The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued stronger worker safety guidance to help employers and workers implement a coronavirus protection program and better identify risks which could lead to exposure and contraction. Recently, President Biden had directed OSHA to release clear guidance for employers to help keep workers safe from COVID-19 exposure.

Below are some of the strategies listed within the document for Improving Ventilation.

• Ensure ventilation systems operate properly and provide acceptable indoor air quality for the current occupancy level for each space.
• Increase ventilation rates when possible.
• Disable demand-controlled ventilation (DCV).
• Reduce or eliminate recirculation, for example by opening minimum outdoor air dampers. In mild weather, this will not affect thermal comfort or humidity. However, this may be difficult to do in cold or hot weather.
• Improve central air filtration to the MERV-13 (the grade of filter recommended by ASHRAE) or the highest compatible with the filter rack, and seal edges of the filter to limit bypass.
• Check filters to ensure they are within service life and appropriately installed.
• Keep systems running longer hours, 24/7 if possible, to enhance air exchanges in the building space.
• Ensure restroom exhaust fans are functional and operating at full capacity.
• Inspect and maintain local exhaust ventilation in areas such as kitchens and cooking areas.
• Generate clean-to-less-clean air movement by re-evaluating the positioning of supply and exhaust air diffusers and/or dampers (especially in higher-risk areas).
• Consider using ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) as a supplement to help inactivate SARS-CoV-2, especially if options for increasing room ventilation are limited. Upper-room UVGI systems can be used to provide air cleaning within occupied spaces, and in-duct UVGI systems can help enhance air cleaning inside central ventilation systems.
• If ventilation cannot be increased, reduce occupancy level in the building. This increases the effective dilution ventilation per person.

Click Here to Access the Document Now -Protecting Workers: Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace

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