Virus transmission through the vertical drainage stack is believed to have been one of the causes of SARS transmission in Amoy gardens, a high-rise residential housing estate in Hong Kong.The authors present their findings on the building drainage system, that include a review of the outbreak incident, the observations and site measurements of foul air and water back flow in the drainage system of another vacant site. The field studies with tracer gas measurements, confirmed the hypothesized infection route.

This paper describes an approach that has been undertaken to improve the airtightness of a number of plasterboard-lined load-bearing masonry dwellings that were constructed in the early 1970s. Such dwellings are likely to be broadly representative of many of the dwellings that will be refurbished in the UK over the next decade or so. The airtightness of the dwellings was improved by

A two-stage method is described in this paper. Its aim is to perform parametric and analytic studies of natural ventilation for summer cooling. For a strategic design of natural ventilation, that method is adequate, it is simple and straightforward. The demonstration is made of the use of that simplified method for the generation of detailed and robust data based on automatic and behavioural control models.

For this paper 40 studies based on the role of ventilation in airborne transmission of infectious agents in the built environment have been reviewed with two specific research questions :- Is there enough evidence to support that the ventilation and airflow pattern are the causes that contribute for the spread of airborne infectious diseases ?- If so , is there good evidence or data to support the specification and quantification of minimum ventilation requirements to minimize the transmission of airborne infectious deseases ?It appears a strong need for a multidisciplinary study that wo

In this study, the importance of moisture exchange for indoor climate and moisture conditions in permeable and hygroscopic structures by means of a all-year-round dynamic simulation along with measurements in a typical Finnish one-storey detached house with mechanical supply and exhaust ventilation
Their conclusion is tha permeable and hygroscopic strucutres can significantly reduce peak relative humidity (RH) values and daily changes in RH, but with a short term effect.

The objectives of that paper were to :Study the sensitivity and reliability of inhaled air temperature, humidity and gas concentration measurement by a breathing thermal manikinDevelop recommendations for use of breathing thermal manikins in practiceSuggest a method for predicting the quality of air as perceived by occupants, based on measurements performed by a breathing thermal manikin.In that aim results available in literature were analyzed first then experiments were carried out to study the performance of the thermal breathing manikin under different practical conditions.

First the nanometer particle size distributions were measured in booths with two kinds of ventilation patterns in an occupational environment with welding operations underway. It appeared that the concentration of particles in the vicinity of the welder's face decreased with the modified ventilation system (with ventilation ducts located below the weld bench). The particles were also collected and analyzed to determine their morphology and composition.

For that study, a CFD technique has been developed in order to investigate indoor airflow patterns and PM10/PM2.5/PM1 removal ability in ventilated partitioned buildings . A model verification was conducted to compare the full size experiments : A good agreement with the measured mass concentrations is found.
Then numerical simulations of the effect of ventilation on PM removal were performed using three common ventilation patterns (piston displacement, mixing, and cross-flow displacement ventilation). The results and conclusions of the authors are presented.

This paper gives first a synopsis of applicable guidelines, codes and standards that provide a background on current methods of nosocomial infection control. Then the epidemiology and aerobiological pathways of airborne nosocomial infections are examined along with surface-disinfection technologies including ultraviolet germicidal irradiation . Those technologies should have a major impact in reducing infection rates. The combination of surface and air disinfection should produce optimum results.

The impact of temperature differences within a room on spatial contaminant distribution is studied in that paper. A photoionization detector was used to monitor the tracer gas concentrations at 144 sampling points. Experiments were performed at two flow rates and six thermal conditions. Results and conclusions are presented.