Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36562547›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental science & technology2023

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

Robin E Dodson, Katherine E Manz, Shaunessey R Burks, Richa Gairola, Nina F Lee, Yun Liu, Kurt D Pennell, Erica D Walker, Joseph M Braun

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Environmental science & technology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Managing infectious aerosols to counter engineered pandemics: Current recommendations and future research.Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis · 2025
    Guideline
  2. Trial
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Robin E DodsonSilent Spring Institute, Newton, Massachusetts02460, United States.ORCID 0000-0001-7356-9511
Katherine E ManzSchool of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island02912, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-8225-9168
Shaunessey R BurksDepartment of Epidemiology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island02912, United States.ORCID 0000-0001-8641-0016
Richa GairolaDepartment of Epidemiology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island02912, United States.
Nina F LeeDepartment of Epidemiology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island02912, United States.
Yun LiuDepartment of Epidemiology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island02912, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-2979-9552
Kurt D PennellSchool of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island02912, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-5788-6397
Erica D WalkerDepartment of Epidemiology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island02912, United States.
Joseph M BraunDepartment of Epidemiology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island02912, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-5239-3235
Brown University · USSilent Spring Institute · US

Funding

Gestational PFAS Mixture Exposures, Longitudinal Metabolomic Profiles, and Adolescent Cardiometabolic HealthR01ES032836 · NIEHS · BROWN UNIVERSITY · PI BRAUN, JOSEPH M · 2021 to 2024
$2.4M
A Residential Dust Control Intervention to Reduce Early Childhood Exposure toChemical MixturesR21ES034187 · NIEHS · BROWN UNIVERSITY · PI BRAUN, JOSEPH M · 2022 to 2023
$469k
NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES032836NIEHS NIH HHS R21 ES034187
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

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. We sampled air before (October-November 2021) and during (February-March 2022) deployment of CR Boxes in 17 rooms located in an occupied Providence, Rhode Island office building. We measured sound levels in rooms with CR Boxes operating and not operating. While CR Boxes were deployed, concentrations of seven PFAS (N-EtFOSE, N-EtFOSA, FBSA, PFBS, PFHxS, PFOS, PFNA) were 28-61% lower and concentrations of five phthalates (DMP, DEP, DiBP, BBzP, DCHP) were 29-62% lower. Concentrations of five PFAS and one phthalate increased 23-44% during the intervention period, but the 95% CI of most of these estimates included the null. Daytime sound levels increased 5.0 dB when CR Boxes were operating. These results indicate that CR Boxes reduced exposure to several lower-volatility phthalates and sulfonated PFAS previously reported to be found in office building materials and products, with potentially distracting increases in sound levels.

Indexed as

Air Pollution, IndoorCOVID-19Phthalic AcidsDustHumansOrganic ChemicalsPandemicsDustOrganic Chemicalsphthalic acidPhthalic Acidsindoor airinterventionperfluoroalkyl substancesphthalatessemivolatile organic compounds

Identifiers

PMID36562547
PMCPMC9876422
OpenAlexW4312113661

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.