When students return to school with a significant increase in cholera cases – even in children – indoor air quality professionals School districts may purchase unproven technology in the hope of fighting the virus, and instead generate harmful pollutants.
When problems arise, there are devices called bipolar ionizers, which send positive and negative ions through the airways. Ions, like magnets, pull together to attract air particles and fall to the ground, or they are glued together to make it easier to hold filters.
The companies that sell the devices claim to have achieved 99% virus reduction, but independent experts who have studied the technology have found that it does not have the same level of success in the real world.
At the same time, independent experiments on some devices produce volatile organic compounds such as volatile organic compounds and even ozone, which are irritating to the respiratory tract.
For this reason, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourages ventilation and filtration, and encourages consumers to “be careful and do their homework” before purchasing needles, bipolar ionizers and similar cleaners.
Other nations have moved forward, according to a recent report by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. California has also banned the production of ozone.
But that did not stop American schools from buying products with some strong incentives. Two Trump administration health officials – former White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birks and former CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield – have joined various companies that produce bipolar ionizing technology.
Some air purifiers made with Birx’s active active technology have been banned from releasing ozone in California.
The company did not respond to an E&E news request, but told Kaiser Health News in March that ozone-releasing products accounted for about 5% of the company’s annual sales of about $ 500 million.
Birx told the news agency that the concerns raised by other companies selling the technology were “legitimate,” but that she trusted ActivePure.
Of course, this is not the first school year in which districts are battling the virus when they teach students in person. However, this is the first school year in which the CDC acknowledges that coronavirus cannot be spread. So schools that used to invest in big cleaning products are now being told to focus on ventilation.
At the same time, school districts have seen an increase in federal cash from Congress coronary virus packages – including an additional $ 122 billion in school aid in the United States.
There is no official confirmation of how much schools have invested in such technology, but Marwa Zatari, who sits on the board of the nonprofit American Green Building Council, has posted a sheet of paper about the equipment and estimates that school districts spend at least $ 100. Millions on technology.
Zaatari has been criticized for not taking a strong stance on the CDC, and for not being able to evaluate such new technologies, especially in the face of difficult marketing campaigns.
“It’s really wild west,” she said.
CDC did not respond to comments.
Geoffrey Seigl, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Toronto, says that not all products are harmful. But most have not been proven effective against coronavirus.
In fact, he said, he estimates about three-quarters of the market, which I call illegal weapons. In general, they are not harmful, but they are also not useful.
‘Win-win scenes’
Sergei’s main concern is that schools may spend more money on unproven technology than air purification and air conditioning – ventilation and filtration.
Indoor air quality experts and CDC schools have urged schools to fight cholera with MRV13 by increasing the flow of air into their buildings and updating heating, ventilation and filtration systems. When HVAC systems cannot be upgraded, or even when school buildings try to age the air ducts, they are being told to use HEPA filters in classrooms.
Both MRV13 and HEPA filters help to trap not only coronavirus but also small particles or fine airborne dust or cotton.
“When we think about the huge wildfires that we are experiencing over and over again, smoke events increase the amount of air pollution from outside, and that penetrates into the indoor air,” said Delphin Farmer, a climate chemist at Colorado State University. One of the best things you can do in that situation is to upgrade your HVAC filter or bring class HEPA filters.
Although coronavirus is currently receiving the attention of school administrators, the farmer said, “Improving ventilation and filtration in school buildings will have a positive impact on the line as we move forward.”
“They are a complete benefactor,” he said.
Improving and improving existing HIV systems can go a long way beyond the safety of the virus.
Although indoor air pollution contributed to low test scores, prior to the outbreak, behind school districts, academic and safety concerns, institutional improvements were a low priority.
The 2020 report from the Office of Public Accountability estimates that approximately 41% of school districts need to replace their HIV systems – 36,000 schools with indoor air pollution. They may contain large amounts of foreign matter, as well as carbon dioxide deposits from students in crowded classrooms.
Outbreaks Before a catastrophic outbreak, a Florida school visited by GAO was so badly damaged that maintenance workers had to go upstairs every day to fix the air conditioning.
Improving HVAC systems and filters will help protect students from COVID-19, as well as wildfires and traffic pollution, he said. He pointed out that outdoor air vents for HIV systems in city schools are often located near bus stops and can be flushed with hazardous gases. Schools are generally located near highways and other major roads – traffic pollution hot spots.
“When we talk about filters now, people think that indoor air is good for cobwebs, but it’s also good to filter out the outside air,” she said.
Anisa Heming, director of the Center for Green Schools, said schools that buy unproven bipolar ionization devices are concerned that they will miss out on a significant opportunity to make significant improvements to HIV systems.
“What really kills me is that we have a proven track record of clearing the air of all kinds of threats,” she said. It is unfortunate that people do not have the opportunity to invest in them.