Board hears presentation on upper‑room UVGI and aerosol tracer testing as lower‑cost air‑safety option for schools

A vendor presentation at the 3 Rivers/Josephine County School District board meeting described using upper‑room ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) units combined with aerosol tracer testing to measure removal and inactivation of airborne particles in classrooms and common spaces.

Presenters explained the approach in plain terms and noted it relies on established research plus on‑site verification. They described releasing inert tracer aerosols in a room, measuring how much is removed by the HVAC system, and separately estimating the inactivation effect attributable to the installed upper‑room UVGI fixtures. The presenters said peer‑reviewed studies from academic institutions informed their modeling and that tracer testing enables validation of projected reductions inside an occupied space.

Speakers told the board that, in their estimates, installing upper‑room UVGI is substantially less expensive than reworking entire HVAC systems. They said HVAC upgrades to achieve equivalent infection‑risk reductions would be “multimillion‑dollar” projects, whereas deploying UVGI units and doing tracer validation could be achieved for “several thousand dollars” per room in many cases. The presenters also described partnerships with research groups and government agencies to compare tracer results with a range of pathogens and to refine models for schools.

Board members and attendees asked practical questions about effectiveness, portability and noise. Presenters said the units are quiet compared with some portable HEPA air cleaners, which can be disruptive in classrooms, and that one to two units per classroom are typical depending on room size and target protection level. They said units can be reallocated between buildings for surge response if a localized outbreak occurs, but the actual portability decisions depend on the pathogen and the district’s surge plan.

A member of the panel who identified involvement with ASHRAE described the emerging ASHRAE 241 guidance for infection risk management and explained that future code or guidance could require an infection‑risk management mode, under which jurisdictions would allow either higher ventilation rates, disinfecting air cleaners (such as upper‑room UVGI), or reduced occupancy to meet an occupancy‑based CFM (cubic feet per minute) per person metric rather than a simple air‑changes‑per‑hour number.

Presenters framed the work as an equity issue: they said smaller or rural districts that cannot afford full HVAC overhauls could use validated UVGI + tracer approaches to improve safety more affordably. Several board members expressed interest in follow‑up discussions about costs, surge deployment and potential funding sources.

Ending: The district did not take any formal action on the presentation. Board members asked staff to continue conversations with the vendors and to return with cost estimates, deployment scenarios and any available validation data.