Coronavirus
Technology Solutions
Researchers Tackle the Surface Transmission of
COVID-19 in New Partnership Lydall Expects $11 Million in Meltblown Revenue in Second Half Debate on Price Capping of Masks in Mantralaya Return of Air Pollution to India will Exacerbate COVID Problem Moderate Heat and Humidity to Inactivate the Virus
Canadian Meat Processor Reports 80 COVID Cases
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Researchers Tackle the Surface Transmission of
COVID-19 in New Partnership
A project to develop surface treatments that can
provide long-lasting protection against the
COVID-19 virus has been launched at the
University of Birmingham.
Funded by the Engineering and Physical Science
Research Council, the research will see the
development of new antiviral sprays, films, and
other products. These can be delivered via
additives in existing commercial products, such
as detergents, or integrated with current
packaging processes, forming an invisible and
long-lasting film of sub-micron thickness.
Unlike existing disinfectants, the formulations
will be designed to both capture the aerosol
droplets and inactivate the virus.
The research is being carried out over the next
18 months in partnership with the University of
Cambridge and three key industrial partners:
Dupont Teijin Film (DTF), Innospec, and
FiberLean with the aim of rapidly
commercialising the formulations produced.
A key focus during the first phase of the
project will be to better understand the
underpinning antiviral mechanism. This is
important because recent evidence suggests
different surfaces can affect the ability of the
COVID-19 virus to survive.
For example, we know the virus can remain active
for several days on smooth surfaces such as
plastic and stainless steel, but for only a few
hours on newspaper. Surface characteristics such
as porosity, rigidity, and roughness all affect
the virus’s viability, and the team aim to draw
on their expertise in soft matter, surface
chemistry, formulation engineering, and
microbiology together with the product
development capabilities offered by the
industrial partners.
Project lead, Dr Zhenyu Jason Zhang from the
University of Birmingham’s School of Chemical
Engineering, explains: “Scientific work so far
suggests that COVID-19 is transmitted via
aerosol droplets that not only carry but very
likely protect the virus. The products we are
developing will disrupt such protective
environment, leaving the virus exposed and
unable to survive once the aerosol droplets land
on a communal surface such as handrail,
tabletop.”
Of the three industrial partners, Dupont Teijin
Film is one of the world’s largest manufacturers
of polyester film that is used extensively for
face-shields, food packaging, and digiprint;
Innospec develops and manufactures additives as
performance chemicals; whilst FiberLean is a
global manufacturer of micro-fibrillated
cellulose that is used in packaging and other
applications as additives. They all have decade
long partnership with the School of Chemical
Engineering at Birmingham via the
internationally renowned Centre for Formulation
Engineering.
Some Decontamination Processes Damage N95 Face
Masks
"Some treatments for decontamination had no
impact on respirator performance, while other
treatments resulted in substantial damage to
masks," writes Richard Peltier, associate
professor in the School of Public Health and
Health Sciences and lead author of the paper
published in Infection
Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
Peltier received a fast-track grant from the
National Science Foundation in May to study the
impact of various sterilization techniques
authorized for emergency use by the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) in light of the
shortage of medical face masks, also known as
N95 respirators.
"Given the global N95 shortages, clinicians face
a choice: wearing a used, and potentially
infected respirator, or wearing one that was
decontaminated through a process that may affect
the integrity of the respirator," says Peltier,
whose co-authors include doctors and researchers
at New England Baptist Hospital in Boston and
UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.
Peltier uses state-of-the-art pollution
detection instruments and a mannequin head in
his lab to measure whether microscopic particles
can pass through the masks after they are
sterilized. "Respirators must be effective
across a range of potential conditions to
provide protection since droplets that contain
virus particles immediately start to evaporate
and shrink," he explains.
While the testing was limited by the
availability of processed masks provided by
hospitals in Massachusetts, the study draws
several generalizable conclusions, Peltier says.
Respirators that were treated between one and 10
times with specific vaporized hydrogen peroxide
(vHP) sterilizers or up to five times with
shorter decontamination cycles of gas plasma
hydrogen peroxide (gpHP) retain their original
filtration capabilities. A decontamination
process using ultraviolent germicidal irradiance
(UVGI) slowly diminishes filtration efficiency,
reaching a level "that warrants caution" after
nine repeated treatments, the research found.
