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“It would be helpful if they were to undertake a public service messaging campaign to publicize this change more broadly,” especially in parts of the world where the virus is surging, she said. For example, in some East Asian countries, stacked toilet systems could transport the virus between floors of a multistory building, she noted. More research is also needed on how the virus moves indoors. Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory modeled the flow of aerosol-size particles after a person has had a five-minute coughing bout in one room of a three-room office with a central ventilation system. Clean outdoor air and air filters both cut down the flow of particles in that room, the scientists reported in April. ....
School officials desperate to calm worried parents bought these devices and others with a flood of federal funds, installing them in more than 2,000 schools across 44 states. They use a same technology deemed unproven. ....
As schools spend millions on air purifiers, experts warn of overblown claims and harm to children Last summer, Global Plasma Solutions wanted to test whether the company s air-purifying devices could kill covid-19 virus particles but could find only a lab using a chamber the size of a shoebox for its trials. In the company-funded study, the virus was blasted with 27,000 ions per cubic centimeter. In September, the company s founder incidentally mentioned that the devices being offered for sale actually deliver a lot less ion power 13 times less into a full-sized room. The company nonetheless used the shoebox results over 99% viral reduction in marketing its device heavily to schools as something that could combat covid in classrooms far, far larger than a shoebox. ....