Airborne particulate concentrations were measured in a 2-year old hospital with a three-channel, handheld particle counter. Two sixty-second tests at a flow rate of 0.1 CFM (2.83 liters/minute) were made at one meter above the floor in the center of each of 22 unoccupied single bed inpatient rooms on one medical-surgical unit. The results for each room were averaged. There was considerable variation in ambient particle concentration among the rooms as exemplified by 8-fold to 11 fold differences between rooms having the highest and lowest particle counts in each particle size channel. The resulting mean (standard deviation) average particle concentrations in counts per ft3/minute [and m3/minute], respectively, for all 22 rooms according to particle diameter were: 0.3 microns – 733 (365) and [25,882 (12,888)], 0.5 microns – 164 (5790) and [5798 (3291)], and 5.0 microns – 34 (20) and [1200 (710)].
Citation: ASHRAE Papers CD: 2014 ASHRAE Annual Conference, Seattle, WA
Product Details
- Published:
- 2014
- Number of Pages:
- 4
- File Size:
- 1 file , 2 MB
- Product Code(s):
- D-SE-14-C066
