Indoor Air Quality in Schools (IAQ): The Importance of Monitoring Carbon Dioxide Levels.

Web site: http://www.designshare.com.

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8

Air Flow; Air Pollution; Educational Environment; Elementary Secondary Education; Higher Education; Indoor Air Pollution; Ventilation

This article highlights indoor air quality and exposure to pollutants at school. Typical air pollutants within schools include environmental tobacco smoke, formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, allergens, pathogens, radon, pesticides, lead, and dust. Inadequate ventilation, inefficient filtration, and poor hygiene of air handling units are the main reasons for poor indoor air quality. The article discusses the scope of inadequate ventilation to emphasize inadequacies in the present framework of codes and practices, examining a case study done as part of a product demonstration in the Exhibit Hall of the Austin Convention Center during the 2002 USGBC conference. Carbon dioxide (CO2) monitoring was performed in accordance with sampling guidelines from ASTM D6245, Standard Guide for Using Indoor Carbon Dioxide Concentrations to Evaluate Indoor Air Quality and Ventilation. The CO2 monitoring values indicated that in the morning, the amount of ventilation provided to occupants was only about half of the recommended minimum. This inadequacy was communicated to operators of the building's HVAC system, who increased the opening of the outdoor air dampers to provide more ventilation to the Exhibit Hall. This resulted in significant increases in the ventilation rate at the breathing zone. Overnight monitoring data revealed that the Exhibit Hall's ventilation system failed to flush the space out before occupancy the next day. (SM)

2004

ED480549