In the June 2023 edition of Environmental International, a study compared ventilation rates and Particulate Matter (PM2.5) in schools throughout the Midwestern United States and the impact they had on illness-related absences for students. Researchers found every “1 L/s per person increase in ventilation rate was associated with a 5.59 decrease in days with absences per year.” They also noted “every additional 1 μg/m3 of indoor PM2.5 was associated with a 7.37 increase in days with absences per year.” They concluded there were “reduced absence rates when classroom ventilation is improved” and there are “benefits of reducing indoor inhalable particles.”
For more information and to read the article, click here.