"However, there are still a number of sterilizer
systems that are being used on these masks which
we don't have information about and therefore
can't determine if they keep workers safe,"
Peltier says.
Treatments with high concentrations of gpHP or
longer processing times degraded filtration
performance below the requirement for N95 masks,
which should be capable of filtering 95% of 300
nanometer (nm) particles.
For comparison, Peltier also tested a KN95 mask,
some brands of which have been removed from the
FDA's emergency-use list due to poor
performance, and a four-ply polyester bandana.
Neither had been treated with any
decontamination technique, and both performed
below N95 standards. Peltier also found that
immersing an N95 mask in a 10% bleach solution
degraded its performance.
Peltier notes that his study did not address the
masks' fit or general integrity, including
elastic function, corrosion on staples and
compression of the respirator, all of which are
important for proper functioning. His research
highlights the importance of using
decontamination techniques shown to be safe for
the reuse of N95 masks.
"We hope this work supports good decision-making
that protects those who are on the front lines
of this pandemic keeping us all safe," Peltier
says. "Without them, none of us are safe."
The UK’s first manufacturer of type IIR surgical
face masks, Bluetree Group, has taken delivery
of England’s very first meltblown machines.
It means the business can create the vital
bacterial filtration layer of the face masks, or
‘meltblown’, in house.
Installation of two of the machines at the
company’s Rotherham factory will enable the team
to produce 100 tonnes of meltblown each month
and provide the country with a constant and
reliable source of surgical face masks.
As the COVID-19 outbreak has progressed,
meltblown has become one of the scarcest
materials in the world, with many countries
banning its export.
Given that meltblown plays such an essential
part of the manufacturing process of Bluetree
Group’s masks, the company decided to bring the
manufacturing of this material in-house.
Following an appeal from the World Health
Organization (WHO) in March for industry to help
increase face mask production by 40%, the
printing business diversified its manufacturing
capabilities to help with the response to
Covid-19 and keep the UK protected during the
pandemic.
Bluetree Group offers a face mask subscription
service where professionals, organizations and
individuals can purchase type IIR surgical face
masks.
Having secured contracts to supply face masks to
the NHS and Daily Mail’s charity, Mail Force,
Bluetree Group will, at peak capacity produce
1.7 million masks a day.
Lydall, experienced
“historic
declines” in the automotive industry, Sara
Greenstein, CEO, told investor analysts in July
as Lydall released its second-quarter financial
results. Net sales of $146.2 million in the
April-June quarter fell more than one-third from
the same period last year, due primarily to the
shutdown of car manufacturing due to COVID-19
and weaker industrial demand, Lydall said.
However, Lydall said continued strong demand for
filtration products should offset downturns in
other businesses, with meltblown media sales for
N95 and surgical masks contributing sales of $10
million to $12 million in the second half of
2020.
Lydall’s exposure to the automotive market is in
its technical nonwoven materials and products
with applications in air pollution control, home
appliance, the automotive industry and other
areas. And its thermal acoustical business makes
engineered products for noise and heat abatement
in products found primarily in underbody and
under hood applications in vehicles.
Ten days after a state-appointed expert
committee submitted a proposal to cap prices of
masks, bringing down the cost by 40 to 60 per
cent, the proposal remains stuck in Mantralaya.
Public Health Minister Rajesh Tope had told The
Indian Express that the recommendation of
the committee would be implemented from October
8. A week since, the file awaits final nod. Sources in the public health department said the proposal was “promptly signed” on October 7 and put up before Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. But with mask manufacturers strongly opposing price capping, the approval has been delayed, said officials. An official from the Chief
Minister’s Office said the file was put up
before him last week, but it was sent back to
the department with instructions to be sent to
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
When contacted, Tope’s said: “The CM has agreed
in principle to the proposal. The file was sent
back to health department with some queries. We
have sent it for approval to deputy CM today.
The price cap will be introduced in a day or
two.”
Until June 30, masks and sanitizers were part of
the essential commodity list of the Union
government. Following complaints of
highly-priced masks, the state government
decided to cap prices. On July 31, a four-member
expert committee was set up to study
manufacturing cost and advise ceiling prices.
