In a study of COVID-19 pathways inside supermarkets, a team of environmental engineers and modelers investigated the role that surfaces play not as infection hazards, but rather as deterrents. Shelves, floors and ceilings proved to be attachment magnets for virus-laden particles, reducing the concentration of suspended particles in the air by as much as 50%, according to the team’s simulations. Their report was published last month in the American Society of Civil Engineers Journal of Environmental Engineering. “Surfaces can reduce the airborne spread of disease particles substantially – and effectively. We found that their attachment on surfaces reduces their transport significantly within the supermarket,” says Michel Boufadel, director of NJIT’s Center for Natural Resources. “Large particles attach after traveling short distances, while smaller ones also end up attaching after traveling, in some cases, longer and further from their point of emission.” To read the full story.