Ventilation and Air Quality

15685

11/10/2021

EIR

I am writing to you on behalf of Long Covid Kids (Scotland) to request updated information on Scottish Borders Council's plans for ventilation and air quality monitoring in your education estate to mitigate the risk of COVID19 infection for pupils.During the First Minister's announcement on 13th July 2021, Ms Sturgeon stated that the Scottish Government will be addressing the importance of ventilation and the use of CO₂ monitors to reduce the risk of COVID19 airborne transmission in indoor spaces; including work to be done to radically improve ventilation and the use of CO₂ monitors as a proxy indicator of indoor air quality.
In the Ministerial Statement and Budget on 16th February 2021 the First Minister pledged £90m to Local Authorities to implement COVID19 mitigations; including ventilation improvements throughout the education estate. On 8th August 2021 the First Minister pledged a further £10m to Local Authorities for the procurement and distribution of CO₂ monitors for the educational estate in Scotland, to be completed by the October break.

Therefore, I would be obliged if you can provide details of the following:
1. For how many schools and educational settings is your Local Authority responsible?
2. How many CO₂ monitors have been purchased, distributed and are currently installed throughout
your education estate?
3. At what level of CO₂ concentration (ppm) are the CO₂ monitors set to indicate poor air quality?
4. Please outline the guidance given to school staff when CO₂ monitors indicate poor air quality.
5. Please outline the action taken by the Local Authority when poor air quality is consistently recorded
by schools and educational settings when existing ventilation strategies are not sufficient.
6. Please provide the total cost of CO₂ monitors thus far.
7. Have any schools had sealed windows upgraded to allow them to open? If so, how many?
8. Aside from natural ventilation, what ventilation technologies have been considered (e.g., HEPA
filtration) in advance of Winter term.
9. Aside from natural ventilation, what ventilation technologies are currently in place?

1. 115
2. 300
3. The monitors are set to follow national guidance with an upper level of 1500ppm pre-set.
4. Monitoring of CO2 levels and air quality continues to be undertaken by Property Services/Facilities Management staff, school staff are provided with guidance as/when appropriate should consistent poor air quality be recorded.
5. No educational setting has recorded consistently high CO2 readings during monitoring undertaken to date in SBC area.
6. £97,485.00
7. All schools in SBC area have openable windows to provide natural ventilation. The number of schools where work was required to windows is 11.
8. To date SBC does not have plans to install additional or alternative ventilation technologies within schools.
9. Several schools in SBC area have mechanical ventilation systems as well as natural ventilation.

Ventilation and Air Quality - Freedom of information requests