The committee inspected two major manufacturers
– Venus Health and Safety Private Limited and
Magnum Health and Safety Private Limited – and
studied their records found with the public
health department, GST officials and central
excise department. The committee submitted its
report on October 5. After factoring a 45 per
cent profit margin in supply chain, it
recommended N-95 mask to be capped between Rs 15
to Rs 49, filtration face piece mask at Rs 12,
3-ply meltblown mask at Rs 4 and 2-ply mask at
Rs 3.
Currently, while a 3-ply meltblown mask costs
anywhere between Rs 20 to Rs 40 ($0.27 to
$0.54), a N-95 mask costs Rs 100 to Rs 400
($1.35 to $5.42) in the market. However, a 3-ply
mask is available for Rs 20 and a N-95 mask
between Rs 120 to Rs 200 at chemist shops.
“The cost of masks has increased because the raw
material costs more. Earlier, we got cheaper raw
material from China. The chain involves
distributors, stockists and retailers, who also
keep a certain profit margin,” Navandar said.
Several private hospitals charge patients a high
price for N-95 masks. Tushar Garg was discharged
from Mulund’s Apex hospital on Tuesday with a
bill of Rs 2.7 lakh for eight days of
hospitalization. The bill (accessed by The
Indian Express) shows he was charged Rs 7,200
for 36 N-95 masks. “I was on oxygen support for
hardly three days. I was stable and fine during
most of my hospitalizations. Still the bill was
so high,” he said.
J B Mantri, Joint Commissioner (Drugs) of Food
and Drug Administration, said: “We can only take
action if the MRP is exceeded. But if the MRP is
labeled high, it is difficult to take action.
Price capping of masks is the only solution.”
Return of Air Pollution to India will Exacerbate
COVID
Problem
The dramatic drop in air pollution after large
swathes of South Asia shut down in response to
Covid-19 was short-lived. Newly clean skies in
cities from Peshawar to Guwahati stirred hope
that action on South Asia’s lethal air pollution
was possible. But as lockdowns eased, pollution
levels crept back up.
Now experts warn that bad air could worsen the
spread and severity of the coronavirus pandemic
this winter as South Asia descends into its
annual smog season. Pollution levels peak every
autumn and winter, when agricultural waste
burning, industry, vehicle fumes and brick kilns
combine to create a toxic soup.
Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan have
overtaken China and become home to the most
polluted cities in the world. Millions of people
die every year from breathing in poisonous air,
with life expectancy cut by five years on
average. This rises to more than eight years in
the most polluted areas of northern India.
But governments have failed to act. In India,
activists have rejected the
government’s National Clean Air Programme as
insufficient. While some real-time data is
available in India, cities in Bangladesh,
Pakistan and Nepal still lack basic equipment
for monitoring air pollution, let alone a robust
strategy to address the sources.
Emerging studies, currently undergoing peer
review, suggest that long-term exposure to air
pollution before the pandemic is associated with
severe symptoms from Covid-19 and a greater risk
of death.
Academics at Harvard University looked at
fatalities from the virus and historic levels of
dangerous particulate matter, known as PM2.5,
across the United States. They found that high
levels of particulate pollution in
the years before the pandemic were associated
with an 8% rise in Covid-19 death rates.
Another study in the Netherlands found that a
small increase in exposure to pollution raised
the death rate by up to 21%, though the World
Health Organization said the methodology used
and the results would need to be evaluated and
overall, more data is needed to understand the
way air pollution can affect the development of
the disease.
While the evidence from South Asia is still
scarce, public health experts in India are
echoing the warning given by the WHO and calling
on the government to take immediate action.
“Our worst fears are that as the winters arrive
and air pollution rises this could compound the
Covid-19 situation,” said TK Joshi, health
expert at India’s Central Pollution Control
Board and member of the prime minister’s
Covid-19 task force. “Already our health
infrastructure is under tremendous stress.”
Speaking about the connection between air
pollution and the pandemic at a webinar
organized by World Wide Fund India, Joshi said,
“The quality of air has a bearing on a person’s
immunity.”
New research suggests a simple combination of
moderate heat and high relative humidity can
disinfect N95 mask materials without hindering
their ability to filter out virus particles.
Unlike other disinfecting strategies,
researchers suggest their novel mask treatment
can be relatively easily automated and
scaled-up.
