Association between In Situ Ventilation and Human-Generated Aerosol Exposure in Meatpacking Plants during the COVID-19 Pandemic

JOSHUA L. SANTARPIA, Josephine Lau, Debayan Shom, Shanna A. Ratnesar-Shumate, Eric Carnes, George Santarpia, Vicki Herrera, Danielle N. Rivera, Daniel N. Ackerman, Ashley R. Ravnholdt, John Lowe, Athena Ramos, University of Nebraska Medical Center

     Abstract Number: 407
     Working Group: Bioaerosols in Agriculture: Sources, Risks and Mitigation

Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, meatpacking workers were disproportionately affected by disease. Large outbreaks at meatpacking facilities resulted in severe economic impacts, loss of life and threatened the food security of many nations. Throughout the pandemic much work was done to understand and prevent these outbreaks. In this study, a system evaluation of the ventilation and measurements of human-generated respiratory aerosol were combined to investigate and identify the areas of highest risk for disease transmission. These findings confirm that improved ventilation reduces exposure to human generated aerosols, including those that may contain infectious agents, such as SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, it suggests the areas of greatest risk are likely the common welfare areas, such as cafeterias and locker rooms, where ventilation is poorer, mask wear is reduced and large number of people congregate together. Furthermore, it also suggests that the ventilation in packing areas of the plant, designed for food safety, is sufficient to reduce exposure and likely helped to minimize transmission in those spaces. Based on this, two approaches may be taken to minimize the likelihood of exposure to potentially infectious aerosols: improving mechanical ventilation and/or adding mitigations such as portable HEPA filters and applying administrative practices that minimize large congregations of people in poorly ventilated spaces. Importantly, this work demonstrates a method for in situ measurements of human-generated particles that can be used more broadly to understand exposure and risk in a variety of occupied spaces.