We’ve been chatting about virus circulation in buildings, and borrowing ideas from Sarah Zhang of The Atlantic. She make a compelling case for our right to fresh air indoors, and what this means for architectural ventilation. However, we should not view this in a narrow context. SARS-CoV-2 will not the last airborne disease. What we do now will go towards protecting ourselves from the next pathogen epidemic.
We Inhale Large Quantities of Other People’s Breath
You may find what follows unsuitable if you are easily shocked. Catherine Noakes, an indoor air specialist at Leeds University estimates we exchange up to 2.5 gallons of air a minute. ‘Multiply that by the number of people in a room. And you can see how we are constantly breathing in each others lung secretions,’ she says.
Those secretions include particles people emit when they breathe, talk, laugh, sneeze and cough. We may also be unwitting recipients of saliva sprayed out by enthusiastic speakers. However, we must not forget the tiny aerosols they emit from the depths of their lungs too.
Those tiny droplets form when vocal chords vibrate to air rushing out past them, according to Lidia Morawska. She is an aerosol researcher at Queensland University of Technology, and compares this to spraying a perfume bottle or nebulizer.
Acting Now and Protecting Ourselves from the Next Pathogen
Protecting ourselves from the next pathogen begins with appreciating those particles hang in the air we exhale. The tiniest most infectious ones travel the greatest distance from deep inside our lungs. And they can extend their journey further into other people’s lungs if they inhale them.
We have proof the flu virus spreads this way too. A passenger aircraft air recirculation system did not function during emergency repairs with passengers boarded. One person with flu infected 72% of fellow travelers. Effective air circulation may be critical in contained spaces. Is it time to make this happen?
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Preview Image: Social Distancing in the Elevator
