b'INDOOR AIR QUALITYLESSONS LEARNED IN IAQHOW THE PANDEMIC IS RE-SHAPING PRACTICES AND PROTOCOLS By Matthew BradfordINDOOR AIR QUALITY (IAQ) hasdirectly life-threatening and that may alsoASHRAE Toronto president-elect and CEO taken precedence throughout thelower resistance to infection. of Voyager Buildings; Brendan McDermott, pandemic, and for good reasons. After aASHRAE Toronto president and CEO of year and a half of studying the SARS-CoV-2The U.S. Centers for Disease Control andDMA Heating and Cooling Systems; and virus, it has become clear that airbornePrevention (CDC) has also emphasizedCara Sloat, senior mechanical engineer transmission is among the most commonIAQs role in mitigating health risks withinwith Hammerschlag & Joffe Inc.factors in COVID cases. In response,offices and residences. In a more recent medical and construction industry2021 paper, the agency confirmed thatThe presentation provided an overview experts alike are calling for enhanced IAQthe main cause of COVID infections isof SARS-CoV-2 transmission methods technologies and practices. exposure to respiratory droplets carryingand case studies demonstrating how the the virus. lack of proper ventilation or air treatment Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 throughmeasures were among the top factors the air is sufficiently likely that airborneCHANGING STANDARDS in several Canadian cases. Indoor air exposure to the virus should beIAQ has always been a priority for quality is critical to human health, said controlled, noted ASHRAE, an Americanbuilding stakeholders. Now, however,Cara Sloat in a follow-up chat with TCAs group representing HVAC engineers, inspecialists are discussing how IAQBuilders Digest. Contaminants such an early April 2020 position statement.equipment and standards can beas bioaerosols, formaldehyde, ultrafine Ventilation and filtration provided byamended to better protect occupants inparticulate matter, and even carbon heating, ventilating, and air-conditioningthe post-pandemic period. dioxide can have adverse effectssystems can reduce the airborneon occupants.concentration of SARS-CoV-2 and thusSeveral of those specialists joined TCA in the risk of transmission through the air. Inan April 21 webinar to discuss this. TitledWith the spectre of COVID likely to remain addition, unconditioned spaces can causeImpact of COVID-19 on IAQ Guidelines,beyond mass vaccination, the TCA webinar thermal stress to people that may bethe webinar included Abhishek Khurana,hosts spent significant time making a case 16Quarter 22021 BUILDERSDIGEST'