Indoor Air Quality Program

Filed under Risk Management on Tuesday, September 12, 2006 by Author: James Parker.

The District is proud to take a leadership role in providing a safe, comfortable, and productive environment for our students and staff so that we achieve our core mission – educating students. Our District will follow the EPA guidance to improve our indoor air quality (IAQ) by preventing as many IAQ problems as possible, and by quickly responding to any IAQ problems that may arise.

The IAQ Management Plan involves implementing several steps at least once a year. The District’s IAQ Coordinator implements several of these steps. Each Safety Coordinator’s Action Packet contains a general information sheet, and IAQ Backgrounder, a Checklist Log, Teacher’s Classroom Checklist, Health Officer/School Nurse Checklist, and Walkthrough Checklist. The District’s IAQ Coordinator follows the steps below to implement the IAQ Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Program:

1. Conduct a training meeting with the campus/department staff and explain the procedures to complete the Checklist.
2. Set a date for staff to complete their checklists. By the closing date, all Checklists should be returned to the IAQ Coordinator. Follow up until all Checklists have been completed and returned, then review the information on the Checklists and transfer pertinent data to the Checklists Log.
3. Perform a Walkthrough Inspection. Based on the summary information on the Checklists, the IAQ Coordinator will perform a walkthrough inspection of the facility. This is not intended to be an intensive and detailed inspection, but rather a quick overview of the conditions that affect the quality of air within the facility. During your walkthrough inspection, the Coordinator will learn a lot by using his/her sense of sight, smell, feeling, and hearing to gain information on factors which affect indoor air quality.

• Observe the general level of cleanliness in classrooms and mechanical rooms. Look for pollutant sources such as mold, improperly stored chemicals, or excessively dirty air filters and ducts and look for blocked airflows, such as those caused by books or boxes.

•  Smell for unique or objectionable odors.

•  Feel for uncomfortable air temperatures, drafts, and high or low humidity and feel for air flowing into and out of grilles and air vents.

•  Listen to the concerns of the staff regarding IAQ. Do they provide clues to problems such as using their own pest spray to control pests? Is there unusual equipment noises which may indicate potential problems and can you hear air blowing out of supply vents?

4. Perform a walkthrough inspection in all special-use areas, such as the cafeteria, art rooms, industrial arts areas, and science laboratories.

5. Consider using a fire evacuation drawing to track health issues and their locations. This may indicate where specific IAQ problems exist.

6. Use the completed checklists and walkthrough notes to identify problems. Report problems or concerns to the IAQ Coordinator.