Active Air Monitoring for Understanding the Ventilation and Infection Risks of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in Public Indoor Spaces

Indoor, airborne, transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is a key infection route. We monitored fourteen different indoor spaces in order to assess the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. PM2.5 and CO2 concentrations were simultaneously monitored in order to understand aerosol exposure and ventilation conditions....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Atmosphere Vol. 13; no. 12; p. 2067
Main Authors:	Kumar, Prashant, Kalaiarasan, Gopinath, Bhagat, Rajesh K, Mumby, Sharon, Adcock, Ian M, Porter, Alexandra E, Ransome, Emma, Abubakar-Waziri, Hisham, Bhavsar, Pankaj, Shishodia, Swasti, Dilliway, Claire, Fang, Fangxin, Pain, Christopher C, Chung, Kian Fan
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Basel MDPI AG 01-12-2022
Subjects:	Air air change rates Air monitoring Airborne infection airborne transmission Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide concentration Coronaviruses COVID-19 Disease transmission Emergencies Emergency medical care Emergency medical services Environmental aspects exhaled CO2 Health aspects Health risks Hospitals Indoor air quality indoor air sampling Infections Intensive care Intensive care units Mechanical ventilation Pandemics Particulate matter Passengers Pollutants Probability theory Public buildings Relative humidity Risk assessment SARS-CoV-2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Ventilation Ventilators Waiting rooms United Kingdom United Kingdom > UK United States > US
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Summary:	Indoor, airborne, transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is a key infection route. We monitored fourteen different indoor spaces in order to assess the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. PM2.5 and CO2 concentrations were simultaneously monitored in order to understand aerosol exposure and ventilation conditions. Average PM2.5 concentrations were highest in the underground station (261 ± 62.8 μgm−3), followed by outpatient and emergency rooms in hospitals located near major arterial roads (38.6 ± 20.4 μgm−3), the respiratory wards, medical day units and intensive care units recorded concentrations in the range of 5.9 to 1.1 μgm−3. Mean CO2 levels across all sites did not exceed 1000 ppm, the respiratory ward (788 ± 61 ppm) and the pub (bar) (744 ± 136 ppm) due to high occupancy. The estimated air change rates implied that there is sufficient ventilation in these spaces to manage increased levels of occupancy. The infection probability in the medical day unit of hospital 3, was 1.6-times and 2.2-times higher than the emergency and outpatient waiting rooms in hospitals 4 and 5, respectively. The temperature and relative humidity recorded at most sites was below 27 °C, and 40% and, in sites with high footfall and limited air exchange, such as the hospital medical day unit, indicate a high risk of airborne SARS-CoV-2 transmission.
ISSN:	2073-4433 2073-4433
DOI:	10.3390/atmos13122067