Monona,

Thanks for your previous note about masks, respirators and face shields and also your current note below.

Please do not forget to include as part of your project the effect human aerosol release (normal breathing speaking and singing, etc.) will have on audio equipment such as on-person, hand-held and off-person microphones and what resulting procedures you will need to clean and disinfect them.  This will be important since wearing a mask , respirator and/or face shield on stage may not allow the singers or actors to project their voices so that the audiences can hear them and they may need to have voice amplification.

On another but also similar note, what procedures will stage productions, e.g., opera and theater, have in place to amend scripts where singers and actors are supposed to touch or share the same inanimate objects.

Be Safe and Well!

All My Best,

John B. Callen, Ph.D.
3M Personal Safety Division - Retired
ACS/DCHAS Founding Member
(312) 632-0195




> On Jun 24, 2020, at 2:10 PM, DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG> wrote:
>
> From: Monona Rossol <actsnyc**At_Symbol_Here**cs.com>
> Re: musician's union study proposal
> Reply-To: Monona Rossol <actsnyc**At_Symbol_Here**cs.com>
>
> There are some funds and a need for musicians and singers to have information that will guide reopening and performance plans.  The specific objectives of this project are to:
>
> 1. Establish the magnitude and variability of aerosol release rates, as a function of particle size, from: regular breathing, heavy breathing, vocalizing across a range of volume and pitch during singing and speaking.
>
> 2. Determine the efficacy of active control techniques to prevent human aerosol release (in relation to Objective 1) to include: wearing surgical masks, wearing N95-certified respirators, wearing face shields.
>
> 3. Establish the magnitude and variability of aerosol release rates, as a function of particle size, from wind instruments, including flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, saxophone, recorder, trumpet, trombone, tuba, euphonium, horn.
>
> 4. Determine the efficacy of active control techniques to prevent human aerosol release, to include: adaptation of high-efficiency particulate-air (HEPA) filtering technologies into the mouthpiece, adaptation of external shielding about the air outlets of the instrument. (I am personally skeptical about this objective)
>
> 5. Model the efficacy of passive control techniques to prevent exposure to infectious aerosol, to include: social distancing, room ventilation, and human isolation.
>
> I'm assuming we need biomedical engineers, industrial hygienists to do air monitoring for particulates in the range of those known to be associated with transmission of the virus, and other experts.  Anyone interested in such a project or who has suggestions for personnel, please contact:
>
> Monona Rossol
> Safety Consultant: Local 802, AF of M
> actsnyc**At_Symbol_Here**cs.com 
>
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