Aerosols from speaking can linger in the air for up to nine hours
Airborne transmission of respiratory diseases has been under intense spotlight in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) where continued resurgence is linked to the relaxation of social interaction measures. To understand the role of speech aerosols in the spread of COVID-19 globally, th...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/155377 |
| _version_ | 1826116000277331968 |
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| author | Ding, Shirun Teo, Zhen Wei Wan, Man Pun Ng, Bing Feng |
| author2 | School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering |
| author_facet | School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Ding, Shirun Teo, Zhen Wei Wan, Man Pun Ng, Bing Feng |
| author_sort | Ding, Shirun |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Airborne transmission of respiratory diseases has been under intense spotlight in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) where continued resurgence is linked to the relaxation of social interaction measures. To understand the role of speech aerosols in the spread of COVID-19 globally, the lifetime and size distribution of the aerosols are studied through a combination of light scattering observation and aerosol sampling. It was found that aerosols from speaking suspended in stagnant air for up to 9 h with a half-life of 87.2 min. The half-life of the aerosols declined with the increase in air change per hour from 28 to 40 min (1 h-1), 10-14 min (4 h-1), to 4-6 min (9 h-1). The speech aerosols in the size range of about 0.3-2 μm (after dehydration) witnessed the longest lifetime compared to larger aerosols (2-10 μm). These results suggest that speech aerosols have the potential to transmit respiratory viruses across long duration (hours), and long-distance (over social distance) through the airborne route. These findings are important for researchers and engineers to simulate the airborne dispersion of viruses in indoor environments and to design new ventilation systems in the future. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T04:04:16Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/155377 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T04:04:16Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1553772022-02-18T05:50:16Z Aerosols from speaking can linger in the air for up to nine hours Ding, Shirun Teo, Zhen Wei Wan, Man Pun Ng, Bing Feng School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Engineering::Mechanical engineering COVID-19 Airborne Transmission Airborne transmission of respiratory diseases has been under intense spotlight in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) where continued resurgence is linked to the relaxation of social interaction measures. To understand the role of speech aerosols in the spread of COVID-19 globally, the lifetime and size distribution of the aerosols are studied through a combination of light scattering observation and aerosol sampling. It was found that aerosols from speaking suspended in stagnant air for up to 9 h with a half-life of 87.2 min. The half-life of the aerosols declined with the increase in air change per hour from 28 to 40 min (1 h-1), 10-14 min (4 h-1), to 4-6 min (9 h-1). The speech aerosols in the size range of about 0.3-2 μm (after dehydration) witnessed the longest lifetime compared to larger aerosols (2-10 μm). These results suggest that speech aerosols have the potential to transmit respiratory viruses across long duration (hours), and long-distance (over social distance) through the airborne route. These findings are important for researchers and engineers to simulate the airborne dispersion of viruses in indoor environments and to design new ventilation systems in the future. Nanyang Technological University Accepted version This study was funded by the start-up grant under Nanyang Technological University (04INS000329C160). Shirun Ding would like to acknowledge Nanyang Technological University for funding his Ph.D. 2022-02-18T05:50:15Z 2022-02-18T05:50:15Z 2021 Journal Article Ding, S., Teo, Z. W., Wan, M. P. & Ng, B. F. (2021). Aerosols from speaking can linger in the air for up to nine hours. Building and Environment, 205, 108239-. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.108239 0360-1323 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/155377 10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.108239 34393326 2-s2.0-85112429387 205 108239 en 04INS000329C160 Building and Environment © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This paper was published in Building and Environment and is made available with permission of Elsevier Ltd application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Engineering::Mechanical engineering COVID-19 Airborne Transmission Ding, Shirun Teo, Zhen Wei Wan, Man Pun Ng, Bing Feng Aerosols from speaking can linger in the air for up to nine hours |
| title | Aerosols from speaking can linger in the air for up to nine hours |
| title_full | Aerosols from speaking can linger in the air for up to nine hours |
| title_fullStr | Aerosols from speaking can linger in the air for up to nine hours |
| title_full_unstemmed | Aerosols from speaking can linger in the air for up to nine hours |
| title_short | Aerosols from speaking can linger in the air for up to nine hours |
| title_sort | aerosols from speaking can linger in the air for up to nine hours |
| topic | Engineering::Mechanical engineering COVID-19 Airborne Transmission |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/155377 |
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