Coronavirus
Technology Solutions
Wildfires and
Pandemics will
Continue to
Coexist
Webinar with
Coronavirus
Taskforce Today
Questions Texas
Mask Decision
Ventilation and
Filters Key to
School Safety
____________________________________________________________________
Wildfires and
Pandemics will
Continue to
Coexist
Volcanoes, red
tide, dust
storms from
Africa,
inversions which
cause high local
air pollution
levels and
wildfires will
all need to be
addressed with a
combination of
masks and air
filters.
The guidelines
for staying
healthy while
big fires burn
have long been
simple: stay
inside and, when
possible, use
air filters to
capture those
dangerous
microparticles.
But the
coronavirus
pandemic caused
shortages of key
air-quality
supplies and has
forced some
difficult
tradeoffs on
indoor air
safety.
Both fine smoke
particles and
the coronavirus
can be captured
by a class of
air filters
known as
MERV-13, which
can be installed
in many existing
heating and air
conditioning
systems. But
because these
filters weren’t
in wide use
before the
pandemic, a
sudden surge in
demand has
created
ongoing MERV-13
shortages.
Mike Gallagher,
president of
HVAC contractor
Western Allied,
believes that’s
going to catch
commercial
building
managers by
surprise once
the current wave
of fires dies
down.
“Once the smoke
clears, it
smells okay
outside, but you
walk into the
building and it
smells like
smoke. That’s
when they
realize they
need new
filters,” says
Gallagher. But
with waiting
lists for
MERV-13 filters
as long as two
months,
Gallagher
predicted that
many buildings
in
smoke-affected
areas would
be
forced to
temporarily
resort to MERV-8
filters, which
are not capable
of clearing the
coronavirus from
the air. That
could increase
the infection
risk in shared
spaces including
offices,
restaurants,
and movie
theaters.
The coronavirus
forces
a second
difficult choice
as the fires
rage: whether to
let in outside
air to reduce
the risk of
infections, or
seal buildings
up tight to keep
out smoke
particles.
“For [protection
against] COVID,
you want to get
the [outside
air] ventilation
rate as high as
possible,” says
HVAC veteran Tom
Javins. “But
with wildfire
smoke, you want
to have the
ventilation rate
as low as
possible.
Because the
pollutant is in
the outside air,
not the inside
air.”
Javins sits on a
committee of the
American Society
of Heating
Refrigerating,
and
Air-conditioning
Engineers
(ASHRAE), which
is developing
best practices
for heating and
ventilation
under wildfire
conditions.
Though the
double-bind of
the coronavirus
and smoke is
challenging, his
bigger concern
is widespread
indifference:
“Most
[commercial]
building
managers don’t
do anything” to
adjust for
dangerous
outside air
quality, he
says, and he
frequently finds
that the vents
controlling
outside air flow
for big
buildings have
broken down
entirely. Most
often these
vents, known as
air dampers, are
stuck closed,
helping keep out
fire particles
but increasing
COVID-19 risk
for occupants.
A separate set
of challenges
comes with
trying to
protect private
homes from
wildfire smoke.
According to
Sarah Coefield,
an air quality
specialist with
the Missoula,
MT. county
government, many
homes in the
west and Pacific
Northwest don’t
have central
HVAC systems
capable of
filtering out
smoke particles.
That leaves them
reliant on
portable air
filtration
devices, which
are often
effective but
can also be hard
to find right
now due to
coronavirus-driven
demand.
Even when
they’re
available,
portable air
filters can be
expensive,
easily costing
up to several
hundred dollars
for a device big
enough to clean
the air in a
single room.
That highlights
a larger issue:
As seen with the
coronavirus, the
well-off are
more able to
protect
themselves from
the health
impacts of
wildfires. On
top of the cost
of filters,
lower-end homes
or apartments
may have more
leaks around
windows and
doors that let
in contaminants.
And, again as
with COVID-19,
not all workers
are equally able
to protect
themselves—farmworkers,
for instance,
can’t work from
home to get away
from smoke.
Webinar with
Coronavirus
Taskforce Today
Questions Texas
Mask Decision
Here are
excerpts from
the meeting
today which was
primarily about
the expanded
vaccine
production but
also dealt with
mask issues.
MODERATOR: Next
we’ll going to
Brenda Goodman
with WebMD.
Ventilation and
Filters Key to
School Safety
On February 27,
the Alabama
Educators
Rank-and-File
Safety Committee
hosted an online
meeting titled
“The CDC vs.
Science: What
teachers,
parents &
students need to
know.” The
meeting was
organized after
the release of
what
some claim to be
the politically motivated
guidelines on
school
reopenings
released by the
Centers for
Disease Control
and Prevention
(CDC) on
February 12.
