Headline: Multiple School Districts in Pennsylvania Are Turning to Bipolar Ionization to Keep Students Safe

Author: Alex Bowser

In light of the CARES act in Pennsylvania, multiple school districts throughout the state have considered spending the money on installing bipolar ionization technology in their ventilation systems.

Bipolar ionization is an air treatment that cleans the air of any pollutants such as bacteria. Positive and negative ions bonded to the oxygen molecules change the stability of the molecule itself due to the imbalance of electrons, and as a result try to trade electrons with other molecules, or pollutants.

As a result, the ions act like magnets to viruses or bacteria, and while the particles are present in the air, hydrogen atoms are pulled away from their molecule build. Coronavirus has a spikey-like shell around it that host proteins in need of hydrogen in order to continue to survive. By taking away their ability to store hydrogen, the virus could potentially be eliminated.

Lehigh Valley schools have already begun the first phases in installing this needlepoint-based air purification system. Allentown schools Facilities Director Tom Smith made a statement simplifying the expensive installation: “If it keeps one kid from getting sick, so be it,” Smith said.

Despite this, however, the technology is still new. As an emerging tech, the process of bipolar ionization and its units haven’t been extensively tested. As a result, some are worried about its reliability.

John Gunning, the senior mechanical engineer at McClure Co., a company that works in manufacturing and engineering, believes in the purchase these schools are making. Though yet to be vetted, Gunning states that these systems have a life expectancy of about 10 years, and is already flexible with existing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems.

“Where we see naturally occurring ions in the world around us are the places that people go on vacation to get cleaner air,” Gunning explained to the Northwestern Lehigh School Board regarding the process in December, using examples such as “mountains and waterfalls.”

Lehigh Valley schools aren’t the only schools to consider this method. In October of last year, the Tulare City School District in California announced that they would be spending over $400,000 to install this technology into 15 different school ventilation systems. 

In Virginia, Gloucester County Schools similarly renovated their ventilation systems and spent almost one million in December, and Minnesota’ Anoka-Hennepin School District spent one point four million.

These schools aren’t the only examples of districts joining in on purchasing this relatively new technology. Throughout the nation, multiple public schools have undergone building it, and even more, have considered it in board meetings.

Despite the installation of the needlepoint bipolar ionization systems, experts still aren’t sure how effective this method truly is. Companies such as Plasma Air and Global Plasma Solutions (GPS) boast the effectiveness of this air-purifier. GPS has even claimed that “84.2% of coronavirus particles after 10 minutes; 92.6% after 15 minutes; 99.4% after 30 minutes,” a claim that could once be found on their website but has since been removed.

GPS has made statements and disclaimers that masks and social distancing are still required and that updated ventilation systems only mitigate the spread of coronavirus rather than eliminate it entirely. Plasma Air has made no statement of this nor do they have any information on their website regarding this issue.

Photo: telegram.com/Ashley Green