Ventilation of school spaces in the context of COVID-19 in Puerto Madryn, Argentina

Authors

  • Natalia L. Pessacg Instituto Patagónico para el Estudio de los Ecosistemas Continentales, Argentina
  • Damián Taire Instituto Patagónico de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas, Hospital Zonal “Dr. Andrés R. Isola”, Argentina

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24215/1850468Xe028

Keywords:

aerosols, CO2, respiratory diseases, educational spaces

Abstract

Good indoor air quality and thermal comfort in the educational classroom, especially with regard to childhood, is not only relevant to reduce the spread of numerous respiratory diseases, including that caused by SARS-CoV-2, but also it favors concentration, improves levels of satisfaction with the environment and decreases rates of school absenteeism.

This paper presents the results of the CO2 concentration measurements that were carried out inside kindergarten classrooms and elementary schools in the city of Puerto Madryn in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This made it possible to evaluate the CO2  levels in the classrooms and collaborate with educational institutions to verify if the ventilation they were carrying out was adequate in order to reduce the risk of contagion of COVID-19.

The results showed that continuous natural ventilation greatly decreases the CO2  concentration in the classrooms which indicates a lower risk of COVID-19 contagious, but under unfavorable environmental conditions it is complex to implement, so it is necessary to innovate with new simple solutions to the deficiencies of the current ventilation systems in the classrooms. educational institutions in our country.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Brandt, E.B., Myers, J., Ryan, P.H., Hershey, G., 2015: Air pollution and allergic diseases. Current opinion in pediatrics. 27(6):724–35. [PubMed: 26474340]. https://doi.org/10.1097/mop.0000000000000286

Chau, N.V.V., Hong, N.T.T, Ngoc, N.M., et al. 2021: Superspreading Event of SARS-CoV-2 Infection at a Bar, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Emerg Infect Dis. 27 (1): 310-314. https://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid2701.203480

Coronato, F., 1993: Wind chill factor applied to Patagonian climatology. I J Biometeorology 37:1-6.

de Diego, M., 2022: Analizan la ventilación de las aulas para evitar contagios. Agencia CTyS-UNLaM. Disponible en: https://www.ctys.com.ar/interdisciplinario/analizan-la-ventilacion-de-las-aulas-para-evitar-contagios/

Deng, S., Zou, B., Land, J., 2021: The adverse associations of classrooms’ indoor air quality and thermal comfort conditions on students’ illness related absenteeism between heating and non-heating seasons-A pilot study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 18, 1500. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041500

Esty, B., Phipatanakul, W., 2018: School exposure and asthma. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol.; 120: 482–487. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anai.2018.01.028

Fisk, W.J., 2018: How home ventilation rates affect health: A literature review. Indoor air. 28: 473-487. https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12469

Greenhalgh, T., Jimenez, J.L., Prather, K.A., Tufekci, Z., et al., 2021: Ten Scientific Reasons in Support of Airborne Transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Lancet. 397: 1603-5. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00869-2

Groves LM, Usagawa L, Elm J, Low E, et al., 2021: Community Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 at Three Fitness Facilities — Hawaii, June–July 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep., 70:316-320. http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7009e1

Haktanir Abul, M., Naja, A.S., Fitzpatrick, A., Phipatanakul, W., et al., 2019: Evaluation and management in children. In: Chung KF, Israel E, Gibson PG, eds. Severe Asthma (ERS Monograph). Sheffield, United Kingdom: European Respiratory Society. 246–264. https://doi.org/10.1183/2312508X.10024418

Lai, J., Coleman, K.K., Sheldon Tai, S.H., German, J., et al., 2022: Exhaled breath aerosol shedding of highly transmissible versus prior severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 variants. Clinical Infectious Diseases. ciac846, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciac846

Lai, P.S., Kolde, R., Franzosa, E.A., Gaffin, J.M., et al., 2018: The classroom microbiome and asthma morbidity in children attending 3 inner-city schools. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 141: 2311–2313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2018.02.022