An Alabama
public school
teacher chaired
the meeting,
which was
attended by
educators from
across that
state as well as
California,
Georgia, Hawaii,
Florida,
Illinois,
Massachusetts,
Michigan, New
Mexico, Ohio,
Pennsylvania,
Tennessee, Texas
and Virginia.
The featured
speaker was World
Socialist Web
Site health
care writer Dr.
Benjamin Mateus,
who gave a
report on “The
critical role of
ventilation and
infection
control in
classrooms” and
answered
questions.
Students work on
an art project
during class at
the Sinaloa
Middle School in
Novato,
California on
March 2, 2021.
(AP Photo/Haven
Daily)
The following is
an edited
transcript of
Dr. Mateus’s
report and the
Q&A.
Dr. Benjamin
Mateus: I
want to focus my
report on the
critical role of
ventilation and
infection
control in
classrooms,
because it’s
glaringly absent
in the CDC
guidelines. And
I think once we
get into it,
it’ll be clear
why it’s
important. Given
a respiratory
pathogen like
SARS-CoV-2, it
becomes
imperative to
ensure that
school heating,
ventilation, and
air conditioning
systems are
constantly
running and
meticulously
maintained.
On the National
Air Filtration
Association
website, in the
section on air
filtration for
school, it
quotes the
American Public
Health
Association:
“Every child and
school employee
should have the
right to an
environmentally
safe and healthy
school that is
clean and in
good repair.” It
emphasizes the
fact that
schools are even
more densely
populated than a
typical
commercial
building, making
the “bio-burden”
much more
significant and
leading to some
of the worst air
conditions in
any environment.
The US
Government
Accountability
Office
(GAO) report published
in June 2020
found that 54
percent of
public-school
districts
require the
overhaul or
replacement of
multiple
building systems
or features in
their schools.
Specifically, 41
percent of
school
districts, or
36,000 schools
across the
country, need to
update their
HVAC systems.
The same report
explains that in
2019, before the
pandemic,
California did
a study of its
schools’ HVAC
systems. These
were 94 newly
installed HVAC
systems in K-12
schools. It
found that 85
percent of them
didn’t provide
adequate
ventilation,
meaning fresh
outdoor air was
not coming into
the rooms. So
even though
they’re putting
in these
$100,000 or
$1,000,000 units
into their
school systems,
they don’t know
how to run them.
They don’t have
the expertise.
The GAO report
also notes that
a recent
inspection of 21
schools in New
Haven,
Connecticut,
found that
two-thirds had
dirty or poorly
maintained
ventilation
systems. The
inspection
revealed years
of neglect that
predated the
pandemic.
In an article
published
earlier this
month, on
February 12,
Christopher Ruch,
the director of
training at the
National Energy
Management
Institute, said
that “poor
ventilation is
an age-old
problem that
predates the
current COVID-19
crisis. Many
classrooms did
not have HVAC
units operating
at the minimum
required
ventilation
rates even
before the
pandemic. The
benefits of
adequate
ventilation,
including
reduced
absenteeism,
improved
cognitive
retention, and
improved
productivity,
have been well
documented in
multiple
publications.
This issue needs
to be addressed
regardless of
the COVID-19
pandemic.”
The term “aerosolization”
becomes a
critical factor
in our
discussion here.
Dr. Kevin
Fennelly wrote
in July 2020
in the Lancet,
“data show that
infectious
aerosols from
humans exist in
a wide range of
particle sizes
that are
strikingly
consistent
across studies,
methods, and
pathogens. There
is no evidence
to support the
concept that
most respiratory
infections are
associated with
primarily large
droplet
transmission. In
fact, small
particle
aerosols are the
rule, rather
than the
exception,
contrary to
current
guidelines.”
This was a
tremendous leap
forward in our
understanding of
the pandemic. It
confirmed that
preventative
measures had to
address this
critical issue:
the ventilation
of indoor
spaces. The
concept of
contaminated
surfaces and
respiratory
droplets dates
back to 100
years ago. It’s
only recently
that we’ve had
the ability to
identify how
respiratory
pathogens really
work.
An article
published in
October 2020 in USA
TODAY titled
“ Ventilation
and air
filtration play
a key role in
preventing the
spread of
COVID-19 indoors “
includes a lot
of important
information from
experts like Dr.
Shelly Miller,
professor of
mechanical
engineering at
University of
Colorado
Boulder, as well
as
representatives
from the
American Society
of Heating
Refrigeration
and
Air-Conditioning
Engineers (ASHRAE)
Epidemic Task
Force.
