Students in certain New York counties may notice new air filtration systems in their classrooms as they return to school this week.

A handful of New York counties invested federal COVID-19 relief funds on new mobile air purifiers for K-12 public and private schools to prevent the spread of airborne diseases, including the common cold, influenza and the coronavirus.

"If you have these purifiers in your classroom and kids come in with the germs, you're going to stop that from spreading in that whole classroom, which makes a difference to keep that number down," Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said.

Albany County invested $2,708,250 to purchase 5,000 mobile air purification units from Austin Air Systems Ltd. for 11 school districts and 22 private or independent schools. The remaining of the $6.6 million to aid the county's pandemic response in schools will support personnel, a mobile clinic unit, test kits with lab support, masks and cleaning supplies.

Residents, localities, office buildings and businesses across New York have turned to purification manufacturers Austin Air Systems Ltd., based in Buffalo, and Intellipure Inc. in Oswego County to reduce the presence of airborne illnesses and the risk of transmission.

The companies sell portable air purifiers that sit in every classroom and run around the clock, providing a cheaper and faster alternative for school districts as opposed to overhauling HVAC systems or expensive ductwork.

"Sometimes a school, an individual school, would come to us for units," Austin Air Systems President Lauren McMillan said. "Sometimes it's at the district level. Sometimes it's at the county level.

"As the pandemic has continued, different states are doing different things," she added.

McCoy was encouraged to use the federal funds to install the mobile air purifiers in classrooms after speaking with Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz. Erie County has spent nearly $6.5 million for units in 12,500 classrooms in all K-12 schools.

The Western New York​ county partnered and purchased the portable purifiers from Austin Air earlier this year. Each classroom and the health office get one unit each, with more in larger common areas like the cafeteria.

Austin Air sells air purifiers all over the world, saying their devices take out 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 micron. 

Coronavirus particles are roughly 0.1 to 0.5 micron, but typically hitch a ride on much larger particles, McMillan said.

"That's like the respiratory droplets, those types of things people are exposed to," she said. "So it will filter that out of the air."

Units are plugged in, turned on and left alone to complete two and three air changes in a room per hour. Filters need to be replaced after five years.

"Every 15 to 20 minutes, you're getting fresh air throughout the entire classroom," McMillan explained.

County executives and state health officials will encourage other officials to follow suit to improve air ventilation as localities continue to navigate their response to the COVID-19 pandemic when deciding how to spend future allocations of federal American Rescue Plan and other pandemic relief.

“For many years, air purification has played an important role in maintaining public health, and current federal, state, and local regulations and guidelines reflect this," Health Department spokesman Jeffrey Hammond said in a statement Wednesday. "For instance, radon testing, outdoor air supply, exhaust ventilation, tobacco control, and smoke and CO alarms. Preventing asthma, lung cancer, heart disease, respiratory infections, irritations and odor management are a few of the health advantages that are well-known.”

The state Health Department provided recommendations about proper ventilation and indoor air quality for the State Education Department's school reopening guidelines. Current recommendations on air purification for schools can be found in the CDC guidelines, according to the Health Department.

"We wanted to make sure that as these kids return to the classroom, that there's every tool in the arsenal to make it safe for them," McCoy said. "It's [all about] to keep kids in school, because that's the goal. Keep them there safely — keep them in the classroom."

About 28% of U.S. schools have similar filters or air filtration systems in their classrooms, according to a recent CDC survey.

Filtration upgrades were made in classrooms in Albany and Erie counties with the availability of federal funds. Counties in New York City's five boroughs and Onondaga County made investments to improve air quality in schools before the federal awards, officials with the New York Association of Counties said. Montgomery County recently upgraded its HVAC system within its SPCA. 

Counties can use allocated CARES Act and American Rescue Plan funds for the air ventilation projects. Localities will continue to get ARPA funds through 2024, and can spend the relief through 2026, but must submit spending reports for projects and programs to the U.S. Department of Treasury the following year.

State health officials train local health departments about indoor air quality and continues to consult with schools and state agencies about air purification and environmental health.

The state School Environmental Health Program will host a conference in Albany on Oct. 25 for school professionals, state agencies, local health departments, environmental health associations and advocacy groups, according to the Health Department.