Lednicky, J.A., Lauzardo, M., Fan, Z.H., Jutla, A., et al., 2020: Viable SARS-CoV-2 in the Air of a Hospital Room with COVID-19 Patients. Int. J. Infect. Dis. 100: 476-482. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2020.09.025

Lendacki, F.R., Teran, R.A., Gretsch, S., Fricchione, M.J., et al., 2021: COVID-19 Outbreak Among Attendees of an Exercise Facility — Chicago, Illinois, August–September 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep., 70:321-325. http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7009e2

Lewis, D., 2022: Why the WHO took two years to say COVID is airborne. Nature, 604: 26-31. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00925-7

Lewis, D., 2021a: COVID-19 rarely spreads through surfaces. So why are we still deep cleaning?. Nature, 590: 26-28. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00251-4

Lewis, D., 2021b: Why indoor spaces are still prime COVID hotspots. Nature, 592: 22-25. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00810-9

Mackay, D., Haw, S., Ayres, J.G., Fischbacher, C., et al., 2010: Smoke-free legislation and hospitalizations for childhood asthma. N Engl J Med. 363: 1139-1145. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1002861

Mendell, M.J., Eliseeva, E.A., Davies, M.M., Spears, M., et al., 2013: Association of classroom ventilation with reduced illness absence: a prospective study in California elementary schools. Indoor Air. 23(6):515-28. https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12042

Miller, S.L., Nazaroff, W.W., Jimenez, J.L., Boerstra, A., et al., 2021: Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by Inhalation of Respiratory Aerosol in the Skagit Valley Chorale Superspreading Event. Indoor Air.31: 314-323. https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12751

Morawska, L., Milton, D.K., 2020: It Is Time to Address Airborne Transmission of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Clin. Infect. Dis., 71: 2311-3. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa939

Naja, A.S., Permaul, P., Phipatanakul, W., 2018: Taming Asthma in School-Aged Children: A Comprehensive Review. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 6(3): 726-735. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaip.2018.01.023

Peng, Z., Pineda Rojas, A.L., Kropff, E., Bahnfleth, W., et al., 2022: Practical Indicators for Risk of Airborne Transmission in Shared Indoor Environments and Their Application to COVID-19 Outbreaks. Environ. Sci. Technol., 56, 1125−1137. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c06531

Phipatanakul, W., Koutrakis, P., Coull, B.A., Kang, C.H.M. et al., 2017: The school inner-city asthma intervention study: design, rationale, methods, and lessons learned. Contemp Clin Trials. 60: 14-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cct.2017.06.008

Prather, K.A., Marr, L.C., Schooley, R.T McDiarmid, M.A., et al., 2020: Airborne Transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Science. 370: 303-4. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abf0521

Strøm-Tejsen, P., Zukowska, D., Wargocki, P., Wyon, D.P., 2015: The effects of bedroom air quality on sleep and next-day performance. Indoor air. 26: 679-686. https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12254

Sundell, J., Levin, H., Nazaroff, W.W., Cain, W.S., et al., 2011: Ventilation rates and health: multidisciplinary review of the scientific literature. Indoor Air. 21(3):191-204. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0668.2010.00703.x

Tang, J.W., Bahnfleth, W.P., Bluyssen, P.M., Buonanno, G., et al., 2021a: Dismantling myths on the airborne transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). J Hosp Infect. 110 89e96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2020.12.022

Tang, J.W., Marr, L.C., Li, Y., Dancer, S.J., 2021b: Covid-19 Has Redefined Airborne Transmission. BMJ, 373: n913. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n913

Wang, C.C., Prather, K., Sznitman, Jimenez, J.L., et al., 2021: Airborne transmission of respiratory viruses. Science. 373, eabd9149. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abd9149

Zheng, X.Y., Ding, H., Jiang, L.N., Chen, S.W., et al., 2015: Association between air pollutants and asthma emergency room visits and hospital admissions in time series studies: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One. 10(9):e0138146. [PubMed: 26382947]. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0138146

Published

2024-06-27

Issue

Section

Artículos