"This is really an issue, so if you can find a
way to recycle the masks a few dozen times, the
shortage goes way down," senior study
author Steven Chu said in a news release.
"You can imagine each doctor or nurse having
their own personal collection of up to a dozen
masks. The ability to decontaminate several of
these masks while they are having a coffee break
will lessen the chance that masks contaminated
with COVID viruses would expose other patients,"
said Chu, a professor of molecular and cellular
physiology at Stanford University.
Researchers have previously tested a variety of
disinfecting strategies, including ultraviolet
light, hydrogen peroxide vapors and chemical
disinfectants. One study found a spin in the
microwave can successfully sterilize used N95
masks.
Unfortunately, each of these strategies has been
shown to degrade the filtering abilities of
respirator
For the new study, published this month in
the journal ACS Nano,
researchers sprayed coronavirus virus-dosed
fluids on pieces of meltblown fabric, the main
filtering component in N95 masks.
After allowing the pieces of fabric to dry,
researchers exposed them to temperatures from 25
to 95 degrees Celsius for up to 30 minutes with
relative humidity up to 100 percent.
The higher scientists turned up the temperature,
the less and less virus scientists were able to
find on the treated fabric samples. But at the
highest temperatures, researchers found the
meltblown fabric pieces lost some of their
filtering ability.
Tests revealed the sweet spot for
decontamination and material integrity to be 85
degrees Celsius with 100 percent relatively
humidity.
Researchers got similar results when they
performed the same tests with the coronavirus
responsible for the common cold and the
chikungunya virus. The results showed the masks
could be treated up to 20 times before they
began to suffer declines in filtering
performance.
Scientists say their disinfecting method should
be adopted by hospitals and healthcare providers
to relieve pressures on PPE supplies, adding
that N95 mask reuse has environmental and
economic benefits.
"It's good all around," said Stanford professor
Yi Cui.
Workers at an Olymel meat-packing plant in the
Beauce region are being tested for COVID-19,
after a weekend outbreak infected dozens of
employees.
The union representing the facility's 1,200
employees said 80 people have tested positive so
far.
"People are still working, but they're worried.
There are some who are still waiting for test
results," said Martin Maurice, president of the
Syndicat des travailleurs d'Olymel Vallée-Jonction.
A 65-year-old worker, who tested positive for
COVID-19, died on Tuesday. The company issued a
statement mourning the employee's passing and
confirmed the test result. It also said, "an
investigation is underway to determine the exact
cause of his death and whether it was related to
COVID-19."
The statement also said Olymel called in the
regional public health authority over the
weekend to undertake a mass testing campaign
given "the factory is situated in a red zone and
several employees have presented symptoms
despite the rigorous application of significant
sanitary measures."
The union doesn't dispute the adequacy of the
safety procedures inside the plant, but Maurice
told Radio-Canada some employees have let their
guard down over recent months in common areas
like the cafeteria and change rooms.
He also said, "the company also has its share of
faults," noting that during the first COVID-19
wave it staggered shifts in order to allow
enough time for work stations to be properly
cleaned. It also limited overtime.
Maurice said neither of those measures have been
in place since summer, although he added the
company said this week it plans to
re-institute the pause between shifts.
He also told Radio-Canada the provincial
workplace safety board has been on the premises
this week "to correct certain situations."
The union is asking for a temporary closure.
Olymel employs 15,000 people and operates
processing facilities in five provinces. It is
the largest hog producer in Canada.
The company closed its facility in Yamachiche,
near Trois-Rivières, for two weeks this past
March, after nine employees tested positive for
coronavirus.
Another positive test in August at Olymel's
plant in Red Deer, Alta., resulted in the
preventive isolation of 13 workers. None tested
positive for COVID-19.
From the United States to Brazil, Britain, Germany and
Australia, meat-processing plants have played a
peculiar role in spreading COVID-19.
In Brazil, union officials allege one-fifth of
the industry's employees—about 100,000 meat
plant workers—have been infected. In the US,
meat-processing facilities have been linked to
more than 38,500 cases and at least 180 deaths.
Meat works made up almost half of US COVID-19
hotspots in May. They were also the major
initial source of infections in Australia's June
"second wave" outbreak in the state of Victoria.
