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Glycol Vapors Program
webCredibility Rating
4/5
High(4)High quality. Established institution or organization with editorial oversight and accountability.
Rating inherited from publication venue: Blueprint Biosecurity
Relevant to AI safety insofar as engineered pandemics are considered a catastrophic risk; this program addresses biosecurity countermeasures through environmental engineering rather than AI-specific interventions.
Metadata
Importance: 35/100organizational reporthomepage
Summary
Blueprint Biosecurity's Glycol Vapors Program investigates the use of glycol-based vapor systems as a potential biosecurity intervention for reducing airborne pathogen transmission in indoor environments. The program explores whether continuously dispersing glycol vapors in ventilation systems could serve as a scalable, low-cost layer of defense against biological threats, including engineered pathogens. It aims to evaluate safety, efficacy, and deployment feasibility.
Key Points
- •Proposes glycol vapor dispersal in indoor air systems as a passive, continuous method to reduce airborne pathogen viability.
- •Positioned as a potential biosecurity countermeasure relevant to both natural pandemics and engineered biological threats.
- •Blueprint Biosecurity focuses on scalable, practical biosecurity interventions with near-term deployment potential.
- •Program likely involves efficacy testing, safety assessment, and cost-benefit analysis for broad infrastructure adoption.
- •Represents an engineering/environmental approach to biosecurity complementing vaccines, PPE, and detection systems.
Cited by 1 page
| Page | Type | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| Blueprint Biosecurity | Organization | 60.0 |
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- [Programs](https://blueprintbiosecurity.org/programs/)
- [Far-UVC](https://blueprintbiosecurity.org/works/far-uvc/)
- [PPE](https://blueprintbiosecurity.org/works/ppe/)
- [Glycol vapors](https://blueprintbiosecurity.org/works/glycols/)
- [Funded Projects](https://blueprintbiosecurity.org/programs/funded-projects/)
- [Calls for Proposals](https://blueprintbiosecurity.org/calls-for-proposals/)
- [Publications](https://blueprintbiosecurity.org/our-work-publications/)
- [News](https://blueprintbiosecurity.org/posts/)
- [Team](https://blueprintbiosecurity.org/team/)
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[Back](https://blueprintbiosecurity.org/posts/)
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Air disinfection is an important part of the biological threat mitigation portfolio, but we currently lack highly-effective air disinfection tools that can be easily deployed to many indoor spaces in the near-term. Vapors of **propylene**, **dipropylene**, and **triethylene** **glycol** (PG, DPG, and TEG respectively) could be such a tool. They are commonly used in cosmetics, lighting effects, and food (in the case of PG), and in many settings they are very efficacious at inactivating many types of pathogens. At concentrations typically used for air disinfection, they are colorless, odorless, tasteless, and appear safe for humans to breathe.1-6
While glycols showed promising results when they were first investigated in the 1940s, they fell out of popularity as the public health field turned its focus to surface and contact infections and pharmaceuticals. Because they are abundant and affordable, **our initial assessment is that glycol vapors could be rapidly deployed as an additional layer of defense against airborne pandemics, and warrant further consideration.**
## A gap in our pandemic toolkit
Successfully suppressing indoor pathogen transmission will require a portfolio of interventions that layer together to protect occupants.
Air cleaning and disinfection technologies are a valuable component of this portfolio. Besides helping reduce risk in indoor spaces on their own, they can also compensate for the disadvantages of other transmission suppression interventions. For example, while personal protective equipment (PPE) is another necessary part of the transmission suppression portfolio, current respiratory PPE is often burdensome, must eventually be removed (e.g. for eating and drinking), and requires advance stockpiling to avoid shortages.
Existing air cleaning and disinfection technologies each have their own strengths and weaknesses:
- Building-scale ventilation can be expensive due to high installation costs and energy costs for conditioning outdoor air.
- Filtration and portable air cleaners can be affordable and accessible, but require very high airflow ra
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