After complaints from St. Thomas University’s faculty and staff, the university hired an outside firm to conduct air quality testing in Edmund Casey Hall last month.
The tests, conducted between Oct. 17 and 21, found a high level of carbon dioxide in ECH G11, which is a classroom.
Stantec Consulting Ltd., the company that conducted the tests, recommended the room be ventilated more, which STU spokesman Jeffrey Carleton said was done right away.
“We’ve contacted the ventilation folks to pump in some more fresh air, to get the ventilation in and out and working at a littler higher volume,” said Bill MacLean, the university’s facilities manager.
The tests also examined the temperature, humidity, amount of carbon monoxide, particulate matter and volatile organic compounds. VOCs come from materials like paint and air freshener.
Several other rooms had a high level of carbon dioxide or VOCs, but the carbon dioxide levels were not high enough to indicate a problem, Stantec’s report says.
The high VOC levels were attributed to renovations being done in the building at the time.
“VOCs tend to come off of the new tiles or the new wax or the new glue that might be holding the tile down,” MacLean said.
“We were trying to minimize the type of glues and things that we use.”
The university doesn’t do regular air quality testing within its buildings, only when someone raises alarm about something, Carleton said.
“When you hear of something or someone has a concern or something similar happens in another facility then you’ll tend to sit down and look at it.”
The university will do spot check air quality testing in the building as the year goes on. Radon testing will be done in the winter.
According to Health Canada, radon is colourless, odourless, tasteless radioactive gas that can be harmful if released in enclosed spaces and has been linked to lung cancer.
“It’s recommended to do it in the winter, that’s the best time when everything is sealed up. To do it in the summer probably wouldn’t give any readings,” MacLean said.
“Typically the building’s pretty well ventilated so you don’t have an opportunity for radon to build up. We just were curious and we want to know, want to be sure.”
MacLean couldn’t provide the exact cost of the air quality tests. He estimated they cost several thousand dollars.
