post-covid, air quality ratings are becoming mainstream — but does that mean it's safe to breathe deeply?

matt farrell, vice president of operations for to live, remembers the impact the covid-19 pandemic had on live entertainment.

as the pandemic raged on and the concept of sharing air with another person was increasingly being seen as a risk, farrell says to live invested several hundred thousand dollars upgrading ventilation and airflow systems in their performance centres. high-tech uv filtration systems were installed, upgrades to air filters that could catch vaporized respiratory droplets were made. and yet, the irony of the care and effort in these systems — unlike a new show or a name going up in lights — is they are tucked away, perfectly designed to be unnoticeable when patrons finally returned.

as the demand for showing air quality has risen, companies and tech firms have attempted to fill in the gaps. air quality rating devices are more accessible than ever and many companies have begun offering consults and airflow mapping services, all with an aim to demonstrate the impact of a building’s ventilation.

in toronto, a new initiative called breathe easy  “provides measurable insights on the safety of public and private spaces, and the information to improve if needed,” according to their website. created by poppy health , ainsworth inc, surgically clean air, and two small fish ventures, their work measuring “air risks” in more than 120 locations in the downtown core recently got a nod from toronto mayor john tory.

the rapid test claims to show real-time effective air change rate. air change rate is a measure of how many times a specified volume of air will be replaced by air from another source (for example, outside or from filtration systems), and has become a key part of the post-pandemic ventilation conversation.

according to recommendations by the american society of heating, refrigerating and air-conditioning engineers (ashrae), to reduce risk of exposure to airborne infections, buildings should follow local standards for air exchange with outside air. canadian ventilation standards vary based on the purpose of the building, but for residential units a rate of roughly 5-10 litres of fresh air per second per occupant is considered a starting point.

for recirculated air, ashrae writes buildings should employ a combination of air cleaners and filters to achieve “merv 13” or better performance. (minimum efficiency reporting value (merv) of 13 means the system is 85 per cent efficient at capturing particles 1—3 micrometers in size. respiratory droplets, including those carrying sars-cov-2 virus particles, roughly fall into this range.) however, the efficiency of a filter also relies on how well it is installed, with no gaps for air to blow past.

areas that received a platinum ranking from the breathe easy campaign include the little canada “little toronto” exhibit room, the public lobby in the atrium building on bay street and the kitchens in the iq offices co-working spaces on king street west. to live’s meridian hall and st. lawrence centre for the arts each ranked gold, while toronto’s path (specifically the public walkway near 100 king street west) received some of the lowest scores available on their website and did not qualify for a ranking.

measuring the invisible

airflow is constantly changing

emma jones is a multimedia editor with healthing. you can reach her at emjones@postmedia.com or on instagram and twitter @jonesyjourn .

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post-covid, air quality ratings are becoming mainstream — but does that mean it's safe to breathe deeply?

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