Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a significant class of indoor air pollutants and are known for their adverse effects on health. A common strategy to reduce indoor VOC levels is to use sorbents, including activated carbons. The amount of activated carbon is critical to achieving a reasonable air cleaner or HVAC filter lifetime in an air handling device; however, the problem is complex as various types of filters are used, and the type and concentration of VOCs in the indoor environment also varies in different settings. While standard air purifiers devices and panel filters (MERV 13+) on HVAC systems have been shown to greatly reduce levels of particulate matter indoors which have led to benefits for cardiovascular and respiratory health with indoor PM reductions, there are many other pollutants such as ozone, nitrogen dioxide, VOC, hydrogen sulfide from indoor sources and outdoor sources which can infiltrate indoors which can still cause a variety of respiratory symptoms such as reduced lung function, increased asthma attacks, and increased hospital admissions. There are commercially available devices which claim to reduce these of non-particulate air pollutants but not much information regarding their effectiveness especially in real-world settings. Evaluate both portable air cleaners and panel filters marketed to remove odors, VOCs and other air pollutants for their effectiveness in laboratory and real-world settings. Investigators would first conduct a literature review on the variety of products marketed to remove odors, VOCs and other pollutants and summarize what is currently known regarding the effectiveness and limitations of these devices. They would then test the effectiveness of these devices using chamber and/or real-world locations and evaluate factors such as costs, pollutant removal effectiveness, and need for maintenance (filter/charcoal replacement) to determine which technologies work the best and under what conditions. Results will then be summarized regarding the pros and cons of each device or panel filters including effectiveness under a variety of real-world scenarios and associated costs of each technology over time. The results from this study would also provide information on what is the best strategies to reduce indoor VOCs, odors, and other non-particulate air pollutants in impacted communities for a variety of scenarios including wildfire smoke, landfills, industry, and biogenic emissions.
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