AICTE asks higher edu institutions to install air-sanitisation devices
As universities and colleges have been reopened, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has instructed all the higher education institutions to install air-sanitisation devices based on ultraviolet band irradiation to ensure the safety of staff and students.
The devices developed by the scientific research labs functioning under the Union government, including the Institute of Microbial Technology, have the potential of reducing cross-infections and restoring students’ confidence in academic places, noted the council in its circular to Chief Secretaries, and all Vice-Chancellors of affiliating universities, including self-financed institutions and deemed-tobe universities
The aerosol, air-borne route of transmission of SARS-CoV2 virus was now considered the most likely cause for the spread of the infection, the council noted. This mode of virus dispersal has been confirmed by major agencies including the World Health Organisation (WHO), as well as verified by careful studies worldwide, including by Central Scientific Instruments Organisation-CSIR laboratories in India.
The AICTE said as a possible mitigation measure, CSIR and its Institute of Microbial Technology (CSIRIMTech) have developed and made available air-sanitisation devices based on ultraviolet band irradiation. The systems have been validated for viricidal doses as well as safety certified, and the technology has been transferred to more than 31 companies that have been installing them in various buildings and AC buses, the council added in the circular.
Mathematical modeling indicated that the probability of another passenger getting COVID Infection from a single infected passenger in an AC bus over an 8-hour journey reduces from about 40 per cent (assuming no mask use) to less than 0.1 per cent if the ultraviolet air sanitisation systems are used, it said.
Similarly, the device could be used in lifts, toilets, washrooms and classrooms to reduce cross-infections and thereby restore students’ confidence in places that are vulnerable to pandemic spread, the council added.