Max
04-04-2003, 01:19 PM
Sars - Expert on Airline Air Quality
Library: MED
Keywords: SARS AIRLINE AIR QUALITY
Description: You've just boarded a cross-country flight on a major airline. The passenger seated next to you doesn't look well. In fact, he's been coughing non-stop since he got on the plane. Could it be just a common cold or is it SARS? Is it possible for you to catch that or some other contagious disease while on a flight?
MANHATTAN -- You're on your way to a major business meeting and just boarded a cross-country flight on a major airline. The passenger seated next to you doesn't look well. In fact, he's been coughing non-stop since he got on the plane.
Your mind wanders. Could it be just a common cold or that flu-like illness sweeping Asia, sudden acute respiratory syndrome, better known as SARS? Is it possible for you to catch that or some other contagious disease while on a flight?
According to Byron Jones, an associate dean and professor for research and graduate programs and director of the Engineering Experiment Station at Kansas State University, the systems that circulate air through most modern commercial airliners are designed to filter out bacteria and viruses such as the ones suspected of causing SARS. But that's not to say you can't catch the pneumonia-like disease on a plane flight.
Jones has conducted research on air quality standard for the airline industry. He has also served on a committee of the National Research Council that studied the issue of air quality and health aboard airplanes.
Jones said air quality aboard airplanes concerns two groups: the passengers who are on the flight for several hours, and the flight attendants and other crew members who occupy the cabin every day as their regular working environment.
Studying the immediate surroundings of people in different places is part of Jones' greater field of research with the Institute for Environmental Research. Research by the institute has included the evaluation of factors that affect human comfort levels in buildings, cars and clothing. Grants for these studies have been obtained from sponsors including Ford Motor Co.; the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers; NASA; and the U.S. Army.
Jones has been honored with the Engineering Research Excellence Award from the K-State College of Engineering. He is a fellow of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers where he chairs the committee that is developing an air quality standard for aircraft. He is also a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and has made presentations at more than 30 chapter meetings for the society. Based on his research, he has published more than 50 articles in scholarly journals and publications, written or edited chapters for three books and is the author of one book. Jones earned his bachelor's degree in 1971 in mechanical engineering from K-State and his master's degree in 1973 and doctorate in 1975, both in mechanical engineering, from Oklahoma State University. He has been at K-State since 1978.
Source: Byron Jones, 785-532-5844, e-mail jones@k-state.edu
http://www.mediarelations.ksu.edu/WEB/News/MediaGuide/bjonesbio.html
Library: MED
Keywords: SARS AIRLINE AIR QUALITY
Description: You've just boarded a cross-country flight on a major airline. The passenger seated next to you doesn't look well. In fact, he's been coughing non-stop since he got on the plane. Could it be just a common cold or is it SARS? Is it possible for you to catch that or some other contagious disease while on a flight?
MANHATTAN -- You're on your way to a major business meeting and just boarded a cross-country flight on a major airline. The passenger seated next to you doesn't look well. In fact, he's been coughing non-stop since he got on the plane.
Your mind wanders. Could it be just a common cold or that flu-like illness sweeping Asia, sudden acute respiratory syndrome, better known as SARS? Is it possible for you to catch that or some other contagious disease while on a flight?
According to Byron Jones, an associate dean and professor for research and graduate programs and director of the Engineering Experiment Station at Kansas State University, the systems that circulate air through most modern commercial airliners are designed to filter out bacteria and viruses such as the ones suspected of causing SARS. But that's not to say you can't catch the pneumonia-like disease on a plane flight.
Jones has conducted research on air quality standard for the airline industry. He has also served on a committee of the National Research Council that studied the issue of air quality and health aboard airplanes.
Jones said air quality aboard airplanes concerns two groups: the passengers who are on the flight for several hours, and the flight attendants and other crew members who occupy the cabin every day as their regular working environment.
Studying the immediate surroundings of people in different places is part of Jones' greater field of research with the Institute for Environmental Research. Research by the institute has included the evaluation of factors that affect human comfort levels in buildings, cars and clothing. Grants for these studies have been obtained from sponsors including Ford Motor Co.; the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers; NASA; and the U.S. Army.
Jones has been honored with the Engineering Research Excellence Award from the K-State College of Engineering. He is a fellow of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers where he chairs the committee that is developing an air quality standard for aircraft. He is also a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and has made presentations at more than 30 chapter meetings for the society. Based on his research, he has published more than 50 articles in scholarly journals and publications, written or edited chapters for three books and is the author of one book. Jones earned his bachelor's degree in 1971 in mechanical engineering from K-State and his master's degree in 1973 and doctorate in 1975, both in mechanical engineering, from Oklahoma State University. He has been at K-State since 1978.
Source: Byron Jones, 785-532-5844, e-mail jones@k-state.edu
http://www.mediarelations.ksu.edu/WEB/News/MediaGuide/bjonesbio.html