Without picking a position regarding fall reopenings, I will say this info is all the more important given that many of those on the list may be faced with an opening based on the calendar rather than the state of the pandemic in their locality:
It=E2=80™s a shame that there has apparently been little good data collected on whether school closures (as well as openings) accomplish their respective public health goals. Maybe there is some good recent data somewhere? But does such data even tell us anything when the US is in unchartered waters regarding the spread in the population at this point?
Fall openings also raise all kinds of questions - will your contingency plans deal with outbreaks or potential super spreader events? What kinds of alerts (if any) will parents and staff get when a student or school employee tests positive? Will contact tracing be implemented - is it even necessary? That's all on top of all the obvious pragmatic/practical issues like mask requirements., scheduling, distancing etc. One municipality/state may have this all figured out and others (especially the poorer ones) likely will not.
Rob Toreki
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Yes, I'd like to see that study on MERV-15.
Thanks,
Steve
Monona-can you pls cite the study on MERV-15? I'm having trouble finding it-
Margaret
All good advice except the MERV 13 filter recommendation. A study now shows the bug goes through a properly installed MERV15. So we are up to the full HEPA MERV 17 in our plans. And that makes for a system upgrade in most facilities. In a few cases, a shop with industrial dilution ventilation can be used -- which is even better..
We also, FYI, are finding that employers, if they really want to reopen, can find a way to test employees up to 3 times a week for COVID-19 (not antibodies, etc.) And we now require level A personnel (those who can't distance or wear a mask due to the nature of their work) be tested three times a week..
Others get tested once a week. And we are making it stick, Oh ye of little faith.
Monona
-----Original Message-----
From: Stuart, Ralph <Ralph.Stuart**At_Symbol_Here**KEENE.EDU>
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU
Sent: Tue, Jul 7, 2020 8:28 am
Subject: [DCHAS-L] ASHRAE guidance on Reopening Schools and Universities
CHAS readers many be interested in the link to the ASHRAE guidance on reopening schools and universities at
It's a good review of basic concepts and best practices related to institutional ventilation systems, which many people are suddenly interested in.
The challenge I see in using this document is that the design basis for this document is to dilution of (chemical) pollutants to negligible levels. I'm not sure that dilution is a good approach for biohazards such as virus which can survive on surfaces for hours after it is introduced into a space. In the BSL-3 labs I have helped evaluate, direction of air flow was more important than number of air changes per hour.
Environmental Safety Manager
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