Thread by @davepataky

I recently spoke with Jon Azpiri @cbcnewsbc about issues with school/classroom air quality in BC. His story is great, but given space constraints some of the finer detail wouldn't fit. I'll fill you in on those details with this 🧵!
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cbc.ca/news/canada/br…

First a brief history. The BC govt put some money into ventilation improvements for schools, reportedly over $100M. Last summer I read in a local paper about my kid's school district (SD43) receiving about $2M. As my daughter was returning in Sept, I was curious what was done.
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I contacted the District facilities director and asked for details in Aug, he was very helpful and answered all my q's. The district hired an HVAC consultant to review the schools and recommend upgrades. Turns out our school, Walton Elem., has a very simple inexpensive system.
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The system had MERV 8 filters, which were upgraded to MERV 9 (best they could do with an under-powered system). ASHRAE recommends MERV 13, and indeed the BC govt plan also called for upgrades to MERV 13. So I knew the filtration of the air in the classrooms was insufficient.
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Looking at the school construction, each class had only 2 small 1ftx1ft windows, of the top-hung, out-swinging type. Some had exterior doors, some did not (faced an inner courtyard). So fresh air supply was a potential problem as well, supplemental filtration may be needed.
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In Sept I built 2 CR boxes and put them in the school with the principal's permission and the district's knowledge. The district allowed the principal discretion to supply equipment he deemed necessary. With the principal's help and permission, we also started monitoring CO2.
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Over the next few months I loaned the school my CO2 monitor, moving it around various classrooms, 1or 2 weeks in each. Typical fully occupied rooms would peak at 2200-3200ppm, which equates to 4.5-7% rebreathed air. ASHRAE recommends 800-1000ppm max, not a good situation.
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In summary, we have classes with poor in-built filtration and poor access to fresh air, the perfect scenario for airborne aerosol transmission. In Dec. I presented my findings to the district, and they didn't disagree with anything I said. They asked me to stop monitoring CO2.
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After more discussions with the principal and school staff and with Omicron looming, we decided to build 25 more CR boxes. When the district found out, however, we were asked to stop the project because the devices are not CSA-approved and may be a hazard. But are they?
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Underwriter's Labs did a study with fan/filter boxes, and were unable to show any risk even when completely enclosed in plastic and run on high (fans did not heat above allowable limits, see chemicalinsights.org/wp-content/upl…). The district was unmoved by the report.
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There are a lot of problems with this whole scenario. From a project implementation perspective, we didn't get good value for our tax dollars. There seems to be no mechanism to account for schools like mine: under-powered building systems and poor access to fresh air.
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If I didn't raise these concerns, nothing would have changed and the govt would continue proudly proclaiming that they provided a lot of cash to fix this problem. There will be other schools in the same situation as mine, unaware of the problem. How many don't know?
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CR boxes are the perfect solution:
1. Safe (no changes made to the fan, just some filters attached to it - fans are CSA approved).

2. Inexpensive: $180-200 to build

3. Outperform HEPA units costing 3x more, can deliver 400-600CFM clean air

4. Quick to roll out

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That last one is important. We don't have time, in a pandemic, to go through a planning/budgeting process, tender bids, source and install equipment. Students/teachers are at risk NOW. If our public health leaders acknowledged airborne aerosol transmission 1.5 years ago....
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If our govt planned a proper ventilation remediation project, e.g.: Survey classrooms to identify the worst air quality, prioritize them, upgrade ventilation OR supplement with HEPA until a good result is achieved, we'd be much further ahead. But they didn't do that.
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Instead we ended up with a half-a$$ed ineffective money pit of a "ventilation upgrade" project which demonstrably didn't meet its own goals in at least some of our schools. We have students/teachers/staff/admin and parents unaware there is still a problem.
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We have public health leadership so far behind the science of this pandemic that they can't even acknowledge the airborne nature of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. And since our public health messaging reflects that, we have a population largely ignorant of the threat we face.
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There are easy things we can do to stop this pandemic, like wear good masks (n95 or equivalent), and clean the air we breathe with filtration, and CO2 monitoring for stagnant indoor air. We should've been doing this from the beginning, we'd be done with this pandemic already.
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Lastly, I'd like to thank those whose shoulders I stood on to get here: @CorsIAQ and @JimRosenthal4 for the CR box (brilliance), @DavidElfstrom, @jljcolorado, @kprather88 and so many more who have tirelessly campaigned and inspired us to seek cleaner air to breathe. And....
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thanks to all who encouraged me with their tireless advocacy... @kyenta_m, @LizanneFoster, @jheighton3 to name just a few.

Parents: What are your kids breathing in school??

#COVIDisAirborne #N95s4All

@jjhorgan @adriandix @JM_Whiteside

Addendum: The school Principal has now purchased 4 CO2 monitors for the school. The teachers are sharing them around to get an idea of their classroom conditions, and how often to take steps to mitigate stale air during the day.

Well done Walton!