Classroom air quality in a randomized crossover trial with portable HEPA air cleaners

Abstract

Background: Children living in communities with lower socioeconomic status and higher minority populations are often disproportionately exposed to particulate matter (PM) compared to children living in other communities. Objective: We assessed whether adding HEPA filter air cleaners to classrooms with existing HVAC systems reduces indoor air pollution exposure. Methods: From July 2022 to June 2023, using a block randomized crossover trial of 17 Los Angeles Unified School District elementary schools, classroom PM concentrations were monitored and compared for 99 classrooms with HEPA filter air cleaners and 87 classrooms with non-HEPA filter air cleaners. Results: In HEPA classrooms, average school-year PM2.5 was 39.9% lower (0.581 µg/m³; p < 0.001) and infiltration of outdoor PM2.5 into classrooms was 13.8–82.4% lower than non-HEPA classrooms, depending on the school. Impact: Few studies have examined HEPA filtration in a classroom environment, and this is one of the first studies since the COVID-19 pandemic to assess PM exposure in the classroom. Using a well powered block randomized crossover trial, we showed that adding portable HEPA air cleaners to classrooms that already had HVAC systems with MERV 13 air filters resulted in lower measurable PM concentrations and less infiltration of outdoor PM2.5 compared to control classrooms with non-HEPA filters. This demonstrates that further improvements in classroom air quality, especially in environmentally burdened communities, can be achieved with additional filtration.