Effects of portable air cleaners and A/C unit fans on classroom concentrations of particulate matter in a non-urban elementary school

Given the increased use of air cleaners as a prevention measure in classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study aimed to investigate the effects of portable air cleaners with HEPA filters and window A/C fans on real-time (1 minute) concentrations of PM less than 2.5 microns (PM(2.5)) or less than 1 microns (PM(1.0)) in two classrooms in a non-urban elementary school in Rhode Island. For half of each school day, settings were randomized to “high” or “low” for the air cleaner and “on” or “off” for the fan. Descriptive statistics and linear mixed models were used to evaluate the impacts of each set of conditions on PM(2.5) and PM(1.0) concentrations. The mean half-day concentrations ranged from 3.4–4.1 μg/m(3) for PM(2.5) and 3.4–3.9 μg/m(3) for PM(1.0). On average, use of the fan when the air cleaner was on the low setting decreased PM(2.5) by 0.53 μg/m(3) [95% CI: -0.64, -0.42] and use of the filter on high (compared to low) when the fan was off decreased PM(2.5) by 0.10 μg/m(3) [95% CI: -0.20, 0.005]. For PM(1.0), use of the fan when the air cleaner was on low decreased concentrations by 0.18 μg/m(3) [95% CI: -0.36, -0.01] and use of the filter on high (compared to low) when the fan was off decreased concentrations by 0.38 μg/m(3) [95% CI: -0.55, -0.21]. In general, simultaneous use of the fan and filter on high did not result in additional decreases in PM concentrations compared to the simple addition of each appliance’s individual effect estimates. Our study suggests that concurrent or separate use of an A/C fan and air cleaner in non-urban classrooms with low background PM may reduce classroom PM concentrations.