JAUE2018-021 Study on the Diffusion of Pollutants in Hospital Rooms Sharing Air Conditioning Equipment

Abstract

The spread of respiratory infectious diseases such as SARS, AI, and MERS has become a major health concern worldwide. Particularly in the case of MERS, which was widely spread in Korea, more than 50% of all cases resulted from cross-infection in hospitals. This situation revealed a deficiency in the ability of hospitals to manage and treat these types of infections. Thus, this study aims to investigate the extent of pollution diffusion in two hospital rooms sharing air conditioning equipment, and to examine the resulting implications. The implications of this investigation on the extent of pollutant diffusion via an air conditioning system using a 
tracer gas are as follows: firstly, the time taken to remove pollutants was reduced to less than half when the outdoor air introduction rate increased to 40%~60%, compared to the case when the outdoor air introduction rate was 20% . Secondly, a completely mixed state was reached where the CO2 concentrations in both rooms became similar within approximately 10 minutes after simultaneously air conditioning the rooms. In addition, the CO2 
concentration in Room 2 increased to approximately 50% of the maximum level and decreased in Room 1, independent of the outdoor air introduction rate. Therefore, hospital rooms which housed highly infectious patients should establish independent air conditioners to minimize the risk of the spread of infection.