Parent Post: Story of Air Quality and Why It Matters

By Jaime Erickson, Parent at Scott's Ridge Elementary, Wake County Public Schools

If you’d have told me a month ago, I’d soon know acronyms like IAQ, PPM, CFM, and ASHRAE, I’d have said – that tracks.  I’m an obsessive learner. 

Over the last several weeks, I’ve learned more than I wanted to know about indoor air quality (IAQ) standards (lacking), guidelines (also lacking), measurements (confusing), and recommendations (clear as day). After sorting through websites, scientific journals, HVAC documentation, and a slew of other resources, I didn’t become an air quality expert, just a better-informed parent. There’s still so much I don’t know. But here’s what I do: 

Indoor Air Quality is a Thing that Matters to Me (and it should to you, too)

The EPA has a great primer on why IAQ is important, especially in schools. But the short of it is this: we spend most of our time indoors.  Good IAQ means we breathe good, well-ventilated air that’s free of pollutants that can lead to health effects like coughing, headaches, eye irritation, allergy reactions, and asthma aggravation. In schools, good IAQ keeps our kids, teachers, and staff healthy—reducing absenteeism and improving learning (for more on that, check out these scientific articles). 

Indoor Air Quality is Confusing as Heck 

The big takeaway I’ve had over the last several weeks is that the standards and guidelines governing IAQ exist somewhere between cross-referencing chaos and imaginary. You know that feeling you get when you try to put together a piece of Ikea furniture? That’s what it’s like trying to make sense of this mess.

I was surprised to find a complete lack of clear policy. There are almost no enforceable policies covering IAQ in schools. None. Really. Our kids spend 7+ hours a day inside these buildings, and outside of being so terrible that you’re not meeting basic building code or your air is a direct, imminent health risk, there are no policies or standards in place to ensure they have good IAQ. That’s crazy pants. 

But there are clear recommendations from reputable organizations like the EPA, CDC, and ASHRAE, though they’re not enforceable unless they’re required for building code. Even then, building codes were never designed for health.

When Things Went Bad

Like all good or bad things do these days, it started on social media. An anonymous post about a school investigation in response to an odor in a modular building revealed CO2 levels higher than recommended by organizations like the EPA, ASHRAE, and CDC. When the school was identified as Scotts Ridge Elementary—where my kiddo attends (in a modular)—I, like many other concerned parents, sent a panicked email asking for more info.  It did not go well. 

Our principal assured us there was nothing to be worried about. The WCPSS School Board Facilities Committee Chair and the WCPSS Chief of Facilities and Operations said the same. There was nothing to be concerned about because the CO2 level was far below OSHA limits. 

They were right. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) does, in fact, set a limit on CO2 exposure. It’s 5,000 PPM. But here’s the thing—that doesn’t mean we have nothing to worry about. 

CO2 by itself – at extremely high levels – can be dangerous, of course. But that wasn’t the point. As I came to learn, at lower levels CO2 can be used to gauge ventilation. We exhale CO2, so if there’s lots of CO2 in the room, it means there’s not enough fresh air. Measuring CO2 is one of the ways engineers and air quality experts assess ventilation. OSHA’s regulation is related to dangerous CO2 exposure, not indoor air quality (they don’t have IAQ guidelines). 

Is This Gaslighting? 

Maybe that’s a little harsh. But that’s how it felt. I continued to email questions and concerns to the people in charge of these things—my school board representative, the facilities committee chair, the chief of facilities and operations. Only one of them responded to me, but when he did, it was to tell me I’m wrong. Want to see that email chain? I posted it here because it’s public record.

Conclusion: WCPSS has no “regular monitoring for indoor air quality” and they maintain “no additional monitoring is warranted.” 

I also, like a lot of parents, sent in a personal CO2 monitor to class with my kiddo. It was kept in the mesh pocket of his backpack all day. Unsurprisingly, it confirmed the readings from the report done by the school. You can see all the parent-collected CO2 data here. 

I don’t know—is it me? These responses left me feeling unheard and invalidated. Like I was crazy to be talking about indoor air quality. 

I’m Not

Indoor Air Quality is real. It’s not weird that I’m asking about it. It’s a concern that’s been growing steadily in the wake of the pandemic. It’s something many, many other school districts have begun to build into their policies. But you don’t have to take my word for it. You can…

• Watch the White House Summit on Indoor Air Quality

• Read about what other school districts are doing to champion IAQ. Spoiler: only one of these schools is in North Carolina, and it’s not WCPSS. 

• Read the EPA’s IAQ Tools for Schools guidance, the framework most schools on the list above are using to make improvements. I mentioned the EPA’s framework in my emails to WCPSS, too. 

• Literally just Google “Schools and Indoor Air Quality” (but be prepared for acronym assault)

I’ll Leave You with This

The last email I received from WCPSS on 10/28/22 said this: 

I do not believe WCPSS has any regular monitoring schemes for IAQ.  That said, we also don't have regular monitoring for water quality, or many other things.  It is quite well known in the industry that as long as HVAC systems are working properly, then there is a given amount of air circulated.  The air flow is generally set and monitored on the circulation devices.  I know the State standard is 7.5 cfm on average per person.  As long as the HVAC systems are functioning, which are all monitored, then there is sufficient air circulation.  Given the direct correlation between air circulation systems functioning and air quality, it would not be a good use of funds to set up expensive additional air monitoring systems.

Here's what I takeaway from this: 

1. Nobody is monitoring school water quality so this supports not monitoring air quality

2. If the HVAC is on and working, it must be meeting basic standard building code

3. Basic standard building code = sufficient air circulation

4. If air is circulating, that means air quality is fine

5. WCPSS doesn’t want to put money into this

Except for #5, all these things are false. And illogical. If you want to deep dive into why, check out this Twitter thread where a data scientist interprets WCPSS CO2 numbers. 

I plan to continue pushing for IAQ that protects my kids, their teachers, and school staff. I hope you’ll join me. 

PS: This got long, so I didn’t even begin to talk about equity and environmental justice. Do all kids deserve good IAQ or just some?