A study published in the scientific journal Environmental Research conducted by the university spin-off Ergon Research and the Italian Society of Environmental Medicine (SIMA), has shown that forced ventilation in the dispersion of particles plays a crucial role in the transmission of coronavirus infection. potentially contagious.
We know that the largest salivary droplets (droplets) fall to the ground by force of gravity, but the microscopic ones that we emanate with coughing, speaking or breathing (aerosols) remain longer in the air before evaporating.
The study was carried out by virtually recreating the waiting room of a pediatric emergency room equipped with a ventilation system, with 6 children and 6 adults without masks inside. In this virtual environment, the behavior of the droplets and the aerosol in the 30 seconds following the cough was traced in three different scenarios: with the ventilation system off, at standard speed and at double speed. By measuring speed, acceleration, quantity, droplet diameter, turbulence and connective motions generated by air conditioning, it has been documented that doubling the air conditioning flow rate (calculated in cubic meters per hour) inside a closed room reduces the concentration of contaminated particles by 99.6%, but at the same time the higher velocity causes faster air dispersion at greater distances. With the air conditioner off, the people closest to the coughing person (1.76 meters in the simulation) breathe 11% of contaminated air while the furthest ones (4 meters) are not reached by the infected “cloud”.
Thinking about these data, it emerges that to reduce the risk of contagion it is necessary to use forced ventilation systems that also provide for the reduction of the microbial load. Fuocofreddo produces UV-C LED Air Sanitizers, with different air flow rates, aimed at the reclamation of environments from viruses, bacteria, spores and fungi. These UV-C LED solutions represent a valid ally to the pandemic contrast from Sars-Cov2, but after this moment they will remain an aid to improving the quality of life from all those that can be both bacterial and viral risks. UV-C LED technology thus proves once again to be a decisive protagonist in the fight against this terrible virus.
