. “I’ve come
reluctantly to
the notion that
we have to
oblige people,”
says Schaffner.
“We have to
require them to
wear a mask.
Otherwise, a
very substantial
portion of the
population
either is
unaware or
doesn’t care.”
"I've been
writing
consistently
since early
February about
how healthy
buildings should
be the first
line of defense
against the
novel
coronavirus,"
said Allen, who
directs the Healthy
Buildings
program at the
Harvard T.H.
Chan School of
Public Health
I'm really
grateful that we
have a leader in
the country --
somewhere -- who
was finally
talking about
healthy
buildings,
ventilation and
filtration,"
Allen said.
"That hasn't
happened before.
It just hasn't
happened."
Allen was one of
239 scientists
who wrote an
open letter to
the World Health
Organization,
the US Centers
for Disease
Control and
Prevention and
other health
agencies, asking
for a change in
their guidance
to the public on
how the novel
coronavirus, or
SARS-CoV-2, can
spread.
Current guidance
only focuses on
"hand washing,
maintaining
social
distancing, and
droplet
precautions,"
according to the
letter, published
Monday in the
journal Clinical
Infectious
Diseases.
The health
agencies are
ignoring the
tiny droplets of
virus that
sputter and
spray from our
mouths, become
aerosolized and
then float away
into the air,
the scientists
said, as a
likely means of
transmission.
"They don't want
to talk about
airborne
transmission
because that is
going to make
people afraid,"
co-author Donald
Milton, a
professor of
environmental
health at the
University of
Maryland, told
CNN in a prior
interview.
"The best
vaccine against
fear is
knowledge and
empowering
people to take
care of
themselves,"
Milton said.
"Why wearing a
mask is
important is
because it
blocks the
aerosols at
their source,
when it is easy
to block them."
Because the CDC
and WHO "have
been so slow to
acknowledge
aerosol
transmission is
happening,
buildings are
not putting in
appropriate
control
measures," said
Allen, who has
focused his
career on "sick
buildings"
and how they
affect worker
performance and
productivity.
"The prudent and
pragmatic
approach is to
acknowledge that
airborne
transmission is
happening and
put in the
controls. If we
find out in five
years, that
airborne was 5%
of transmission,
then OK," Allen
said. "But what
if it's 20% or
30% and we
failed to
acknowledge it?
That's a
problem."
During a press
briefing on
Tuesday, WHO
Technical Lead
for Infection
Prevention and
Control, Dr.
Benedetta
Alleganzi, said
the agency has
discussed and
collaborated
with many of the
scientists who
signed the
letter.
"We acknowledge
that there is
emerging
evidence in this
field,"
Alleganzi said.
"Therefore we
believe that we
have to be open
to this evidence
and understand
its implications
regarding the
modes of
transmission and
also regarding
the precautions
that need to be
taken."
Alleganzi also
emphasized that
emerging
evidence is not
yet conclusive.
"The possibility
of airborne
transmission in
public settings,
especially in
very specific
conditions
crowded, closed,
poorly
ventilated
settings ...
cannot be ruled
out," she said.
"However, the
evidence needs
to be gathered
and
interpreted."
Will masks
protect against
those
microscopic
floating
droplets?
Top-rated N95
and
surgical-grade
masks will, and
scientists are
scrambling to
study and tweak
the
effectiveness
of homemade
masks.
Even when
medical-grade
masks are
widespread,
ventilation
systems with
highly effective
filters are
another key way
to filter
droplets from
the air, Allen
said.
In his edict to
New York mall
owners, Cuomo
was talking
about HEPA
filters, which
have the highest
MERV ratings,
between 17 and
20.
What's MERV? It
stands for
"minimum
efficiency
reporting
value," and it's
how filters are
rated in their
ability to trap
tiny particles.
The MERV ratings
go from one to
20: Filters with
higher MERV
ratings are more
effective than
filters with
lower ratings.
At the highest
end, HEPA
filters are used
by hospitals to
create sterile
rooms for
surgeries and to
control
infectious
diseases, and
are able to
remove 99.97% of
dust, pollen,
mold, bacteria
and other
airborne
particles with a
size as small as
0.3 microns. For
comparison,
Covid-19 is
thought to be
between 0.06 to
1.4 microns.
"Filters are
rated at their
worst
performance, so
99.97% is the
worst it will
do," Allen said.