The article
states that most
HVAC systems
cycle in about
20 percent fresh
air, and the
remaining 80 is
recirculated
air. This is
done for energy
efficiency.
However, some
aerosolization
scientists
recommend moving
the air out
completely and
bringing in 100
percent fresh
air. That means
a greater energy
burden. But the
safety of
children and
teachers is more
important than
the extra cost
of running these
HVAC systems.
As the article
further
explains,
minimum
ventilation
rates depend on
the type of
activity
occurring in
that room. So,
we need to ask
not only how
many people are
in that
classroom, and
how big is it,
but also, is
this wood shop?
Is it a gym
class? And what
season is it?
Because the
temperature and
humidity will be
different.
For the school
nurse’s office,
having a
negative
pressure room is
critical. And
being able to
isolate students
and having some
method by which
to take students
or a teacher
from a class to
the nurse’s
office is also
critical.
ASHRAE
recommends that
in one hour, the
HVAC system
should provide
six complete
changes, and it
recommends
ventilating the
room one hour to
two hours before
classes are
opened, and one
to two hours
after classes
are finished.
There have been
a lot of studies
that have looked
at infectious
disease
outbreaks and
the use of
ventilation.
There’s one
study from
an outbreak of
tuberculosis in
2019 at Taipei
University in
Taiwan. They
noticed that
rooms were
under-ventilated.
And they found
out that the CO2
levels in these
rooms were
running around
1,200 to 2,000
parts per
million. It’s
supposed to be
somewhere
between 500 to
600 parts per
million.
They increased
the ventilation
by 20-fold, and
the outbreak
ended. Before
the ventilation,
the CO2 reading
was at 3,200
parts per
million. Once
the ventilation
was improved,
the CO2 readings
went down to 600
parts per
million.
“ CO2
Sensor Helps to
Reduce the Risk
of COVID
Transmission
Indoors “
is the title of
an article in
the November
2020 edition of Electronic
Engineering
Times. It
explains that in
conjunction with
improving and
having
appropriate HVAC
systems, it is
critical to have
CO2 sensors in
your room.
People spend 90
percent of their
time indoors,
which means
concentrations
of pollutants
indoors are
often two to
five times
higher than
outdoors.
CO2
concentration is
a key indicator
of air quality.
When your CO2
level reaches
1,000 parts per
million, you can
get headaches.
You can get
drowsy, and it
can affect your
concentration.
When you get to
2,000 parts per
million, it can
actually have an
impact on your
cognitive
abilities, and
it can lead to
health risks. If
you have asthma,
it can
exacerbate that.
Exhaling CO2
into a room can
be a proxy for
potential
aerosolization
of COVID-19
particles. And
that means if
your sensor goes
off, you
probably have a
problem. If that
happens, then
you need to
evacuate the
room and
ventilate before
you bring
students back
into that
classroom.
In conjunction
with running an
appropriate HVAC
system, it’s
critical to use
Minimum
Efficiency
Reporting Value
Filters, or MERV
filters. Many of
you have already
heard of these.
The higher the
value, the fewer
particulates get
through, but it
puts more strain
on your
ventilation. So
MERV-13 has been
the agreed
minimum
standard. And
the reason for
that is because
COVID particles
tend to be in
the range of 0.5
microns to 50
microns, and
mainly between 1
and 5 microns.
MERV-13 removes
about 95 percent
of the
particulates in
this range.
That’s why it’s
very important
to have these
filters in
place.
Another thing
that teachers
need to know is
that acrylic
dividers in
classrooms are
probably not a
good thing. Dr.
Shelley Miller,
who’s done
research on
this, especially
with music
classes, found
out that
plexiglass
barriers change
the aerodynamics
in the room, and
it can create
dead zones where
aerosols build
up.
She tweeted on
September 9,
2020, “We do not
recommend
acrylic room
dividers for
reducing risk of
airborne
transmission. At
best it does
NOTHING, at
worse it changes
the airflow
patterns in the
room and can
cause pooling of
air, hot-spots,
and reduced
ventilation
effectiveness.”
On February 15
of this year, a
group of
scientists
including Dr.
Michael
Osterholm signed
a letter demanding
that the Biden
administration
acknowledge that
SARS-CoV-2 is an
aerosolized
pathogen as
opposed to the
current emphasis
on respiratory
droplets. The
title of their
letter is
“Immediate
action is needed
to address
SARS-CoV-2
inhalation
exposure.”
They write, “For
many months it
has been clear
that
transmission
through
inhalation of
small aerosol
particles is an
important and
significant mode
of SARS-CoV-2
virus
transmission.
... Numerous
studies have
demonstrated
that aerosols
produced through
breathing,
talking, and
singing are
concentrated
close to the
infected person,
can remain in
air and viable
for long periods
of time, and
travel long
distances within
a room and
sometimes
farther.
