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CO2 monitor

www.cpr.org/2022/11/16/colorado-covid-flu-rsv-indoor-air-... “It’s the holiday season, and nothing is worse than having to miss a flight home thanks to catching a nasty bug. And this year, there's a trio of viruses going around that could cause a lot more than a runny nose.

It’s already proven a difficult respiratory virus season for Colorado as COVID-19 cases have risen sharply in recent weeks. There’s also flu and RSV, which have caused an unprecedented number of hospitalizations among children this year.

The typical advice still applies — well-fitted N95 masks, vaccines, avoiding large crowds, and social distancing protects you and others around you. But for many, some of those options are not possible, with return-to-office mandates, and for others, no longer negotiable as COVID fatigue sets in almost three years after the virus was first detected.

Jose-Luis Jimenez, a chemistry professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, believes those worried about sicknesses ruining holiday plans could do one simple thing to reduce risk of infection — thinking about ventilation and airflow as you go about your day.

“The basic concept is, think that everybody you are next to is smoking and imagine that they are exhaling this smoke and you wanna breathe as little of that as possible,” Jimenez said.

Throughout the pandemic, his constant companion (besides a well-fitted N95 mask) is an ordinary-looking, simple tool: a clear square box, which regularly posts a number in large black font.

He takes a carbon dioxide monitor everywhere — his office at CU, museums, fast food joints, planes, trains, automobiles, along on his travels to his native Spain, and more.

His goal is to promote awareness of aerosols in the transmission of illness, through the monitoring of carbon dioxide in indoor environments. High levels of carbon dioxide means a space is poorly ventilated, and there’s a greater chance of breathing in a virus someone else might be carrying.

The general concept, he said, is summarized by a maxim in the aerosol research world: the solution to pollution is dilution. Jimenez said people are just starting to understand the risk of dirty air as similar to the way humans learned of the dangers of dirty water.

"Society changes much more slowly than advances in technology or in science, you know?" said Jimenez. "This is an inconvenient, scientific truth." He said he hopes the knowledge grows and becomes more widely understood, and soon. "But it's gonna take a while. It is not gonna be done tomorrow.

The monitor usually measures around 400 parts per million (ppm) when outdoors. Well-ventilated spaces are typically under 800. When the monitor goes above 1,000 ppm, that’s typically when Jimenez recommends opening a window or moving outside to avoid stale air.

CPR News reporters took two of these monitors around metro Denver — and beyond — to measure CO2 levels in areas Coloradans might commonly find themselves in during the holiday season…”

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Taken on: January 4, 2023

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