Grantee Research Project Results

2024 Progress Report: School Resilience to Wildland Smoke and Outdoor sources of Fine & Ultrafine Particles

EPA Grant Number: R840234
Title: School Resilience to Wildland Smoke and Outdoor sources of Fine & Ultrafine Particles
Investigators: Austin, Elena , Larson, Timothy V. , Seto, Edmund , Karr, Catherine
Institution: University of Washington
EPA Project Officer: Chung, Serena
Project Period: September 1, 2021 through April 23, 2025
Project Period Covered by this Report: September 1, 2023 through August 31,2024
Project Amount: $548,537
RFA: Interventions and Communication Strategies to Reduce Health Risks of Wildland Fire Smoke Exposures (2021) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Watersheds , Endocrine Disruptors , Environmental Engineering , Early Career Awards , Air Quality and Air Toxics , Wildfires

Objective:

The project's primary objectives are to (1) implement a classroom-based portable air cleaner (PAC) intervention to reduce students' exposure to wildfire smoke in ten Washington State schools; (2) evaluate the impact of the PAC intervention on students' respiratory health through a randomized controlled study design; and (3) adapt and implement an existing air quality curriculum to enhance environmental health literacy among students, teachers, and parents regarding wildfire smoke and air quality.

Progress Summary:

1. Qualitative Analysis:
A mixed-methods study, guided by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), identified facilitators and barriers affecting the adoption and sustained use of PACs in schools. Facilitators included positive perceptions of PAC effectiveness, ease of use, and prior positive experiences with similar air filtration technologies. Barriers included noise disturbances affecting sensitive students, lack of training, insufficient funding, concerns about maintenance, and sustainability. Urban schools preferred HVAC upgrades, whereas rural schools faced significant financial barriers. The study recommends better educational outreach, technical assistance, and funding mechanisms to support sustained PAC usage.

2. Effectiveness Analysis:
Monitoring between November 2022 and May 2024 demonstrated that PACs significantly improved indoor air quality, especially during wildfire smoke events. Notably, during a major smoke event in August 2023, classrooms with operational PACs maintained moderate indoor AQI levels (66), while those without PACs had higher AQIs (~82). PACs effectively reduced indoor PM2.5 levels to 42% of outdoor levels compared to 58% without PACs, showing a 16% improvement in particle reduction. PACs operated 80.4% of school hours but rarely utilized the highest filtration setting ("Turbo"), highlighting opportunities for improved management during severe pollution events.

Future Activities:

Preparation of a final comprehensive report and dissemination of findings.
Publication of open and reproducible tools for PurpleAir sensor calibration in the form of a reproducible R package, promoting robust sensor calibration methods for broader scientific and public use.

Journal Articles on this Report : 1 Displayed | Download in RIS Format

Publications Views
Other project views:	All 7 publications	2 publications in selected types	All 2 journal articles

Publications
Type	Citation	Project	Document Sources
Journal Article	Carmona N, Seto E, Hayward L, Tan S, Lee S, Kemperman B, Truong J, Austin E. Use of portable air cleaners in Washington state schools:A qualitative analysis based on the technology acceptance model. Journal of School Health. 2024;94(10):939-49.	R840234 (2024)	Abstract: Wiley - Abstract HTML Exit

Supplemental Keywords:

Wildfire Smoke, Portable Air Cleaners, Indoor Air Quality, Environmental Health Education, PM2.5, PurpleAir

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.