Gatherings in
indoor spaces
without adequate
ventilation
place
participants at
particularly
high risk, an
important
component of
which is driven
by asymptomatic
and
pre-symptomatic
viral shedding
of infected
individuals.”
One new study of
the coronavirus
in buildings
found that
because of the
viruses’
transmissibility
and tendency to
hang in the air
over time,
administrators
may not be able
to rely on the
normal rate of
air flow from
their
ventilation
systems to clear
virus particles
from the air. A
separate new
study of
Dutch schools
found aerosols
built up
steadily in
school gyms even
when they had
ventilation, but
the combination
of increased
ventilation and
the use of
mobile air
filters cut the
concentration of
aerosols in the
rooms by 80 to
90 percent.
The CDC does
recommend
bolstering
ventilation
beyond opening
doors and
windows. But
what if each fan
costs $100,
portable filters
cost $500, and
putting
ultraviolet
germicidal
irradiation into
your ventilation
ducts could cost
upwards of
$1,500? This
could run into
hundreds of
thousands to
millions of
dollars,
depending on the
school.
High-poverty
school districts
spend on average
$300 less per
student on
capital projects
like HVAC upkeep
and replacement.
There are more
than 96,000
buildings
nationwide
ranging in size,
age, and
location, and
according to the
GAO, 36,000 of
them have
“sub-standard”
HVAC systems. A
Learning Policy
Institute (LPI)
article from
December cites
the GAO figure
and adds that
these systems
could cost
about a million
dollars per
building to
upgrade, and
even more for
systems that
have to be
totally
replaced. It
estimates that
about $72
billion would
need to be spent
to guarantee
safe air quality
in all
classrooms.
But the funding
for school
facilities, as
we know,
primarily comes
from local
sources—about 82
percent of it,
according to the
LPI. State
funding is about
18 percent, and
federal support
is less than 1
percent. The LPI
writes that
“Most states,
for their part,
are trying to
fend off cuts to
their K-12
education
budgets and are
not in a
position to
increase funding
for facilities.
In short, the
federal
government is
the only entity
that can provide
the needed
resources to
ensure safe and
healthy air
quality in our
schools.”
In its push to
support the
Biden
administration’s
efforts to open
schools rapidly,
the CDC has
altogether
ignored the
aerosolization
of the virus.
Its guidelines
make no mention
of these
transmission
mechanisms. This
is because the
acknowledgment
of airborne
routes of spread
would
necessitate
ensuring that
physical
conditions at
schools were
thoroughly
assessed and
addressed before
approving any
reopening plan.
A national
project to
refurbish school
districts’
facilities and
bring them up to
code would have
to become the
primary focus
over the
intervening
months as
schools shifted
to complete
remote learning
until the fall
or whenever it
is deemed safe.
Teachers must
realize that the
science is with
them. Their
resistance isn’t
based on fear,
but the
recognition that
the pandemic is
serious and the
dangers are
certain. It
comes out of a
deep
consideration
for the
well-being of
their students,
their families,
and communities.
And it is for
these reasons
that they
actually put up
such a heroic
fight.
The working
class supports
their fight. And
the working
class is the
only class that
can ensure that
society’s
resources are
used in the
rational manner
that is required
to stop this
pandemic.
Thank you for
allowing me to
speak.
Questions &
Answers
Q: The CDC said
that if
community spread
of COVID was
above a certain
level, schools
should not open,
but now the
government is
pushing to open
schools
regardless. How
should the level
of community
spread affect
the decision to
open schools?
Dr. Mateus: Well,
first Biden said
that all we’re
looking for is
just one school
open at K-8,
then suddenly
they change it
to all schools
K-12 open five
days a week. So,
this is a moving
target. And yes,
they even said
that as long as
you can maintain
every mitigation
effort, it’s
safe to open
schools
regardless of
how high the
community
transmission is.
I would warn
teachers that
there’s a direct
correlation
between school
openings and the
development of
community
spread.
The data is
clear that
children can be
infected, and
they can spread
the virus. And
the belief that
somehow there’s
going to be 100
percent use of
masks and
appropriate
social
distancing in
class five days
a week for nine
hours is
ludicrous.
Even [CDC
Director] Dr.
Walensky had to
admit that the
compliance with
mask usage in
the United
States among
students was
probably 50 to
60 percent, not
the 100 percent
that they’re
looking for. And
their guidelines
say that if you
can’t maintain
these mitigation
efforts, you
have to close.
But it’s a
moving target
because they
need to have
kids back at
school and
parents back to
work, and they
need to get the
economy rolling.
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