UMass biologist says schools need filter systems, fans to protect against coronavirus

DARTMOUTH — UMass Dartmouth biology professor Erin Bromage is recommending schools take some expensive but essential measures to improve ventilation and air quality in the classroom with colder weather approaching.

He is advising that districts purchase HEPA filter units for every classroom when the weather gets cold and schools can no longer properly ventilate with fans in the windows, he said. The filters are standalone units and range in price from $200 to $300 and $500 to $600 each.

The filters strip particles of the virus out of the air and they also provide protection against allergies and the flu by purifying the air, he said. The air quality becomes "better than (in) a hospital room" when a HEPA filter is used.

Bromage acknowledges the filters will be an expensive purchase for school districts.

"It is an investment. If education is an essential service, then we should put money there," he said in an interview with The Standard-Times. "It's not good to say education is an essential service and not put money there."

Bromage said districts should expect that schools with approximately 250 students will have one student per month who tests positive for the virus in communities with low rates of new infections. The student will have contracted the virus in the community.

He has earned a national reputation because of his blog, "ERIN BROMAGE: COVID-19 MUSINGS," where he takes scientists' data and raw materials about the coronavirus and translates them into layman's language the public can understand. A blog post in May received a mention in The New York Times' online news summary, "The Morning," and attracted over 15 million hits.

He is now working with Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo to advise school districts about keeping students and staff safe.

Andrew O'Leary, the assistant superintendent of finance and operations for New Bedford Public Schools, said the system has purchased air purification systems which have already started to arrive. The estimated final cost is over $400,000 and is covered by COVID funding approved in July.

"It appears that the air purification units when deployed are the solution," O'Leary said, after NBPS commissioned a company to study the air flows in all its schools. "We will have schools that are safe, comfortable and healthy."

“The superintendent and his leadership team, with input from educators and families, have worked to plan for a successful school year in spite of the challenges that the pandemic has created. Their thoughtful plan to ensure the health of our students and staff, including through added air exchange and purification in one of the state’s oldest stocks of school buildings, is well underway,” Mayor Jon Mitchell said in a statement.

Bromage said poor ventilation increases the risks of the virus in the classrooms and he advises using simple exhaust fans and box fans to improve air quality. It is a matter of exchanging indoor air for outdoor air several times a day.

"As many times per hour that you can exchange indoor air for outdoor air, the better you are," he said. "It will result in a much safer classroom."

The goal is to stop "super spreading events" and make "indoor space more like outdoor space," he said.

He recommends "at least six air changes per hour" for the safety of students and staff, and said "the minimum (number of air exchanges) is four." A box fan can remove about 2,000 cubic feet of air per minute.

The weather on SouthCoast is currently "perfect" for ventilating classrooms with fans, he said.

He cited the example of Friends Academy in Dartmouth, which is holding classrooms outside, to expose students to healthier air.

The issue of ventilation will become more problematic as winter approaches and it becomes too cold to open classroom windows, he said. HEPA filters should be used in the winter and districts should be planning for them now.

"Schools that can do that are ready to go," Bromage said.

He said the solution to keeping everyone in the schools safe requires layers of protection, including social distancing, the wearing of masks, exchanging indoor air for outdoor air with fans and HEPA filters.

Assistant Superintendent O'Leary said the ventilation firm they hired made recmmendations to improve air quality in all the schools. New Bedford public school dystem 's buildings are one of the oldest statewide with different types of deficiencies apparent in structures built between 1900 and 1940 and in 1950 to 1970. NBPS also has three modern middle schools and several modern elementary schools.

The School Department has developed a range of recommendations for the schools from opening windows, using box fans and "building flushes" to maximize outdoor air, he said.