Brentwood Christian School (BCS), a private K-12 Christian school based in Austin, Texas, announced its selection of AirBox’s certified HEPA air purification technology to reduce the transmission of Covid-19 and other airborne pathogens on its campus.
Austin, TX, (September 8, 2021) — AirBox provides an easily deployable solution that utilizes high volume, directional airflow, which displaces and dilutes pathogens from the breathing zone, and then removes them altogether through an Antimicrobial certified HEPA filter. BCS selected a customized AirBox Safe Air Plan after a deliberate evaluation of alternative mitigation strategies as it offered the most effective and comprehensive solution.
Brentwood’s decision comes in stark contrast to the precedent set by some larger school districts, many of whose debates have focused on the feasibility of in-person learning and some of which have mandated masking despite Governor Abbot’s ban on such action by public schools. While masks effectively reduce the projection of respiratory aerosol, they do little to filter or reduce the quantity of respiratory aerosol inhaled or exhaled as the majority of respiratory aerosol is respired around the edges of the mask and not filtered through the mask. In summary, face masks do little to reduce the load of respiratory aerosol in breathing air, pointing to the importance of other mitigation plans.
Jay Burcham, President of BCS commented, “Brentwood School has implemented a Safe Air Plan in partnership with AirBox by which all BCS classrooms are equipped with top quality air purifiers. The lab tested removal efficiency of >99.999% of SARS-CoV-2 sized pathogens surpassed all alternative considerations, and we received highly customized specifications designed from a vendor walk-through performed with us in-person. Their incredible results outperformed any other product we reviewed, offering peace of mind that our dollars will actually result in real protection. “
Austin ISD, the largest district in central Texas, in contrast, has allocated spending elsewhere opting for air purification units at approximately 10% of the Airbox per-unit cost. These devices lack certification and third-party testing to ensure reliability, and operate at one-third of the flow rates (in CFM) of AirBox units.
AirBox’s engineers and production staff teams in North Carolina have been ramping up their design and manufacturing efforts to fulfill Safe Air Plans during the back-to-school peaks in August and September. Brentwood is one of many that are recognizing the importance of safe air planning and the dangers associated with “checking a box” by purchasing air purifiers that are cheaply made or meant for residential spaces. Almost any air purifier available for purchase on large e-commerce sites lacks certifications, makes general, misleading, or false claims, promotes misapplied technology, is manufactured in China, or uses Chinese “true HEPA” filters. These air purifiers are not equipped for classroom, locker room, or cafeteria settings and offer a false sense of protection. It can be argued that schools and other facilities choosing these air purifiers are placing a greater value on budget savings than on the health and safety of their students, teachers, staff, and employees.
Understanding that the primary means of transmission of Covid and other pathogens is through infected respiratory droplets was foundational to Brentwood’s decision of where to invest its mitigation resources. The solution that any school or facility considers should be dynamic and disruptive to the breathing zone, practical for the classroom environment, proven, easily implemented, and cost-effective. AirBox provides all of this in convenient, easy to deploy certified HEPA air purifiers.
Residential Air Purifiers like that of AISD’s implementation are ineffective in “Populated Space” applications, especially with respect to airborne pathogen mitigation. They are designed and built for small, low populated spaces such as residential bedrooms to remove allergen and pet dander. Pathogen mitigation in populated space requires dynamic air movement and absolute aerosol particle removal. Likewise, with the rising popularity of Ionization, Ion densities in populated space are too low to have even the slightest effect on pathogens infecting respiratory aerosols and droplets, deeming this technology obsolete and ineffective for populated schools.
Another deciding factor for President Burcham and others from BCS was the ability to create and remotely control each purifier’s operation to fit individual or group classroom schedules. This technology also enables the school’s facility management team to monitor the operational performance of every deployed purifier from a single location. The internal monitors will alert to unsafe breathing air conditions, notify when filters need to be replaced, and improve energy efficiency. AirBox partnered with PureAware, the world’s only portable air purifier fleet management solution, to become the only air purifier that can offer this capability. Part of this unique technology utilizes CO2 sensors to continually monitor and report respiratory aerosol density and alert the facilities management team of unsafe conditions typically created by too many students in a given space or by a failure in the ventilation system. Continuous performance monitoring is essential to provide additional assurance of safe air in every classroom, office, and nurse’s area throughout the school year.
The research and testing behind AirBox’s products, along with conformance to ASHRAE, EPA and FDA standards, and wireless operational performance and respiratory aerosol monitoring, set AirBox air purifiers apart from any other air purifier available. Additionally, AirBox’s parent company, AM Technical Solutions, has designed and installed over 6M sq. ft. of cleanrooms and has done $20B+ in global capital projects with work in over 24 countries. Those implementing an AirBox Safe Air Plan can be confident that they are trusting the health and safety of their students, teachers, staff, and employees to the air purifiers that are “Best in Class.”
AirBox Air Purifiers is an industry leader in pathogen mitigation for commercial facilities and spaces. AirBox products are manufactured in an EPA registered facility in North Carolina, are FDA compliant, and utilize Certified HEPA technology that evolved from filtration technology common to ultra-clean manufacturing and research environments typical to pharmaceutical, semiconductor, and biotechnology industries. For additional information, visit www.airboxairpurifier.com
