Energy-Efficient Strategies for Mitigating Airborne Pathogens in Buildings—Building Stage-Based Sustainable Strategies

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Energy-Efficient Strategies for Mitigating Airborne Pathogens in Buildings – Building Stage-Based Sustainable Strategies

• There is a significant degree of semantic confusion between sentence transitions in the Abstract section. Please re-edit the abstract section.

• I recommend proofreading to eliminate grammatical errors prevalent throughout the study. If you cannot provide this, please have it edited by a native English-speaking researcher.

• There is significant confusion in the study. Is the paper a COVID-19 study? Does it include research to reduce or to investigate the effects of COVID-19? Sustainability is not a Health journal. Accordingly, please summarize and re-present the data regarding COVID-19.

• The difference of the study from the studies in the literature and its contribution to the literature should be clearly emphasized. It is a direct fact of the quality of a paper.

• There is no specific method followed throughout the study. Why was SWOT analysis preferred? Could the findings obtained be obtained without SWOT analysis? The study should be strengthened with supporting methods.

• Concrete facts should be mentioned in the Conclusion section. Readers generally read the abstract and conclusion of the article. Therefore, these sections are the striking parts of the study.

Author Response

Dear Reveiwer,

Thank you for your time and constructive comments. We updated manuscript as per the suggestions/comments given. 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Please see the attached file.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you for your time and constructive comments. We updated the manuscript in all the possible directions as per your comments/suggestions. 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

This is a very useful and quite a novel consideration of buildings after the experience of the Covid-19 pandemic. The analysis has been interesting but unfortunately some of it may be aspirational rather than recommendations that are likely to be put into practice. The recommendations for changes to building codes are useful, but how many jurisdictions will put the recommendations into practice is an open question.

Much of the world believes that the pandemic is over and we can put behind us all we have learnt from 2020 - 2022. Research such as this will be invaluable in facilitating change with much more research required to put in front of policy-makers.

To help normalize the ideas presented in this publication it could be considered as just an addition of issues that are part of sick building syndrome, which is quite universally accepted. I also see parallels from arguments over the last 200 years relating to the move to move toilets from outdoors to inside.  Flush toilets generate aerosols and we have been able to live with that and mitigate most potential adverse effects with requirements in building codes.

My detailed comments are as follows:

Line 14 - the emergence of differing strains of the virus?

Lines 30 & 31 - regulations and strengthening infrastructures

Line 33 - for "mitigating" not "attenuating" ?

Line 47 - cases "exacerbated by” not "increased after”

Line 49 - Rather than "this growth is partly due to..." do you mean "associated with COVID-19 cases" ?

Line 53 - I suggest replacing "by-product" with "collateral" deaths

Line 53 – which may not have been considered

Line 56 - delete "dilemma". What does it mean?

Line 60 - Refer to SARS etc as COvid-19 for remainder of text.

Line 65 – Initially the virus was thought by some to be transmitted…

Line 66 – range of fewer than three meters (ref) but it has always been known by most experts that all viruses are airborne in the form of minute particle aerosols.

Line 70 – cut to the chase and cited airborne transmission

Line 106 - I question the need to disinfect interiors. Any remote surfaces like walls and ceilings are unlikely to pose a risk (of fomite infection) as occupants have no contact with those surfaces and there is a die-off rate (of an unknown time in hours or days) after which time the viruses are not viable.

Line 126 – WHO continually passed

Line 131 - maintaining relative humidity and temperature within controlled limits

Line 134 - different types of climates

Line 134 - with an ongoing climate change scenario

Line 135 - to maintain these stringent criteria

Line 137 - what do you mean "enforcement at ground level"?

Line 143 - without many alterations

Line 144 - and select the best way to guide them about safety in buildings and maintain their health.

Line 149 - (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)

Line 186 - The same is absent from most of the global literature but that needs to change to mitigate against viral infection spread in future.

Line 194 - during maintenance, repair and upgrading work.

Line 224 - airborne transmission

Line 296 - I suggest caution in putting responsibility onto building managers for the wearing of face masks. It should really only be used if there is a requirement from central government (by law) that face masks are required in specific situations.

Line 307 - congestion of buildings, roads and public transport.

Line 313 - This is largely affected by labor laws within specific jurisdictions.

Line 345 - and improve the chances that people are washing their hands

Line 356 - I agree with most that has been said under this section, and it was appropriate during the pandemic between 2020 and 2022. However, I think that "Covid-fatigue" set in and that much of this messaging will be ignored, regardless of the merits of your recommendations.

I'm unsure of how to deal with these issues.

Line 369 – characteristics that separate a parameter

Line 373 - parameters that inhibit the performance

Line 379 - and cementitious material

Line 383 - to prevent airborne infections (in our study)?

Line 427 - creating a pool of opportunities

Line 453 - "...as some variants and pathogens may be more transmissible or resistant to ventilation measures".  I think this is an unlikely scenario.

Line 529 - Some good points of caution are advised here. I suggest that researchers need to be very careful in this area to avoid over-zealous entrepreneurs - or "snake-oil salesmen" - from getting dubious products onto the market.

Line 536 - Again to emphasize my point, providing the efficacy of these new products are well researched and tested.

Line 546 - My cautionary points above apply.

Line 558 - Good operating and maintenance manuals are required from the design stage.

Line 576 - A good point. Are the building managers smart enough?  Are they properly trained?  Do they have clear, concise operating manuals to help them?

Line 586 - provide a clear framework

Line 593 - The requirements need to be supported by a solid and clear legal framework in order to be enforced.

Line 600 - I think push-back will be one of the dominant challenges here.

Line 610 - A solid legal framework is required.

Line 621 - to safeguard building users.

Line 633 - Compulsory mask-wearing probably requires a legal mandate and this is unlikely to happen in the future now that the world generally believes that the main pandemic is over.

Line 636 - and the public's will to adopt/accept...

Line 637 - This is going to be the biggest challenge, in my opinion.

Line 653 - I see the main problem here as being "Covid-fatigue".  The public generally believes that the pandemic is over and that we can return to pre-Covid ways of living.

Line 657 - I think we can normalize much of what you are discussing as another factor to deal with in sick building syndrome

Line 663 - However revolving doors are not suitable under "Access" requirements in buildings. - considering persons with disabilities

Line 664 - However ordinary automatic doors don't need to be touched.

Line 673 - Table i seems to be missing.

Line 685 - Your units feeding into the equation are not correct. “Q” is cubic meters per hour, not meters. per hour. "A" is in square meters and not meters.

Line 689 - when viral transmission was active and happened fast.

Line 695 - still need to be thoroughly investigated

Line 707 - "occupants should implement infection prevention..."  Not so much for occupants but for owners and building managers.

Line 712 - and enforcement of personnel...

Line 731 - will move building industry towards

Included within the general comments above

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you for your time and detailed constructive comments. We tried well to address all the comments/suggestions given.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

You did a good job !

Reviewer 2 Report

I do not have any question or comment.