Effects of Corsi-Rosenthal boxes on indoor air contaminants: non-targeted analysis using high resolution mass spectrometry.

Background: In response to COVID-19, attention was drawn to indoor air quality and interventions to mitigate airborne COVID-19 transmission. Of developed interventions, Corsi-Rosenthal (CR) boxes, a do-it-yourself indoor air filter, may have potential co-benefits of reducing indoor air contaminant levels.

Objective: We employed non-targeted and suspect screening analysis (NTA and SSA) to detect and identify volatile and semi-volatile organic contaminants (VOCs and SVOCs) that decreased in indoor air following installation of CR boxes.

Does Using Corsi-Rosenthal Boxes to Mitigate COVID-19 Transmission Also Reduce Indoor Air Concentrations of PFAS and Phthalates?

The COVID-19 pandemic brought new emphasis on indoor air quality. However, few studies have investigated the impact of air filtration, a COVID-mitigation approach, on indoor air concentrations of semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs). Using a quasi-experimental design, we quantified the impact of a relatively low-cost "do-it-yourself" air filter (Corsi-Rosenthal Box; CR Box) on indoor air concentrations of 42 PFAS and 24 other SVOCs.