July 2023

ASHRAE, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, recently published ASHRAE Standard 241, Control of Infectious Aerosols.

The standard’s goal is “…to establish minimum requirements for control of infectious aerosols to reduce risk of disease transmission in the occupiable space in new buildings, existing buildings, and major renovations to existing buildings, including requirements for both outdoor air system and air cleaning system design, installation, commissioning, operation, and maintenance.”

Of most importance to Microchem’s clients, the standard includes Normative Appendix A, entitled “Determining Air Cleaning System Effectiveness and Safety,” which sets out a test method and test chamber requirements for the evaluation of room air purifiers.

To comply with the ASHRAE standard, several requirements must be met by the testing lab. These range from carrying ISO 17025 accreditation to a sufficiently sealed test chamber and the ability to precisely control temperature and humidity. In keeping with our leading position amongst labs conducting bioaerosol testing, Microchem is fully compliant with the new standard.

To learn more about Standard 241 and our in-house bioaerosol testing chambers, please reach out to a scientist today at [email protected].