McMaster University Article on Doug Walkinshaw

The following article was published in MacEngineer, Faculty of Engineering, McMaster University, Volume 125, Fall 2012, page 13.)

Dr. Walkinshaw is an internationally recognized expert in Indoor Air Quality.

Do You Feel Ill a Few Days After Flying?

Do you often suffer a sore throat, a cold, headaches, fever or flu a few days after flying? If so, you are not alone. Various studies have identified an increased risk of respiratory symptoms among airline crew in passenger aircraft, as well as cases of in-flight transmission of infectious diseases, such as TB, among passengers sitting up to several rows away from the infection source.

Apparently, it is not the recirculation of air that causes the spread of disease in aircraft. Rather it is more likely the direct transmission of disease between persons even up to several rows apart, either through air transmission or mutual contacts. Why could this transmission be by the air route and why is it so noticeable after flying? There are several reasons:

1. The diversity of sources and lack of immunity to the various pathogen exposures encountered in aircraft with the intermixing of persons from different population centers and continents is uniquely high for air travel in comparison with other venues such as theaters or classrooms where the occupants come from one geographic region.


2. The filtered air supply rate to aircraft passengers is low (e.g.1/6th that provided to office workers).


3. The volume of air surrounding passengers for buffering contaminant spread is relatively low (e.g. 1/30th that of the buffering zone for office workers and 1/10th that available in classrooms).


4. The relative humidity on flights is lower than in most other environments (e.g. it is less than 20% on overseas flights versus 30-40% in buildings in winter and 50-60% in summer), and lower humidity has been shown to favor the airborne transmission of certain pathogens including influenza A virus.

A new type of ventilation device is being developed for use by aircraft passengers to address this disease spread concern and also the problem of gasper (personal air outlets) draftiness. Known as PEACE, this device will use the gasper pressurized air supply to entrain local air, filter and purify it and then send it right back to the occupant along with the original air supply. In this way this device will supply three to five times the current gasper air supply, improving user area thermal comfort and air circulation while removing pathogens and other airborne particulate matter. The device will be either built-in or portable. The portable version will be designed to clip on to the current gasper for use during flight, and to be easily removed to take along to your next flight.

I would be interested in your thoughts on the above so feel free to leave a comment. If you are interested in trying the PEACE device let me know by filling out the VEFT Aerospace Inquiry Form so that you can be informed when it is available.

Dr. Douglas Walkinshaw - Indoor Air Technologies

My professional background is as an engineer with a PH.D in Mechanical Engineering. I have worked in the private sector and for several federal government agencies. The government agencies include the Defence Research Board (design of the DDH280 destroyer and the Gentilly Nuclear Reactor, 1965-72), Public Works Canada (bridge and marine engineering technology development and building energy conservation, 1972-82), the National Research Council and Health Canada (indoor air quality problem solving, 1982-88).

For the past 20 years I have owned and operated a consulting and technology development firm, Indoor Air Technologies, specializing in indoor environment problem solving in buildings and aircraft. This firm has problem solving ventilation technologies licensed in the building and aircraft fields. One of these, the ECHO System (a basement radon gas and water entry prevention and mold exposure and odor mitigation system), was installed in 1992 in the Prince Edward Island energy conservation demonstration house.

I have conducted over 400 indoor air quality investigations in all sorts of indoor environments. In the course of this work, I have developed protocols for investigating systemic sources of a number of indoor air contaminants and for measuring ventilation and sorption parameters. I'll provide more information concerning my findings in future articles.

With the Indoor Air Technologies blog I intend to address indoor air quality (IAQ) problems and solutions in buildings and aircraft. I'll also be discussing our ECHO Air, VEFT, PEACE and ECHO Systems technologies. I invite you to drop by on a regular basis.

Dr. Douglas Walkinshaw