A group of healthcare professionals and ventilation experts were called for various groups, including the Center for Disease Control, the U.S. Department of Education, and the leading ventilation standards-making organization (ASHRAE), to focus on new approaches to improving indoor air quality for decreasing the risk of COVID and influenza outbreaks in schools, offices, and other indoor environments.
Existing methods, including upgrades to existing ventilation systems, have proven somewhat ineffective as COVID outbreaks continue to create disruptions in school systems throughout the United States.
Improvements in indoor air quality
The U.S. Dept. of Education announced that $120 billion is available through the American Rescue Plan for K-12 schools to spend on improvements in various areas, one of which is ventilation to reduce the risk of airborne pathogen transmission. Despite these efforts, COVID outbreaks have been reported in school systems from California to Michigan to New Jersey, creating school disruptions and in some cases forcing students into remote learning environments once again.
The August 2020 Harvard 5 Step Guide for Checking Ventilation Rates in Classrooms recommends five or more room air turns per hour for schools, however, as stated in the JAMA April 16, 2021, paper Indoor Air Changes and Potential Implications for SARS-CoV-2 Transmission, many schools in the U.S. average far less than three air turns per hour.
Upgrading HVAC ventilation system
Not only does better ventilation decrease the risk of catching COVID, but it also improves work productivity"
“For sure, some school HVAC systems are below standard, but even those that are working correctly do not remove pathogens from exhaled air before becoming dispersed within the room’s airflow to prevent COVID outbreaks,” said Larry Schoen, P.E., Fellow ASHRAE, Principal Engineer for Schoen Engineering Inc.
“Existing ventilation systems in schools, offices, and elsewhere were not built for virus control. Not only does better ventilation decrease the risk of catching COVID, but it has been shown to also improve work productivity and/or school performance. And even after upgrading a traditional HVAC ventilation system with better filters it still allows virus-laden air to affect others in a room, creating the potential for contagion.”
new ventilation approaches
Instead, according to Schoen, Dr. Rama Rao Amara, Emory University School of Medicine, and Dr. Kevin Karem, a former CDC director who now works with the FDA, new ventilation approaches are needed. One extremely effective approach is to capture exhaled air closer to a person’s face. Amara, Karem, and Schoen are members of the Air-Clenz scientific advisory board.
“We know that COVID, as well as many other viruses, are airborne, meaning they spread through the air in microscopic, aerosolized particles,” said Dr. Amara.
“So, it makes sense that these particles can be easily pulled by the room’s HVAC system and/or larger air purifier. To stop COVID and other pathogens, such as influenza or even the common cold from spreading in indoor environments, it is vital to capture an exhaled breath before these aerosols have a chance to journey around a room. We need to re-evaluate how indoor air quality is managed.”
ASHRAE guidelines
ASHRAE guidelines are recommended by the CDC and other government agencies around ensuring good airflow, and improved filters. These are important steps, according to Schoen and others, but they only address the removal of virus-laden particles after they’ve traveled perhaps 10-25 feet or more across a room.
To date, there is only one technology that addresses the need for a “quick capture and clean” approach.
Air-Clenz unit
Air-Clenz unit consists of two main parts: an exhaled air collector and a small, exhaled air purification chamber
Air-Clenz Systems™, LLC recently announced the only known system in the world that can capture and clean an estimated 85 percent of individuals’ exhaled breaths within the range of 2 inches to three feet of their face, and within approximately three seconds, lowering the risk of COVID-19 transmission in indoor environments in school classrooms and cafeterias, and offices. The company recently provided video proof, illustrating its system’s ability.
The patent-pending Air-Clenz unit consists of two main parts: an exhaled air collector, which effectively corrals a person's exhaled air, and a small, exhaled air purification chamber which includes medical-grade HEPA filters that are attached to the air collector.
Multiple systems in a room
This innovative breakthrough is designed for classrooms so that teachers can always see students as they did in pre-COVID settings. The size and positioning of the unit on the desk or cafeteria tabletop permit the student or worker to place their computer, textbook, or lunch tray within the air collection unit so that a student’s or worker’s exhaled air is being captured and cleaned of viruses or other pathogens while they study, eat or work.
In addition, by having multiple Air-Clenz systems present within a room (one on each of the student’s or worker’s desks), air circulation in the room is increased significantly, resulting in substantially more room air turns of cleaned air per hour.
Air-Clenz’s technology is additive to that of any venue’s HVAC system, providing for even cleaner indoor air, more cleaned room air turns per hour, and potentially speeding up the removal of masks.
Cleaning captured air
Capturing exhaled air close to the face before it becomes dispersed has been overlooked"
“Capturing exhaled air close to the face before it becomes dispersed has been overlooked,” said Stuart Sheldon, CEO of Air-Clenz Systems.
“Except for a face mask, which most individuals would not want to wear for the rest of their lives, there is no known system in the world that captures even 50 percent of one’s exhaled air without also cleaning 100 percent of the air in a room or enclosed space. There are hundreds of different commercial air purifiers and HVAC system options, but none come close to achieving what Air-Clenz can achieve.”
Improved indoor ventilation
The call by Schoen, Amara, Karem, and others is not new. Improving indoor air quality via improved ventilation is now recognized as one of the keys to stopping the spread of COVID-19 and other airborne pathogens, especially among those too young to be vaccinated, according to a May 2021 Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security report, School Ventilation: A Vital Tool to Reduce COVID-19 Spread.
Science Galley also recently reported that improved indoor ventilation is key to combating indoor respiratory infection.
Cleans up to 85% air in 3 seconds
Dr. Anita Broach, Air-Clenz’s Chief Scientist, states, “Research demonstrates that Air-Clenz' technology typically captures and cleans more than an estimated 85 percent of a seated person's exhaled breath in approximately three seconds. The captured air is then cleaned to a 99.9 percent level within an air purification chamber before being recirculated back into the venue.”
“And by utilizing one Air-Clenz unit for each seated person in a room the number of room air turns per hour can be increased substantially. By way of example, an average size classroom in the U.S. having 20 or more students each using Air-Clenz can increase the room’s cleaned air turns per hour to 6 or more, which meets or exceeds the Harvard recommended number of room air turns per hour for a classroom.”
