Indoors ventilation in times of confinement by SARS-CoV-2 epidemic: A comparative approach between Spain and Italy

Ester Lepore; Patricia Aguilera Benito; Carolina Piña Ramírez; Giacomo Viccione

doi:10.1016/j.scs.2021.103051

Indoors ventilation in times of confinement by SARS-CoV-2 epidemic: A comparative approach between Spain and Italy

Sustain Cities Soc. 2021 Sep:72:103051. doi: 10.1016/j.scs.2021.103051. Epub 2021 Jun 3.

Authors

Ester Lepore¹, Patricia Aguilera Benito², Carolina Piña Ramírez³, Giacomo Viccione¹

Affiliations

¹ University of Salerno, Deparment of Civil Engineering, Fisciano, Italy.
² Polytechnic University of Madrid, Higher Technical School of Building, Department of Building Technology, Spain.
³ Polytechnic University of Madrid, Higher Technical School of Building, Department of Architectural Construction and its Control, Spain.

Abstract

With the arrival of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the scientific academia, as well as policymakers, are striving to conceive solutions as an attempt to contain the spreading of contagion. Among the adopted measures, severe lockdown restrictions were issued to avoid the diffusion of the virus in an uncontrolled way through public spaces. It can be deduced from recent literature that the primary route of transmission is via aerosols, produced mainly in poorly ventilated interior areas where infected people spend a lot of time with other people. Concerning contagion rates, accumulated incidence or number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19, Spain, and Italy have reached very high levels. In this framework, a regression analysis to assess the feasibility of the indoor ventilation measures established in Spain and Italy, with respect to the European framework, is here presented. To this aim, ten cases of housing typology were and analyzed. The results show that the measures established in the applicable regulations to prevent and control the risk of contagion by aerosols are not adequate to guarantee a healthy environment indoors. The current Italian guidelines are more restrictive than in Spain, yet the ventilation levels are still insufficient in times of pandemic.

Keywords: ACH, air changes per hour; CO, Carbon Monoxide; CO2, carbon dioxide; COVID-19; COVID-19, Coronavirus disease 2019; CTE, Technical Building Code, Spain; EN, European Standards; F, Statistical test F (Ronald Fisher); HS, basic documenton salubrity; IAQ, indoor air quality; IEQ, Indoor Environmental Quality; IEQcat, Indoor Environmental Quality category for design; Indoor air quality; Italy; NOX, oxides of nitrogen; O3, ozone; OMS (WHO), World Health Organization; PM, Particulate Matter; Qop, specific external air flow per person; SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2; SIMA, Italian Society of Environmental Medicine; SO2, sulfur dioxide; Spain; UNE, Spanish Association for Standardisation; UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; UNI, Italian national unification body; Ventilation; ns, crowding index per unit area; p, significance value; ppm, parts per million; qB, ventilation rate for building materials; qp, ventilation rate for people; qv, minimum flow for housing; ΔCO2, difference in CO2 concentration.