Monitoring CO2 to identify the risk of airborne transmission of COVID-19

The lifting of restrictions on 19th July was welcomed by many sectors of the UK industry, especially hospitality, retail, offices, warehouses and manufacturing.  However, some questions are still left unanswered about the new way of living. Will there be a limit on the number of people in indoor spaces?

In indoor environments, there is a greater risk of COVID-19 transmission, which is why the UK Government is advising businesses to adopt CO2 monitoring equipment to measure the ventilation conditions inside an enclosed space. This is because humans exhale carbon dioxide and suitable monitoring equipment will be able to provide CO2 readings.

To assess how well ventilated an area is, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recommends deploying a CO2 monitor with a Non-Dispersive Infrared (NDIR) detector. According to the HSE, CO2 in outdoor spaces is approximately at a level of 400ppm and a well-ventilated indoor space should fall below 800ppm. For more information on how to determine whether your indoor space is well ventilated, please follow the link here to the HSE guidance page.

Shops, offices, manufacturers, warehouses, restaurants, and pubs are areas commonly occupied by groups of people. Although CO2 levels is not a measure of exposure to the virus, checking levels using a gas monitor could help identify whether the space is sufficiently ventilated.

GFM 226

It is easy to check a room’s carbon dioxide levels: all you need is a small and portable instrument like Gas Data’s GFM226.

Get in touch with our team, and we will happily assist you.