Evaluation of Airborne Transmission Mitigation in a Naturally Ventilated Humanitarian Emergency Tent Using a Novel Single-Gas Tracer Decay Technique

IF 4.3 2区 环境科学与生态学 Q1 CONSTRUCTION & BUILDING TECHNOLOGY
Indoor air Pub Date : 2025-06-28 DOI:10.1155/ina/5169036
Vincenzo Gentile, Marco Perino, Marco Simonetti, Marianna Nigra, Michele Di Marco, Anna Silenzi, Luca Fontana
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The rapid deployment of emergency tents for airborne disease containment necessitates effective and sustainable approaches. This study introduces an innovative emergency tent prototype, developed within the INITIATE2 project by WFP and WHO, that leverages natural ventilation to mitigate airborne transmission risks when humanitarian tents are deployed in response to epidemics. The tent features a two-zone design with a transparent barrier separating the patient area from the healthcare operator zone and exploits a suitable airflow path to reduce cross-contamination. In order to overcome the constraints imposed by the logistic of the on-site measurements, a novel asynchronous single-gas tracer decay methodology combined with a multizone gray box model was developed, enabling both on-site experimental testing of ventilation effectiveness and estimation of airborne pathogen concentrations for infection transmission risk analysis. This approach allowed for the quantification of interzonal exchanges and ventilation rates under various window configurations, simulating different natural ventilation regimes. Multiple ventilation scenarios were evaluated, revealing that partial windows opening (Scenario 2, with Scenario 1 being windows closed) optimized airflow, achieving up to 15 air changes per hour (ACH), a value aligned with CDC and WHO guidelines. Instead, fully open windows (Scenario 3) increased the ACH in the patient area but compromised, to a certain extent, the containment of the pathogens in the healthcare operator zone. Results highlighted, for all the tested scenarios, an unintended air recirculation between the patient and the doctor zones. While the gray box model effectively estimated flow rates across scenarios, it encountered limitations at ACH > 20 due to the photoacoustic equipment’s sampling constraints. The relatively slow acquisition time impacted on the data accuracy during rapid decay phases, where ventilation time constants were on the order of minutes. The design of the transparent barrier reflects a deliberate trade-off between airtightness and operational functionality, with the field methodology enabling an evidence-based assessment of its performance. These findings emphasize the need for refined airflow management and highlight the potential of natural ventilation in emergency healthcare settings. Future research directions include the development of high sampling rate, multigas, and multipoint monitoring tools, as well as enhanced tent designs that improve airtightness of the transparent barrier.

Abstract Image

利用新型单气体示踪剂衰减技术评估自然通风人道主义应急帐篷中的空气传播减缓
为遏制空气传播疾病而迅速部署应急帐篷,必须采取有效和可持续的办法。本研究介绍了粮食计划署和世卫组织在INITIATE2项目内开发的一种创新应急帐篷原型,该原型在部署人道主义帐篷应对流行病时利用自然通风减轻空气传播风险。帐篷采用两区设计,透明屏障将病人区与医疗操作区分开,并利用合适的气流路径来减少交叉污染。为了克服现场测量的逻辑限制,开发了一种新的异步单气体示踪剂衰减方法,结合多区域灰盒模型,既可以现场实验测试通风有效性,又可以估计空气中病原体的浓度,从而进行感染传播风险分析。这种方法可以量化不同窗户配置下的区域间交换和通风率,模拟不同的自然通风制度。对多种通风方案进行了评估,发现部分开窗(方案2,方案1关闭窗户)优化了气流,达到每小时15次换气(ACH),这一数值与CDC和WHO的指导方针一致。相反,完全打开的窗户(场景3)增加了患者区域的乙酰胆碱,但在一定程度上损害了卫生保健操作人员区域对病原体的遏制。结果强调,在所有测试场景中,患者和医生区域之间都存在意想不到的空气再循环。虽然灰盒模型有效地估计了各种情况下的流量,但它在ACH >;由于光声设备的采样限制。在快速衰减阶段,相对缓慢的采集时间影响了数据的准确性,其中通风时间常数在分钟量级。透明屏障的设计反映了在气密性和操作功能之间的权衡,现场方法能够对其性能进行基于证据的评估。这些发现强调了精细气流管理的必要性,并强调了自然通风在紧急医疗环境中的潜力。未来的研究方向包括开发高采样率、多气体和多点监测工具,以及改进帐篷设计,提高透明屏障的气密性。
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来源期刊
Indoor air
Indoor air 环境科学-工程:环境
CiteScore
10.80
自引率
10.30%
发文量
175
审稿时长
3 months
期刊介绍: The quality of the environment within buildings is a topic of major importance for public health. Indoor Air provides a location for reporting original research results in the broad area defined by the indoor environment of non-industrial buildings. An international journal with multidisciplinary content, Indoor Air publishes papers reflecting the broad categories of interest in this field: health effects; thermal comfort; monitoring and modelling; source characterization; ventilation and other environmental control techniques. The research results present the basic information to allow designers, building owners, and operators to provide a healthy and comfortable environment for building occupants, as well as giving medical practitioners information on how to deal with illnesses related to the indoor environment.
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