"And that's
rated for a
particle size of
0.3 microns, but
smaller and
larger it
actually does
better. So the
point is that
it's capturing
nearly all
particles."
Unfortunately,
most businesses
and home owners
may find it
difficult to
retrofit their
existing system
to accommodate a
HEPA filter, or
any filter
higher than the
rating
recommended by
the system's
manufacturer.
Doing so can
actually impair
the system's
performance:
Smaller pores in
HEPA air filters
make it more
difficult for it
to push air.
Using denser
filters can
affect the
efficiency of
the unit and
strain the fan,
while decreasing
indoor air
quality -- the
opposite of what
you desire.
"HEPA filtration
is not always
going to be
feasible or
practical,"
Allen said. "But
there are other
filters that can
do the job. What
is recommended
now by the
standard setting
body for HVAC is
a MERV 13
filter."
High-efficiency
filters in the
13-to-16 MERV
range are often
used in
hospitals,
nursing homes,
research labs
and other places
where filtration
is important.
Lydall is One of
the Companies
who can Deal
with the Small
Aerosols
Lydall cites the
lower efficiency
of cloth masks.
“For most cloth
face masks,
there is no
inner filtration
layer that traps
harmful
particles," said
Sara Greenstein,
president and
CEO of Lydall,
one of the
companies who
signed with the
U.S. Department
of Defense to
produce
filtration media
for N95 masks.
"Although
wearing a cloth
face mask is
better than
nothing, it is
no substitute
for an N95 or
surgical mask,
which are
precisely
engineered,
highly technical
products,"
Greenstein said.
McIlvaine is of
the opinion that
now is the time
for companies
such as Lydall
to climb into
the driver’s
seats and
relegate the
epidemiologists
to a
supportive role.
The switch from
guidance by
governments and
researchers to
guidance
by the
supplier
industry took
place early in
the evolution of
the air
pollution and
cleanroom
industries. To
solve the power
plant SO2
problem starting
in 1965
Combustion
Engineering
allocated $25
million and
partnered with
Environeering
(the company
owned by the
McIlvaine
family) to
develop the
first commercial
limestone FGD
scrubber.
The first
commercial
version was
supplied just
three years
later.
Some of the
early cleanroom
advances were
achieved by
NASA. But in the
1980s the
semiconductor
industry took
charge and
allocated the
funds to create
the ultraclean
environments
found in chip
plants today.
Lydall is
looking to
filtration for
increased sales
and margins.
Growth areas
include COVID
related sectors
along with high
efficiency
particulate
capture.
However
the two are tied
together.
For
example new
filter media for
waste to energy
plants is
potentially
applicable to
HVAC and even
masks.
Lydall is well
positioned to
capitalize on
the COVID market
as shown by the
articles in
previous Alerts
1. McIlvaine
Coronavirus
Market Alert
... Carolina
Implements Mask
Regulations WHO
Recommends Three
Layer Masks
Meltblown Media
Prices Fall in
China Lydall Makes
Masks for First
Responders Pure
Living Provides
Melt Blown
Fabric
Production
Machines Lear
Corporation ...
Terms matched: 1
- Score: 76
- 11 Jun 2020
- URL:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/coronavirus/subscriber/Alerts/2020-06-11/Alert_20200611.html
2. McIlvaine
Coronavirus
Market Alert
... Buildings
to Reduce Virus
Build Up Chinese
Mask Production
Line in
Operation in
Tbilisi Georgia Lydall to
Invest in New
Meltblown Line
Tustar Teams
with Neatrition
to Introduce
High Efficiency
Masks ...
Terms matched: 1
- Score: 60
- 3 Jun 2020
- URL:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/coronavirus/subscriber/Alerts/2020-06-02/Alert_20200602.html
3. McIlvaine
Coronavirus
Market Alert
... Technology
Solutions May
29, 2020 San
Francisco Now
Requires Masks
in Any Public
Place Lydall has
Multiple COVID
Initiatives
Including Long
Term Meltblown
Contract with 3M
Meltblown Price
Still High ...
Terms matched: 1
- Score: 21
- 30 May 2020
- URL:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/coronavirus/subscriber/Alerts/2020-05-29/Alert_202005029.html
4. Coronavirus
Alerts Table of
Contents
... Carolina
Implements Mask
Regulations WHO
Recommends Three
Layer Masks
Meltblown Media
Prices Fall in
China Lydall Makes
Masks for First
Responders Pure
Living Provides
Melt Blown
Fabric
Production
Machines Lear
Corporation ...
