Why You Should Wear a Mask in Public Toilets

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The flush of a urinal causes coronavirus-laden particles to 'climb violently' into the air, a study found, with experts now recommending wearing masks in public toilets.

Researchers from China simulated how particles are expelled from urinals when the latter are flushed — creating an invisible spray of potentially infectious droplets.

They found that 57 per cent of the particles are ejected away from urinal, where they can hit the thigh of a user within less than six seconds.

The findings follow previous work by the team which found regular toilets also issue clouds of potentially viral aerosols when flushed — especially if the lid is left up.

However, the spray from urinals is predicted to travel both faster and further.

The findings reinforce the importance of wearing masks to fight the public health threat posed by the novel coronavirus.

'From our work, it can be inferred that urinal flushing indeed promotes the spread of bacteria and viruses,' concluded Professor Liu. 

'Wearing a mask should be mandatory within public restrooms during the pandemic, and anti-diffusion improvements are urgently needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.'

In their study, Professor Liu and colleagues created a computer simulation of what happens when a urinal is flushed. 

As with the emptying of a regular toilet, the flushing of a urinal creates a complex interface between the liquid in the latrine and the surrounding air.

The modelling revealed that the way urinals are flushed creates an 'external spread', Professor Liu explained, with 'more than 57 per cent of the particles travelling away from the urinal.

Furthermore, the team report that these tiny airborne particles can reach the thigh of someone standing at the urinal within just five-and-a-half seconds.

This is much faster than the equivalent spray from a flushing toilet — which typically takes 35 seconds to reach the user, although such travels slightly higher.

'The climbing speed is much faster than toilet flushing,' he added.

Source: dailymail/ https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/5.0021450

Editor: Crystal H-AD

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