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High efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter? Ionizer? Mr Tee Tone Vei, Managing Director of The Intrix Group, an innovator and ‘techie’ at heart, explains that using engineering controls with proven technology, especially UV-C, and understanding ‘clean air delivery rate’ (CADR) will make enclosed environments within schools, offices, restaurants, medical centres, malls and even your own home, safer for all.
Highest Risk of Virus Exposure in Enclosed Indoor Spaces
Research data published by European Academy of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Diseases (2021) has shown that the chances of catching an airborne infectious disease such as Covid-19 is almost 25 times higher in an indoor enclosed space in comparison to an outdoor environment. If the space is crowded, this number increases even further. What is the cause of this?
“This is mainly due to poor ventilation, meaning, there is not enough ‘virus-free’ air circulating and diluting the air in the room to significantly reduce the viral load in the area. This means if there is someone who is positive for Covid in the space, the longer the person is there, the more concentrated the virus becomes in the space, and the higher likelihood the next person walking into the room will catch the virus,” says Mr Tee.
“Even if you are wearing a mask, small airborne particles will escape. So, you can imagine, in restaurants where masks are removed, even more of these particles will start circulating in the room. This means even if you are seated 20m away from a positive patient, you are still exposed significantly because of the way the air in the room circulates,” he adds.
One of the biggest misconceptions when buying any air cleaners is that you need to purchase based on the size of the room. However, Mr Tee emphasizes that people need to focus on the clean air delivery rate (CADR). The higher the CADR number, the faster the unit cleans and dilutes the air to make it virus-free. So the question should be ‘how many people can this rate of CADR accommodate?’, instead of ‘how large an area will this cover?’.
Reduce Risk by Diluting these Spaces with Sufficient Virus-free Air
Scientifically speaking, the chances of catching the virus in an outdoor environment is significantly lower because there is an abundance of virus-free air available to dilute the surrounding air and therefore the exposure is significantly lower.
“The cheapest option to protect yourself is to sit next to an open window or be outdoors,” continues Mr Tee. The question arises however, what happens when you can’t get fresh air into a room?
For over four decades, UV-C light has been used and proven to be effective as a disinfectant for air, surfaces, objects and water in high risk places such as hospitals. It destroys the outer protein coating of the SARS-Coronavirus including SARS-CoV-2 virus with the right use of wavelength, dose and duration of exposure.
For the Malaysian marketplace, Mr Tee realised that UV-C devices that were proven effective were not widely available. “This is where engineering controls can help tip the balance. Our passion at Intrix is to bring innovative, practical solutions to the market, and I truly believe that these devices can make a big difference.
“In laboratory testing, our Intrix manufactured UV-C light sources inactivated 99% of SARS-CoV-2 virus on a surface with an exposure time of 6 seconds. A clear indication that UV-C can play a valuable part in your protection strategy, along with ensuring the CADR is measured accurately so you can also manage the number of people coming into any given space,” he added.
Air naturally circulates which allows the air to be disinfected as it passes through the UV-C ray in the upper room, inactivating all pathogens making the room clean and safe.
“We designed the Intrix UV-C SteriPure Upper Room device with louvres and a reflector which controls the distribution of UV-C light to ensure there is no exposure of the virus-killing rays to humans. These devices must be installed correctly, and the room must be tested to ensure efficacy. This makes it safe to use even when there are people present in the room,” explained Mr. Tee.
Source: INTRIX GROUP(Press release)