Terms matched: 1
- Score: 19
- 8 Jul 2020
- URL:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/coronavirus/subscriber/Alerts/TofC.html
5. McIlvaine
Coronavirus
Market Alert
... Two
Million Schools
Reopen with
Partitions but
What About
Laminar Air Flow
and filtration? Lydall has
Multiple COVID
Initiatives
Including Long
Term Meltblown
Contract with
Honeywell not 3M
Honeywell has ...
Terms matched: 1
- Score: 15
- 2 Jun 2020
- URL:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/coronavirus/subscriber/Alerts/2020-06-01/Alert_20200601.html
6. McIlvaine
Coronavirus
Market Alert
... filtration
industry and
brief insights
on the
coronavirus
challenge by
Paul Marold,
president of Lydall,
and Val
Hollingsworth,
CEO of
Hollingsworth &
Vose. Bob
Mcilvaine was
also ...
Terms matched: 1
- Score: 6
- 12 May 2020
- URL:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/coronavirus/subscriber/Alerts/2020-05-06/Alert_20200506.html
7. McIlvaine
Coronavirus
Market Alert
... have
production sites
in China as well
as on several
continents
around the
world. Lydall reported
that its Chinese
facilities were
up and running
in the first
quarter. So ...
Terms matched: 1
- Score: 6
- 7 Jul 2020
- URL:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/coronavirus/subscriber/Alerts/2020-07-07/Alert_20200707.html
Heated Nickel
Foam Filter is a
Different
Approach
Researchers from
the University
of Houston, in
collaboration
with others,
have designed a
“catch and kill”
air filter that
can trap the
virus
responsible for
COVID-19,
killing it
instantly.
The link below
is only to the
abstract.
We do not
see how the
filter can be
heated without
also heating the
air. We did not
see details on
the capture
mechanism other
than heat. We
will keep
pursuing this.
U.C. Davis Study
Shows Importance
of Masks to
Protect the
Wearer
Health experts
have stressed
the importance
of wearing a
mask to limit
the possibility
of infecting
others with COVID-19,
but a range of
new research now
suggests they
also protect the
wearer,
according to a
report Monday.
With many states
implementing
policies to
make face
coverings
mandatory in
both indoor and
outdoor spaces,
one doctor
says that masks
also reduce the
risk of
infection to the
wearer by 65
percent.
"We've learned
more due to
research and
additional
scientific
evidence and now
we know [that]
not only wearing
a mask prevents
the person
wearing the mask
to transmit to
others, but
wearing the mask
protects the
person who's
wearing
it," said Dean
Blumberg, chief
of pediatric
infectious
diseases at UC
Davis Children’s
Hospital.
"So the wearer
of the mask,
even the
standard
rectangular
surgical masks
... will
decrease the
risk of
infection by the
person wearing
the mask by
about 65
percent."
He added that
N95 masks do an
even better job
at protecting
people from the
virus, but they
are in short
supply and are
needed for
healthcare
professionals.
Blumberg and
William
Ristenpart, a
professor of
chemical
engineering at
UC Davis,
appeared on UC
Davis Live:
Coronavirus
Edition to
discuss the
topic of
transmission. Ristenpart's
lab at UC Davis
has studied how
people emit
small droplets
while breathing
or talking that
could carry the
virus.
The pair
highlighted two
primary methods
of
transmission. The first
being visible
droplets a
carrier expels,
which are
roughly
one-third the
size of a human
hair. They said
masks create an
effective
barrier against
those types of
droplets.
Everyone should
wear a mask,”
Blumberg said.
“People who say,
‘I don’t believe
masks work,’ are
ignoring
scientific
evidence. It’s
not a belief
system. It’s
like saying, ‘I
don’t believe in
gravity.’"
The second is
via the aerosol
particles we
expel when we
talk. They are
about 1/100th
the size of a
human hair and
are more
difficult to
defend against.
He said that's
because the
smaller
particles could
still sneak
through a gap in
rectangular
or homemade
cloth masks.
Social
distancing and
staying
outdoors, are
helpful for
staying clear of
the small
particles
because there is
more airflow,
Blumberg and
Ristenpart said.