One reason for these transmissions is that meat
processing takes place in confined refrigerated
spaces. But the fact the industry has not been
linked with large viral outbreaks in all
countries and regions suggests other,
controllable factors have also been
instrumental.
The fundamental lesson from these outbreaks is
that unhealthy working conditions and precarious
work need to be addressed to stop the meat
industry acting as an incubator of COVID-19.
Past studies have shown influenza and other
coronaviruses (SARS and MERS) are more
stable and therefore spread more easily in lower
temperatures. Though lower temperatures have not
yet been conclusively proven to increase
COVID-19 transmissions, Australian researchers
have identified an association with lower
humidity.
This alone increases the risk to meat-processing
workers, who perform strenuous manual labor on a
production line in relatively close proximity to
others. But that risk is compounded by other
factors—particularly poor air quality
contributing to respiratory illness, which
makes any COVID-19 infection more severe.
As noted by the US Occupational Safety and
Health Administration, among the "many serious
safety and health hazards" long associated with
meat-processing work are "biological hazards
associated with handling live animals or
exposures to feces and blood which can increase
their risk for many diseases".
A 2017
study found
respiratory disorders such as coughing,
breathlessness and wheezing three to four times
more prevalent among slaughterhouse workers
than office workers. Among poultry workers, a
2013 study found more than 40% had asthmatic
symptoms (compared with about 10% of all
adults). This was attributed to "poultry dust",
a biologically active combination of chicken
residue, feathers and molds.
Insufficient ventilation makes the spread of the
coronavirus 20 times more likely, according to a
report published by the European Federation of
Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions in
June.
That report lists other factors too, such as
inadequate social distancing and a dearth of
appropriate personal protective equipment. But
ultimately, poor air-quality is symptomatic of
the lack of a healthy and safe workplace for
many meat-processing workers.
It is also pertinent to the rest of us. The
American Society for Heating, Refrigeration, and
Air‐Conditioning Engineers, for example, has
recommended ventilation air intake in all
buildings should now be three air changes an
hour. That's three to five times higher than the
minimum standard for offices.
What this all comes down to is a critical need
to improve health and safety standards in
abattoirs and meat processing facilities across
the board.
It is no coincidence, as the European Federation
Union report argues, that the vast majority of
meat workers testing positive in Europe have
been migrant workers, hired through
subcontractors, with few employment rights and
often living in overcrowded accommodation.
An estimated 80% of meat workers in the
Netherlands, for example, are from central and
eastern Europe, employed through temporary
agencies.
Workers are typically employed as casuals, or
"daily hires" (meaning their jobs technically
terminate at the end of every shift) or through
subcontracting arrangements that deem them
"self-employed". As the report notes:
"Employment conditions for many meat workers are
extremely precarious. Moreover, the level of
sick pay allowances can be very low. This may
have determined the fact that in case of
experiencing COVID-19 symptoms some workers have
not reported the status of their health
conditions for fear of losing their job or for
not being able to afford a decent living with
sick pay allowances."
Evidence from a number of countries shows these
things can be fixed.
Denmark is the poster-child for the automation
of meat processing and decent pay, allowing for
social distancing within factories and thus low
COVID-19 outbreaks.
In Spain, a collective agreement that guarantees
subcontracted workers the same conditions as
other employees has been credited with
controlling COVID-19 transmissions.
In Germany, transmissions linked to meat
processing slowed after abattoirs were banned
from hiring temporary workers in May.
In Victoria, Australia, ensuring all workers
have access to paid pandemic leave (along with
other measures including the government
mandating strict physical distancing and safety
protocols in plants) appears to have proven
successful.
But many of these responses are only temporary
emergency responses. The global pandemic has
brought global attention to the longer-term need
for systemic reform to eliminate the dangers of
unhealthy workplaces and disempowered workers
and ensure that workers can afford to stay home
when they are sick.
In a sense we are all complicit in a system that
has seen working conditions worsen over the last
decade. We've accepted the rise of complex
subcontracting and fake "phoenix" companies
designed to strip workers of employee status,
and supermarket and fast-food chains pushing
cost pressures down supply chains, simply
because we like cheap meat.
There are moves in Europe to address this lack
of accountability through extending legal
liability throughout the whole subcontracting
chain. Other countries would do well to learn
from these examples.
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