CLEARING THE AIR

The following letter was sent to parents, students, faculty and staff of the Nantucket public schools and is reprinted here at the author's request.

To the editor:

We are writing to satisfy any concerns you may have concerning the indoor air quality at the Cyrus Peirce Middle School. This is in response to a recent newspaper article and discussions at this week's school committee meeting.

On March 6, 2007 the director of Indoor Air Quality for the Bureau of Environmental Health, Michael A. Feeney, conducted a survey of the Cyrus Peirce Middle School. This survey included testing for classroom air flow, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide (CO2), temperature and relative humidity, airborne particle matter and screening for total volatile organic compounds (TVOC). On that day, no carbon monoxide or TVOC were detected. For the categories of air flow, temperature, carbon dioxide (CO2) and airborne particle matter, all readings passed the requirements of the Massachusetts Building Code, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards; the ASHRAE adopted National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA) code and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements. The EPA has proposed a stricter standard for airborne particulate matter and our systems already operate in a manner that anticipates the more stringent requirement.

Mr. Feeney prefaces his report by stating that "It is important to note that the outdoor temperature on the day of the assessment ranged from 15 degrees Fahrenheit to 17 degrees Fahrenheit. During cold weather temperature extremes, introducing fresh air into the heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems is often limited to prevent heating coils from freezing and subsequently bursting." Mr. Feeney also states in his report that "Carbon dioxide is not a problem in and of itself." Still we wanted to address the findings that day that some carbon dioxide (CO2) readings were higher than the preferred MDPH guidelines that Mr. Feeney suggested. Therefore, we immediately contacted our HVAC contractor and by March 15, 2007, the seventh business day from the survey and three months before the report was issued, we had checked, balanced, adjusted, replaced or repaired every piece of mechanical equipment at the Cyrus Peirce Middle School to meet the preferred guideline.

Please by assured that the health, welfare and safety of the students, faculty and staff is utmost in our minds.

Very truly yours,

- Robert W. Pellicone, Ed.D.

Superintendent