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ONEWith growing concerns about the Omicron variant, the Port Authority of Allegheny County is taking steps to keep its drivers and workers as safe as possible.
The transport company announced Tuesday that it would begin installing air purification equipment in its fleet of 700 buses and 80 light rail cars. These devices are called NFI Parts Proactive Air and Surface Purification, or PASP for a short time. They create high-energy clusters that safely disinfect both the air and surfaces when distributed inside the bus or light rail.
Installed in the passenger compartment, they can kill the virus that causes COVID-19, as well as other ferns, microbes, viruses, and bacteria that can cause other diseases.
Loud on information sheet Through the cleaning process, researchers from the University of Florida Medical School found this technology to be effective in reducing harmful viruses, including SARS-CoV-2. It inactivates 73.33% of the infectious high virus concentrations on stainless steel surfaces within 15 minutes of exposure to the technology; 93.3% after 60 minutes; 97.7% after 4 hours; and the virus is undetectable within 24 hours of exposure.
“The safety of our drivers and employees has always been a top priority for us, and we continue to undertake to follow all precautions to ensure the safety of our vehicles,” said Katharine Kelleman, CEO of the Port Authority, in a press release. “In addition to the installation of Plexiglas barriers for our drivers and the manual disinfection of our vehicles, the installation of these devices is a further step in rounding off our security strategy.”
Installation began in the fall of this year and it has been installed on more than half of the buses in the Port Authority’s fleet. The authority will continue to install the devices in the remaining buses and begin with the light rail vehicles at the beginning of next year.
The port authority said it will also begin installing high-efficiency HVAC filters on buses, which will continue to ensure drivers and staff breathe fresh, clean air. These filters are installed during regularly scheduled preventive maintenance.
The PASP units and HVAC filters cost the agency $ 2.9 million and were paid for by local, state and federal funds, according to the press release.
The port authority also has one Range of measures to protect people since the pandemic started. All vehicles are disinfected daily, and the floor lines have been moved back two meters to maintain a safe social distance between the driver and the driver. Signs have also been put up to remind passengers to follow the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the bus or light rail and while waiting at stops, and for all passengers and operators in stations and in all vehicles of the Port Authority masks are required. Drivers will also find hand disinfectant dispensers at 60 locations along the bus, light rail and incline routes.
While Environmental Protection Agency says that air purifiers, when used properly, can actually reduce airborne contaminants in a small space, they are not effective on their own to provide complete protection from COVID-19. But when used in conjunction with “other best practices recommended by the CDC and other public health authorities,” including masking and social distancing, air filtration can become part of a plan to identify the potential for COVID-19 transmission indoors to reduce – especially in areas such as public transport where additional ventilation is not really possible.
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