Connecticut adopts Middletown girl’s air filtration plan

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — The Connecticut State Bonding Commission agreed on Tuesday to spend $11.5 million on a simple and effective air filtration plan that was spearheaded by an 11-year-old girl from Middletown.

In the late stages of the pandemic, when the state was trying to figure out how to make air in Connecticut classrooms cleaner and safer, college students from the University of Connecticut visited a number of classrooms with a simple solution. A California firm figured out how to build a simple air filtration system, made with some furnace air filters and a box fan. One of the districts they visited was in Middletown.

Middletown middle school student Eniola Shokunbi wondered why every classroom in the state couldn’t have one of the filter systems that only cost about $60 to make. She had the filter tested by the EPA, which found them to be more than 99% effective in removing viruses from the air.

At a school event in Middletown in 2023, Shokunbi suggested putting them in every classroom in the state to Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz. Tuesday, her goal became reality.

“I never really liked science before, I didn’t get what it meant, but when I read that article and researched it I was so mad at myself, because it was right here the whole time,” she said. “This is the answer.”

Shokunbi hopes the students assemble the filters themselves so they can get excited about the sciences and STEM classes.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com.