Environmental Tabacco Smoke (ETS) Reduction

[Ludmyjos]

A Home Care policy established before I was hired recommends that clients don't smoke in their homes two hours prior to visits by home care staff to minimize exposure of Home Care staff to environmental tobacco smoke. I have been asked to provide a rationale for how we arrived at the two hours. Some older staff remembers that is was based on average number of air exchanges for residential homes/apartment buildings. I never did the calculation and they now want me to to do the calculations for what the reduction in ETS would be at 30, 60. 90 and 120 minutes based on average air exchanges. I am not sure if there would need to be a winter or summer adjustment or just go with the worse case which would likely be winter. Could any body show me how to do this calculations? What assumptions need to done? Thank you

 

[EnergyProfessional]

I'd think worst case would be summer since that has fewer air-changes. Air-changes depend on wind speed and temperature at a given building (crack sizes).

As this also depends on the construction quality, there really is no good rule of thumb. If they have an air-sealed house, it may be 0.3 ACH, for an old building 2 ACH and then throw different temps and wind in and you can't calculate anything.

 

[willard3]

You are being asked for exact answers to an inexact problem. There is no typical answer.

 

[dbill74]

There are way too many variables to make any assumptions or try to stick this in an equation. Every house, every patient, every care giver is different.

You don't just need time to let the A/C cycle the air to clear the smoke. ETS gets into fabric such as clothing, carpet even cloth covered furniture.
I don't smoke, but recently help care for an uncle who smoked a pack a day. I could smell the smoke in his clothes from the time he wore them to the time they were put in the wash.

I would bet the 2-hour window is based more on experience than any calculation and is a rule-of-thumb. If you have a patient who smokes more than a pack a day living in a small apartment and a care giver who is extra sensitive to ETS, 2-hours may not be enough time to "clear the air". On the other hand if the patient only smokes a couple cigs a day outside and the care giver is not sensitive to ETS (or smokes themselves) then 15 minutes may be okay, or you can let the patient smoke while the care giver is there.

 

[Drazen]

calculations principles for smoke removal ended once medical studies showed that even the most diluted traces of tobacco smoke in air can be as poisonous as large concentrations.

from that time usa commenced comprehensive smoking ban campaign which extended all over the world.

it means, currently, such recommendations are not more than arbitrary figures. the only way to protect your staff would be to put oxygen masks on them, or forbid clients' smoking totally.