If you were a tad worried about attending AHR Expo this year for health reasons, you were not alone. Several attendees, mostly Asian, have been spotted wearing surgical masks, hand sanitizer seems more available, and the number of Chinese-based exhibitors appears to be down.
But according to some experts, our industry actually can help to quell public health fears. Kudos to HPAC Engineering columnist Larry Clark for alerting us to this post on LinkedIn by Dr. Stephanie Taylor, MD, MArch, FRSPH(UK), CABE, ASHRAE D.L.:
"Ten years ago we learned that viruses studied as surrogates for Coronavirus, the family of SARS and Wuhan, were INACTIVATED on surfaces when the ambient relative humidity (RH) was 40-60%. Conversely, when RH was either below 40% or above 60%, the viruses remained virulent and infectious.
The opportunity to inactivate viruses in the air and on surfaces by maintaining this range of indoor humidity, which happens to also be the range best for human health, is Mother Nature’s gift to us.
With the excellent indoor humidification systems available, skills of building professionals, scientific acumen of microbiologists and advances in medicine, the time has come for us to co-create indoor environments truly supportive of our health."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/…/a…/PMC2863430/pdf/2291-09.pdf
