January 20, 2022
Davidson, NC, January 20, 2022 – Students and staff in the San Felipe Del Rio Consolidated Independent School District (SFDRCISD) are breathing easier with new district-wide indoor environmental quality enhancements. The school district teamed up with Trane® – by Trane Technologies (NYSE: TT), a global climate innovator – and Synexis® to improve the quality of indoor environment across the district’s five campuses in Texas.
The district installed portable Synexis BioDefense Systems in every classroom in the district – part of SFDRCISD’s Safety Mitigation Plan to help reduce the presence of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19). Purchased with Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds, the Synexis units will provide ongoing pathogen reduction to support cleaner indoor air and surfaces.
Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Carlos Rios, said he hopes the installation of the Synexis units will help people feel more confident in their indoor environmental quality. “We want to let our families know that their students are in a cleaner environment. Same for our staff and for any visitors that come by our campuses.”
The free-standing Synexis Sphere units installed offer innovative technology to continuously address certain harmful pathogens in air and on surfaces. Synexis uses a process by which naturally occurring oxygen and humidity in the air is converted to Dry Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) or DHP. DHP molecules travel throughout an enclosed space to actively reduce levels of certain viruses, bacteria, mold, odors, and many insects.
In the first eight weeks of the school year, prior to the Synexis installation, the district logged nearly 300 confirmed COVID-19 cases, averaging 7.2 cases per school day. After the installation of the Synexis Spheres, the district reported that the number of cases decreased to less than one case on average per school day through the remainder of 2021 (COVID-19 Student Cases Weekly Reports, https://www.sfdr-cisd.org/covid-19/). School district case rates, which previously accounted for more than 14% of total county COVID cases, were down significantly below community case rates and accounted for less than 7% of county COVID cases, prior to the December break.
“We are hopeful that the installation of these systems will help reduce levels of certain viruses and allergens,” said Dr. Rios.
The indoor air quality recommendations for Del Rio schools are part of Wellsphere™, Trane’s holistic approach to indoor environmental quality. Trane works with school administrators, facility managers and district leaders to assess each schools’ unique needs and develop data-based building improvement solutions that create more comfortable and efficient learning environments.
“We commend the San Felipe Del Rio school district for going the extra mile to improve the quality of the environment, especially air and surfaces, in its schools in line with industry and Texas Education Agency guidelines,” said Scott Huffmaster, Healthy Buildings Leader, for Trane Technologies. “Trane is proud to support the district’s measures to mitigate indoor environmental quality concerns for an optimized in person learning environment. Long-term investments in indoor environmental quality will benefit students, staff and building occupants for years to come.”
Visit www.trane.com/k12 to learn more about Trane solutions for schools.
Additional Information
The transmission of Covid-19 may occur in a variety of ways and circumstances, many of the aspects of which are currently not known. HVAC systems, products, services and other offerings have not been tested for their effectiveness in reducing the spread of Covid-19, including through the air in closed environments.
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About Trane
Trane – by Trane Technologies (NYSE: TT), a global climate innovator – creates comfortable, energy efficient indoor environments for commercial and residential applications. For more information, please visit www.trane.com or www.tranetechnologies.com.
About Synexis
Synexis® develops cutting-edge BioDefense Systems designed to make air and surfaces cleaner. The Synexis BioDefense Systems are regulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state governments as antimicrobial devices. Accordingly, Synexis devices are produced in an EPA-registered facility and packaged and labeled in accordance with EPA regulations appearing at 40 CFR 152.500. The Synexis BioDefense Systems are Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Certified (UL2998) to produce no ozone and work continuously without disruptions in normal operations or workflow. Synexis currently has 16 U.S. patents with 17 pending.2 In addition, Synexis DHP™ Technology is supported by data from six peer-reviewed studies.1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Founded in 2008, Synexis LLC is a leader in microbial reduction and the sole developer of patented technology that creates and continuously disperses Dry Hydrogen Peroxide (DHP™) to help reduce the presence of microbes in indoor spaces around the clock, without the need for occupants to evacuate the space.
For more information, visit Synexis.com.
Media:
Kelly Hydeck, Trane
419-297-9900, khydeck@tranetechnologies.com
1Melgar M, et al. Effectiveness of dry hydrogen peroxide on reducing environmental microbial bioburden risk in a pediatric oncology intensive care unit. American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2020.08.026.
2Melo EF, et al. Effects of a dry hydrogen peroxide disinfection system used in an egg cooler on hatchability and chick quality. Poultry Science. Vol. 99, Nov. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2020.05.050.
3Sanguinet J, Edmiston C. Evaluation of dry hydrogen peroxide in reducing microbial bioburden in a healthcare facility. AJIC (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2021.03.004.
4Huang Y, et al. Treatment with Dry Hydrogen Peroxide Accelerates the Decay of Severe Acute Syndrome Coronavirus-2 on Non-porous Hard Surfaces. AJIC (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2021.07.006.
5Sanguinet J, Lee C. An effective and automated approach for reducing infection risk from contaminated privacy curtains. AJIC (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2021.06.004.