Maintaining good ventilation of the spaces significantly reduces the possibility of getting coronavirus or any other virus circulating in the air. Two years after the pandemic, it is clear to us that a lot of research supports it, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a bar where they continue to open windows and doors or meetings at home where someone remembers it having to be done. At least once. When the mandatory use of the mask in the building is reduced, has the concern about maintaining acceptable ventilation gone away? This is an eternally anticipated reform, say experts who have been consulted, and even the corovirus crisis is not pushing enough action.
“It took us a while to remove the masks without doing our homework in the ventilation. Although part of the population changed their perception, there were no slogans or clear actions in this regard. “There are places where measures have been taken, but much less than would be reasonable given the situation we have experienced,” said Javier Balaster, a professor of fluid mechanics. “The virus has made our lives worse,” says Belen Zalba, a professor at the University of Zaragoza, whose field of research has been conditioning for more than 30 years.
Some countries are taking steps. Belgium has recently approved bars, restaurants, theaters or gyms for air quality monitoring and visibility of carbon dioxide meters. CO2 is the air we breathe and contains virus particles if we are infected. Stealing, so to speak, warns us. In Spain, some settlements, such as Asturias or the Balearic Islands, have asked hotel establishments to have a meter as a condition for reopening, but in practice these requirements are diluted and are not always met over time. Investments have also been made in schools to purchase so-called HEPA filters that do not serve as ventilation but help to filter out particles so that there is less viral load in the air. There are thousands and thousands of classrooms and this solution has not reached all of them.
Zalba, a promoter of signature collection aimed at educating public administrations and private companies about the importance of ventilation when the virus spreads, is very clear in its diagnosis: Spain has good regulations on paper, but if the measurements are not carried out. We are blind. “The first step is to measure. Carbon dioxide is something that exists, it is not a ghost,” Balaster added.
Checking good air quality – or, as Zalba says, diluting particles at least to reduce their concentration and be less harmful – requires investment and control that is not yet widely implemented. Regulation of thermal installations in buildings (RITE) was approved in 2007 and sets four levels based on air quality: optimal required in clinical hospitals, laboratories and kindergartens (750 ppm CO2 concentration); Good, in offices, residences or classrooms (900 ppm); Medium, which applies to bars, cinemas, gyms, hotels or nightclubs (1,200 ppm) and low, which is not recommended for any space (1,600 ppm).
Is it done? For example, in more hospitals than residences, Zalba is indicated as a hypothesis, although its generalization is impossible because no measurements have been made. The situation in schools is not good. The study, in which the University of Burgos collaborated, conducted nearly 142,000 measurements in 36 centers in Spain before the pandemic. Note: Stop for most.
“It has been shown that without classroom ventilation in ten minutes we have exceeded the limit, CO2 accumulates very quickly,” says Balster, whose personal experience with visiting and measuring centers is that almost no one has mechanical ventilation. “Most have mastery of ventilation, and if handled well, it may be enough, but it’s hard. I train engineers who are into it and have their windows closed,” he says. The engineer worked for two months with the Aireamos team, comprised of experts from research centers and universities, to develop a UNE standard that companies or organizations that want constant monitoring of indoor CO2 can adhere to, as is the case with temperature and humidity. .
“It is necessary to measure to know how much you need to ventilate and do what is necessary. When the outside temperature is too low or too high, ventilation through the window is pointless, it is like wasting money, ”said Zalba, for whom it was opened. Windows are better at doing nothing because the priority is health and then, he says, efficiency. The problem is to take this measure as a long-term solution. “Ventilation is not the opening of windows, it has the value of energy,” explains a professor at the University of Zaragoza who walks everywhere with his device. It used to be more expensive, now it is available for around 200 euros. “In public places we have to use double-flow mechanical ventilation with heat recovery and filtration,” he said.
The rule on paper says that all buildings built after 2007 must have a ventilation system. The problem is that the regulations do not apply first, and compliance is subject to rehabilitation, which at the moment depends more on “voluntary rather than obligation,” says a professor at the University of Zaragoza.
Epidemiologist Anna Lupia, of the Institute of Global Health in Barcelona (ISGlobal), is skeptical about whether COVID-19 intends to leave a mark on the importance of good ventilation. Avoid SARS-CoV-2 as well as many other respiratory viruses or contaminants (such as PM2 and PM10) that lurk in homes, jobs, hospitals, or residences in cities. “There was a delay in taking the aerosol route as a form of transmission,” he recalls.
All experts agree that well-ventilated spaces can look like an expensive investment, it seems, with little political payoff. “There is little tolerance to eat something and get sick and something like that happens with tap water, but in terms of air we are not at this stage,” Lupia compares. In the long run, adds Ballaster, it has been shown to be “very profitable”. “If we are pragmatic, getting good air reduces absenteeism, for example, and improves intellectual performance. The benefits outweigh the costs.”
Source: El Diario
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