“Studies in
laboratory
conditions now
show the virus
stays alive in
aerosol form
with a half-life
on the scale of
hours. It
persists in the
air,” Ristenpart
added. “That’s
why you want to
be outdoors for
any social
situations if
possible. The
good airflow
will disperse
the virus. If
you are indoors,
think about
opening the
windows. You
want as much
fresh air as
possible.”
He said that's
why enclosed
areas like bars
-- seen as
hotspots for
contracting the
virus -- are
particularly
dangerous: “The
louder you
speak, the more
expiratory
aerosols you put
out."
So we don’t know
who might spread
it,” Blumberg
said.
“We do know
social
distancing
reduces the risk
of transmitting
the virus by 90
percent, and
wearing masks
decreases the
risk by 65
percent."
New York Schools
will Open in
September but
Safety will be a
Huge Challenge
Mayor Bill de
Blasio plans to
reopen New
York’s public
schools in
September, but
students will
almost certainly
not return to
classrooms five
days a week, and
they will
probably have
staggered
schedules to
fulfill
social-distancing
requirements.
That could mean
that the city’s
1.1 million
students
physically
attend school a
few times a
week, or one
week out of
every two or
even three and
continue their
classes online
the rest of the
time. Math and
English classes
could be held in
cafeterias or
gyms, where
there is room to
spread out.
Students may be
asked to keep
their distance
from one another
in
once-boisterous
hallways and
schoolyards.
Mr. de Blasio is
expected to
announce more
details in the
coming days, as
anxiety among
parents grows
and his
administration
confronts an
array of
challenges on
the path to
reopening the
largest school
district in the
United States.
The city is
planning for
fall using
current federal
recommendations
that students be
kept six feet
apart. Social
distancing will
vary
significantly
between schools.
An extremely
overcrowded
school in
Queens, for
example, could
have three or
more groups of
students who
cycle in and out
of the building
on alternating
days or weeks,
while students
at a Bronx
school with
lower enrollment
could be broken
into two groups.
In either
scenario, there
would probably
be no more than
around a dozen
people in a
typical
classroom at a
time, including
teachers, union
leaders say,
even if schools
are able to
convert
libraries and
other common
spaces into
classrooms. Many
schools
typically have
class sizes of
about 30
students.
Principals will
probably let
parents know
next month which
days or weeks
children can
expect to return
to school.
The condition of
the city’s
schools is among
the biggest
hurdles. Many
are over a
century old, and
overcrowding is
a persistent
challenge. Some
schools hold
classes in
hallways. Others
rely on
classroom
trailers for
additional
space.
Cafeterias,
auditoriums and
gyms in some
buildings are
poorly
ventilated. To
address that,
custodians may
have to replace
air filtration
systems and fix
jammed windows
over the next
two months.
(McIlvaine
comments that
this is not a
minor task and
could be the
most important)
No matter how
creative
educators are in
rearranging
classroom space,
major questions
remain about
staffing levels.
A school with
space available
for 30
classrooms but
only 25
teachers, for
example, would
not be able to
accommodate as
many students as
it might.
Principals are
expected to
receive their
budgets for next
year later this
week, but it is
clear that the
entire system
will operate
with much less
money because of
the economic
crisis created
by the pandemic.
Michael Mulgrew,
the president of
the city’s
teachers union,
said he did not
believe that
schools could
reopen in any
capacity without
federal aid.
(The union’s
members received
their scheduled
2.5 percent
raises in May.)
If the state and
city did not get
money to spend
on staff,
protective
equipment and
cleaning, Mr.
Mulgrew said,
“then that’s it,
all bets are
off, schools
won’t open.”
He recommended
that any
Department of
Education
employee with a
teaching
certificate,
even members of
the central
office staff,
should prepare
to teach
in-person or
remotely come
September.
The city
estimates that
about one in
five teachers
will receive
medical
exemptions that
allow them to
work remotely
this fall.
Principals tend
to be more
experienced and
therefore older,
which could also
keep some of
them at home as
well.
But it is clear
that many
parents, weary
from nearly five
months of home
schooling, are
extremely eager
to have their
children return
to in-person
learning.
The burden has
been highest for
essential
workers who have
scrambled to
find child care
while continuing
to report to
work during the
pandemic. But
the toll is
enormous for all
working parents,
including
schoolteachers.
“This is not
sustainable,”
especially for
poor and single
parents, said
Julie Kashen,
the director for
women’s economic
justice at the
Century
Foundation. |