According to the World Health Organization, society is failing to adapt to public health threats. Climate change, urbanization, and other factors are aggravating existing pandemic threats while creating new avenues for rapid global spread, and many countries are doing little to nothing to create public health protections to combat the next pandemic. And while public health should be the responsibility of the government, individuals can take action to make a difference.
The Corsi-Rosenthal Foundation has created a grant to help teachers and librarians connect their students and patrons with a DIY solution for air filtration: The CR-box. A 2022 study found that CR-boxes outperformed nearly every consumer-grade HEPA filtration device in terms of clean air delivery rate and cost. And that near-industrial grade air filtration packs a big punch in terms of minimizing airborne health threats like small particulates, smoke, pollution, allergens, airborne disease, and even unidentified or forgotten threats like asbestos pipe insulation and lead paint.
Calls for Clean Air
Calls for clean air have their roots in the anti-pollution movements of the 1960s and 70s, but similar cries have risen in recent decades as the warming climate creates more frequent and severe wildfires, droughts, and other air-clogging events. International organizations like the Global Action Plan or California’s Coalition for Clean Air follow this older trend, and tend to focus on policy and consumer issues like car electrification and banning burning of fossil fuels for heat. However, the COVID-19 pandemic gave rise to a new form of clean-air organizing. Dozens of new, disability-informed organizations have sprung up to remind us that COVID is still here, and other airborne disease like the flu and RSV is no joke either. Mask Together America hopes to make public and workspaces accessible to all by pushing for the tools to clean the air, from quality respirators to air filtration, UV air sanitization to HVAC upgrades and more. In a similar vein, Clean Air Club works in the Chicagoland area, loaning out consumer and industrial-grade air filters to performers and event organizers to make sure music and arts events don’t turn into superspreader events.
Many people have given up all airborne mitigations in the past few years. The idea that “the high risk will protect themselves” isn’t just cruel and unhelpful, it twists health into a moral value and solely a personal responsibility. Anyone can get sick. There is no group which disease seeks out, and no one can do public health on their lonesome. Ignoring the spread of airborne disease makes us all sicker. These normalizations of illness also help obfuscate the palpable effect of illness on all aspects of society. The single largest reason given for student absences since modern record keeping began has been acute illness.
%absences by absence reason
These numbers have only grown since 2020, and similar patters show up in teacher absence data. With all the complaining in the media about chronic absenteeism in schools, we rarely hear a word about the growing number of kids suffering from Long Covid. With some simple changes, we can mitigate many of these absences and instances of new chronic illness, tackling the problem at its source.
Scientific Evidence
Many different organizations like the American Lung Association and IQAir have been funding initiatives to improve air quality in schools. They cite the effects of high CO2, dust, and harmful indoor pollutants like forgotten asbestos or lead paint on children, their learning, and physical development. And a wealth of studies conducted over decades back up their concerns: Kids perform poorly and are more likely to get sick in stagnant indoor air. Some of the most recent studies show a massive impact just from running an appropriately-sized HEPA filter in the classroom. Even less-standardized studies show a nearly ⅓ drop in illness absences in day cares. We can infer similar results in the workplace, and libraries tend to serve those at the highest risk from severe illness, the very young and the elderly. By following the science and taking advantage of the Corsi-Rosenthal Foundation’s grant, you can create a zero-cost improvement to your library or classroom that helps to make your space safer, healthier, and more equitable.
STEM in Action
For those who love to build and have a curious mind, a CR-box will be a fantastic classroom tool. Not only can you teach a bit of engineering and geometry while building them, their use helps to illustrate the complex physics of the air we breathe. Watch as the things that you would have inhaled pile up on the filters. Then, when you take it apart to rebuild, you can take a sample from the filter, either sending it to a nearby and cooperative university or scientific facility for analysis or simply putting it under the microscope in the classroom. More advanced and mathematics classrooms can use CADR calculators or the math that powers them to figure out how many and what size of filters belong in different spaces in the school, such as the music room or cafeteria. It’s easy to teach people to build a CR-box, too. Older kids can watch Dr. Corsi build his namesake filter, and people of all ages can appreciate Geoff Berner’s musical instructions. There are even a few videos of their peers out there, such as this 4th grader’s video how-to.
The best part of building a CR-box in the classroom or library is experiencing the cleaner air it provides in the months to come. Fewer sniffles and sneezes are always welcome. Most importantly, you’ll be giving your students (or patrons) a tool they can use to adapt to changing times. When my parter fell ill with COVID-19, I quickly built two of these boxes to aid with her isolation. Because of early detection, the ability to isolate, and DIY air filtration, I was able to keep myself from becoming infected. The WHO and leading epidemiologists are quick to remind the public that it’s not if the next pandemic happens, but when. Sometime in the not so distant future, your students may be thanking you for this unique STEM lesson when they encounter new illnesses, wildfire smoke, and other unseen health threats drifting on indoor air.
How to Apply
The grant writing process is simple (and would be a perfect task for a fresh intern). The Corsi-Rosenthal Foundation has some step-by-step instructions for completing the process as a whole, the key steps to approval listed in the first three steps. Once you’ve done the little bit of research and approval-seeking you’ll need to have ironed out, you can submit your application here.
Rejected? Fear not: CR-Box supplies are common and fairly cheap. You know the families in your classroom, and you know who might be willing to purchase the supplies for you. It’s only 4 MERV 13 20”X20” furnace filters (either 1” or 2” thick works. 2” lasts longer but is a bit more expensive), Duck tape (even packing tape works well, but for students Duck tape will be more forgiving and comes in fun colors and patterns), a box fan, and the box the fan comes in. Whether your grant is approved or you have to source your own materials, remember to add a little personality to your CR-Box: Decorate for the season or add a pair of big old googly eyes and give it a name. Just because it’s a public health tool doesn’t mean it has to be serious!
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