A team of researchers from Brown University’s School of Public Health, Brown’s School of Engineering and Silent Spring Institute found that easy air filtration devices called Corsi-Rosenthal boxes are effective at reducing indoor air pollutants.

The study, which analyzed the effectiveness of Corsi-Rosenthal boxes installed on the School of Public Health to assist prevent the spread of COVID-19, is the primary peer-reviewed study of the efficacy of the boxes on indoor pollutants, in response to the authors.

Lowering indoor air concentrations of commonly-found chemicals known to pose a risk to human health is a technique to improve occupant health, in response to lead writer Joseph Braun, an associate professor of epidemiology at Brown.

The findings show that a reasonable, easy-to-construct air filter can protect against illness caused not only by viruses but additionally by chemical pollutants. This kind of highly-accessible public health intervention can empower community groups to take steps to enhance their air quality and due to this fact, their health.”

Joseph Braun, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Brown University

Corsi-Rosenthal boxes, or cubes, could be constructed from materials found at hardware stores: 4 MERV-13 filters, duct tape, a 20-inch box fan and a cardboard box. As a part of a school-wide project, boxes were assembled by students and campus community members and installed within the School of Public Health in addition to other buildings on the Brown University campus.

To evaluate the cubes’ efficacy at removing chemicals from the air, Braun and his team compared a room’s concentrations of semi-volatile organic compounds before and in the course of the box’s operation.

The outcomes, published in Environmental Science & Technology, showed that Corsi-Rosenthal boxes significantly decreased the concentrations of several PFAS and phthalates in 17 rooms on the School of Public Health in the course of the period they were used (February to March 2022). PFAS, a sort of synthetic chemical present in a variety of products including cleaners, textiles and wire insulation, decreased by 40% to 60%; phthalates, commonly present in constructing materials and private care products, were reduced by 30% to 60%.

PFAS and phthalates have been linked to varied health problems, including asthma, reduced vaccine response, decreased birth weight, altered brain development in children, altered metabolism and a few cancers, said Braun, who studies the effect of those chemicals on human health. Also they are considered to be endocrine-disrupting chemicals which will mimic or interfere with the body’s hormones. What’s more, PFAS have been related to reduced vaccine response in children and likewise may increase the severity of and susceptibility to COVID-19 in adults.

“The reduction of PFAS and phthalate levels is an excellent co-benefit to the Corsi-Rosenthal boxes,” said study co-author Robin Dodson, a research scientist at Silent Spring Institute and expert in chemical exposures within the indoor environment.. “These boxes are accessible, easy to make and comparatively inexpensive, they usually’re currently getting used in universities and houses across the country.”

“The Corsi-Rosenthal box was designed to be a straightforward, cost-effective tool to advertise accessible and effective air cleansing in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic; the indisputable fact that the boxes are also effective at filtering out air pollutants is a unbelievable discovery,” said Richard Corsi, one in every of the inventors of the boxes and dean of the College of Engineering on the University of California, Davis. “I’m thrilled that researchers at Brown University and Silent Spring Institute have identified a big co-benefit of the boxes with respect to reduced exposure to 2 harmful classes of indoor pollutants: PFAS and phthalates.

The sentiment was echoed by Jim Rosenthal, Corsi’s collaborator and CEO of Air Relief Technologies, the corporate that manufactures the MERV-13 filters utilized in Corsi-Rosenthal Boxes.

“This interesting research showing that the air filters not only reduce particles carrying the SARS-CoV-2 virus but additionally reduce other indoor air pollutants might be very significant as we proceed to work to create cleaner and safer indoor air,” Rosenthal said.

The researchers also found that the Corsi-Rosenthal boxes increase sound levels by a median of 5 decibels in the course of the day and 10 decibels at night, which might be considered distracting in certain settings, comparable to classrooms. Nevertheless, Braun said, the health advantages of the box likely outweigh the audio uncomfortable side effects.

“The box filters do make some noise,” Braun said. “But you possibly can construct them quickly for about $100 per unit, with materials from the ironmongery store. They should not only highly effective but additionally scalable.”

Brown study authors include Kate Manz and Kurt Pennell from the School of Engineering, and Jamie Liu, Shaunessey Burks and Richa Gairola from the School of Public Health. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Source:

Journal reference:

Dodson, R.E., et al. (2022) Does Using Corsi-Rosenthal Boxes to Mitigate COVID-19 Transmission Also Reduce Indoor Air Concentrations of PFAS and Phthalates?. Environmental Science & Technology. doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c05169.