Case File
VARGINHA-019
Hospital ventilation logs show pressure inversions only on capture nights
The hospital ran negative pressure on two nights only. Both nights match the dates witnesses give for the transfers. There is no procedural explanation in the maintenance log.
- Type
- REPORT
- Date of Record
- 2005-07-08
- Source
- Maintenance contractor disclosure
Abstract
Compiled HVAC pressure data from a regional hospital across the period of January through March 1996. Two distinct pressure inversion events match the dates reported by witnesses for the alleged transfers. Inversions are inconsistent with normal operation and would be required for biological containment.
Artifact Inventory
- System
- Hospital HVAC, regional facility
- Window analyzed
- January – March 1996
- Pressure inversion events
- 2
- Witness-stated transfer dates
- Both inversions match
Source of the data
The data was provided in 2005 by a maintenance contractor who had retained service records from his work at a regional hospital across the relevant period. The contractor passed away in 2014. His estate released the records on the condition that the hospital not be named publicly.
What the readings show
The HVAC log shows two distinct pressure inversion events during the analysis window. In each event, a wing of the hospital was placed under negative pressure relative to the adjacent corridors for a period of between two and four hours. The two events occur on dates that match independently obtained witness statements regarding the transfer of subjects through the hospital.
The contractor's working notes for both events read "per request, not for log," which the contractor described in interview as a phrase he used when he was instructed to perform work without recording the reason.
Why this matters
Negative pressure isolation is the standard environmental control for handling biologically hazardous material, and it is not used in routine hospital operation outside of designated isolation rooms. The two events recorded here were not in a designated isolation room. They were in a service corridor adjacent to a basement loading bay.