Bioenvironmental engineers are leading an initiative to develop filtration capability where it would be most effective. To further safeguard Airmen, bioenvironmental engineers are also considering the use of high-efficiency particulate air filtration, or HEPA filtration.

“We make sure that these masks are fit tested, that it has an appropriate seal on the user’s face, and that it works properly.”

Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidelines,” said Falls. Bioenvironmental engineers are ensuring N95 masks are properly tested to meet regulatory requirements, and identifying ways workspaces can be made safer. We were tasked with adapting one system originally designed to move Ebola patients for a new use, and we did that in ten days.”īecause there is a large aerosol hazard with COVID-19, bioenvironmental engineers are also considering how this impacts Airmen in otherwise safe workspaces where respiratory exposures are not usually hazardous. “As bioenvironmental engineers, we are a career field of problem solvers. “We always talk about every Airman a problem solver,” said Huller. The 60th Air Mobility Wing Phoenix Spark innovation cell, 60th MXS and 60th Bioenvironmental Engineer Squadron collaborated to come up with easy-to-manufacture PPE for David Grant USAF Medical Center personnel. Jeffrey Bruns, 60th Maintenance Squadron sheet metal section chief, assembles a face shield prototype March 31, 2020, at Travis Air Force Base, California. The bioenvironmental engineers’ involvement in safely moving COVID-19 patients highlights their flexibility, applying their skillset and foundational knowledge to new and emerging threats. “Because we are skilled in doing health risk assessments, industrial operations, and hygiene plans, we can transition and operate in this arena.” “Aeromedical evacuation is usually not a primary mission for bioenvironmental engineers,” said Huller. He ensured everything on the aircraft was disinfected properly after the mission, and helped the follow-on support team prepare the next mission.Īfter that first mission, AMC deployed 42 bioenvironmental engineer technicians to Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, in preparation for additional missions across the globe. Xayarath played a key role in the support planning. Somvang Xayarath, Deputy Command Bioenvironmental Engineer with AMC and the bioenvironmental engineer on the first mission. “As part of that Transportation Isolation System support team, we ensured it maintained its integrity, and diagnosed and fixed any issues that arose in flight,” said Maj. Bioenvironmental engineers were on the flight, working alongside aeromedical evacuation crews and critical care air transportation teams.

On April 10, the Air Force used the Transportation Isolation System for the first time to move three COVID-19 patients from Afghanistan. Air Force Airman 1st Class Jeffrey Cruz, 60th Aerospace Medicine Squadron Bioenvironmental Engineering Flight technician, conducts a fit test on Airman 1st Class Sara Marinelli, 21st Airlift Squadron loadmaster, April 10, 2020, at Travis Air Force Base. “To expand this capability to move more patients, we had to develop plans to project this capability to multiple locations, and come up with procedures to properly disinfect and reuse the TIS.” Vincent Falls, Command Bioenvironmental Engineer, Air Mobility Command. “Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were only a handful of people trained on Transportation Isolation System support,” said Col. Michael Huller, AMC Bioenvironmental Engineer functional manager, constructed a disinfection concept of operations and training plan in only ten days in advance of the first mission. The Transportation Isolation System is an infectious disease containment unit that fits inside cargo aircraft and reduces risk to aircrew while allowing for en route medical care.Ī cross functional team led by Master Sgt.

The Air Force is using the Transportation Isolation System, which was created in 2014 during the Ebola epidemic, and adapted to move COVID-19 patients. Aaron Weaver, 60th Aerospace Medicine Squadron, Bioenvironmental Engineering Flight commander, displays cloth face cover prototypes April 8, 2020, at Travis Air Force Base, California.

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