Assessing Indoor Air Quality and Exposure in Occupied Microenvironments during an Airborne Viral Pandemic [S-21-5]

In the United States, we monitor and regulate outdoor air pollutants but spend most of our time indoors. The microenvironments where we spend our time (such as kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms and cabins of vehicles) host a variety of air pollution sources (such as cooking emissions, emissions from use of personal care products, and resuspended dust). As a result, the indoor air quality is different, and often worse, than the outdoor air quality. There are also higher levels of most microbes indoors, including bacteria, fungi and viruses. In this session, we will discuss major sources of indoor air pollutants & microbes and describe how they accumulate indoors. We will discuss how to use inexpensive sensors to monitor air quality and reduce pollutant exposure as well as how to reduce transmission of airborne microbes, such as the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Click here for recording of class on 2/18/21.

Andrea Ferro is a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Clarkson University, a registered professional engineer and the immediate past president of the American Association for Aerosol Research. Her technical expertise is focused on indoor air quality and human exposure to particulate pollutants. The overall goal of her work is to improve human health by improving air quality through source control, ventilation & purification strategies, education, and regulatory policy.

Weblinks: 

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/04/08/the-hidden-air-pollution-in-our-homes

http://www.epa.gov/iaq/

Special Instructions: You will be emailed a Zoom invite the day before the class starts. Click on the link in the invite to open your Zoom app.

Cap: 100