Spending Priorities Questioned—

Worsening Middle School Air Quality Reported

By John Voket

The finance board chairman plans to question why the Board of Education is sticking to a plan prioritizing a Hawley School heating and air conditioning upgrade in the wake of new air quality tests that show worsening carbon dioxide levels at the Newtown Middle School. Results from the latest round of tests that were performed January 13 were reported to the superintendent’s office two days later.

Those findings were circulated to the school board January 19 following The Bee’s request to review the results. The report shows several areas of the school containing measurably worse levels of carbon dioxide than a previous round of testing in November 2001.

According to Board of Finance Chair John Kortze, the district’s capital improvement plan (CIP) is up for discussion Monday during a special meeting.

Mr Kortze said the latest CIP priorities, which were affirmed to him during a recent district Capital Planning Committee meeting, shows the district ranking a Hawley School HVAC renovation ahead of a similar project at the Middle School — which he said “is targeted for funding five years out.”

“We’ve got new data, and I want to know what we plan to do about it,” Mr Kortze said after reviewing the new report. That data, which was produced by Brooks Environmental Consulting of Norwalk, shows the ranges of carbon dioxide levels increasing in almost every part of the building that was previously tested in 2001.

The current range of 720 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide in the lower floor C-wing is below the top reading of 730 in the previous report, while the minimum and maximum readings in five other areas have increased — in once case by more than 1,000 ppm in the lower floor A-wing.

The CO2 information was measured using a nondispersive infrared instrument, according to the report. “Carbon dioxide concentration is an indicator of whether or not the exchange between indoor and outdoor air is sufficient to keep up with the respiratory load and body emissions of the occupants,” the report states.

“It will typically rise and fall as the room/building occupancy changes,” the report continues. “Standard air is considered to contain 300 ppm at sea level but can be as much as 600 ppm in large cities. The recommended ventilation guideline is no more than 700 ppm above background.”

Carbon dioxide is not a toxic gas, but can depress respiration above 25,000 ppm. OSHA permits 5,000 ppm in work environments where carbon dioxide is used.

Insufficient Air  Exchange?

The greatest increases in CO2 levels between the 2001 and 2010 reports can be seen in the lower floor A-wing where the range increased from a range of 740–870 ppm to a range of 1,110–1,890 ppm; the B-wing with the 470–1,160 range increasing to 1,264–1,913; and the upper floor C-wing with a former range of 700–2,200 increasing to 1,460 –3,375 last week.

A 1997 technical brief from The Washington State University Cooperative Extension Energy Program states that while levels below 5,000 ppm are considered to pose no serious health impacts, individuals in schools and offices with elevated CO2 concentrations tend to report drowsiness, lethargy, and a general sense of stale air.

In regard to the 2001 readings, Superintendent Janet Robinson said last week, “We don’t like to see anything over 1,000 ppm, but the danger level as I understand it would have to be in excess of 5,000.”

Nonetheless, the superintendent maintained her support of the Hawley HVAC upgrade as a higher priority because students in that building were seated in the same classrooms all day. In the middle school, the superintendent said, students move from class to class every 45 minutes, and the constant movement of people into and out of classrooms diminishes the physical effects of CO2, even at the maximum range.

What’s The Plan?

Following the release of the new data, Dr Robinson told The Bee that “these numbers are of concern as we want our students to be at peak attentiveness in school. Although they are not hitting the 5,000 number, they are still not desirable and plans need to encompass making certain that there is optimal air quality in all of our schools.”

The school board has not met since the new report was released.

Mr Kortze said when the district comes before his board next Monday to present their capital plans for the coming five years, the new middle school air quality concern “has to be addressed.”

“The worst air quality issue has to be addressed — this new report shows higher levels [of CO2] in more places. And while it doesn’t appear to be an imminent health issue, I understand it can be a problem to varying degrees,” Mr Kortze said.

He added, “The finance board has a history of honoring CIP priorities as presented from the district, but since the middle school HVAC renovation is five years out, we need to know if in the board’s opinion that is still an appropriate game plan.”

The finance chair said he planned to voice his concerns and questions in an email to all school board members and officials January 20, so they could come to the January 25 meeting prepared to discuss the matter. And while Mr Kortze said he was loathe to call for a joint meeting between the two boards in the short term, he said he “would be happy to consider whatever is best for the town.”