Indoor Air Management Workshop in Public Ground Transportation: Poll

Introduction to the project

The Environmental Health Matters Initiative of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is hosting a virtual workshop series, Indoor Air Management of Airborne Pathogens , with the third workshop to be held on Wednesday, November 16th, 2022.

For this third workshop, participants will review the state of knowledge concerning public transit to reduce transmission of airborne pathogens, highlighting progress made since 2020 and identifying critical research, implementation, and regulatory gaps. Participants will also discuss their lived experiences during the pandemic through case studies, and engage around key themes in a moderated panel discussion. Finally, participants will help identify promising practices to be adopted at different levels to make access to transportation equitable and safe. In addition to experts from a variety of disciplines and sectors involved in previous workshops, this third workshop will also include participants who worked directly with local communities and transportation organizations during the pandemic. These participants will bring in the discussion on-the-ground experience, solutions adopted, and other areas for improvement at the local level.

To obtain broad and diverse perspectives on the topic, we are collecting anonymous information regarding opportunities, and challenges stakeholders have identified while working with the indoor air management of airborne pathogens.

Please answer any or all the following questions to better inform the workshop planning committee prior to the meeting. The information collected will be reviewed by NASEM staff only and will be used only to illustrate the range of perspectives to consider during the workshop.

1. What is your professional affiliation or sector?

2. Stakeholders working in this area work in a variety of settings. From the list below, what setting applies to you (select all that apply)?

3. What do you feel are the most critical risks regarding the indoor management of airborne pathogens in the transit vehicles you work with?

4. What are the most common mitigation strategies used in the mode of transportation that you work with and which have made the greatest impact? If the mode(s) of transportation that you work with has not implemented any air cleaning strategies, what is the reason? (No proven technology, cost, limited long-term evidence, etc.)

5. Do you know of types of air cleaning technologies available for use in vehicles besides enhanced filtration? If so, do you know of any agencies or organizations that have implemented these systems? Please describe and include relevant links if possible.

6. Have you made a formal decision to start to specify any specific air cleaning technology in future vehicle procurements? If yes, what will you be specifying on your vehicles and what was the basis for the business case and return on investment to implement this technology?

7. Do you know of any studies during or post-pandemic that were conducted specific to vehicles regarding air management? If so, please describe.

8. Do you know of any studies specific to vehicles about emerging air cleaning technologies? For example, technologies such as UV Photohydroinization Photocatalytic Oxidation, Bi-Polar Ionization, Ozone production, Hydrogen Peroxide, etc.

9. Anything else you would like to share?