@article{a70ad210e20b42618efd7e53e7008606,
title = "Aerosol tracer testing in Boeing 767 and 777 aircraft to simulate exposure potential of infectious aerosol such as SARS-CoV-2",
abstract = "The COVID-19 pandemic has reintroduced questions regarding the potential risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure amongst passengers on an aircraft. Quantifying risk with computational fluid dynamics models or contact tracing methods alone is challenging, as experimental results for inflight biological aerosols is lacking. Using fluorescent aerosol tracers and real time optical sensors, coupled with DNA-tagged tracers for aerosol deposition, we executed ground and inflight testing on Boeing 767 and 777 airframes. Analysis here represents tracer particles released from a simulated infected passenger, in multiple rows and seats, to determine the exposure risk via penetration into breathing zones in that row and numerous rows ahead and behind the index case. We present here conclusions from 118 releases of fluorescent tracer particles, with 40+ Instantaneous Biological Analyzer and Collector sensors placed in passenger breathing zones for real-time measurement of simulated virus particle penetration. Results from both airframes showed a minimum reduction of 99.54% of 1 μm aerosols from the index source to the breathing zone of a typical passenger seated directly next to the source. An average 99.97 to 99.98% reduction was measured for the breathing zones tested in the 767 and 777, respectively. Contamination of surfaces from aerosol sources was minimal, and DNA-tagged 3 μm tracer aerosol collection techniques agreed with fluorescent methodologies.",
author = "Kinahan, {Sean M.} and Silcott, {David B.} and Silcott, {Blake E.} and Silcott, {Ryan M.} and Silcott, {Peter J.} and Silcott, {Braden J.} and Distelhorst, {Steven L.} and Herrera, {Vicki L.} and Rivera, {Danielle N.} and Crown, {Kevin K.} and Lucero, {Gabriel A.} and Santarpia, {Joshua L.}",
note = "Funding Information: These studies were sponsored by United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) through an Army Research Office Contract (W911NF-17-C-0060) to Zeteo Tech Incorporated. Zeteo Tech provided project management, programmatic support, and technical expertise. Additional test plan review and expertise were provided by DARPA Biological Technologies Office (BTO) as a courtesy to USTRANSCOM. United Airlines won a competitive bid for initial testing and methods development, and then donated fuel, airplanes, and flight time for the follow-on testing presented here at no cost. Boeing answered engineering questions and provided operational feedback on ECS system performance at no cost as a courtesy to USTRANSCOM. Instruments were loaned by DHS Science and Technology Directorate via MIT Lincoln Laboratories, and the National Guard Bureau via L2 Defense. NSRI, S3I, and UNMC received subcontracting funding from Zeteo Tech to perform experiments and provide analysis and aerobiology expertise. The funder provided support in the form of salaries but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the 'author contributions' section. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 Kinahan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.",
year = "2021",
month = dec,
doi = "10.1371/journal.pone.0246916",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "16",
journal = "PloS one",
issn = "1932-6203",
publisher = "Public Library of Science",
number = "12 December",
}