Complaints prompt school board to test air quality in laptops

The region’s largest school board is investigating if some of its laptops may have potentially high levels of carbon dioxide.

Article content

The review includes at least one laptop at Sir Isaac Brock elementary school in south London and comes after several complaints from teachers, said Craig Smith president of the Thames Valley District of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario.

Article content

“We’ve had some specific concerns about air quality in laptops,” he said.

The Thames Valley District school board didn’t release details of the scope of its investigation, saying only it has “not found any evidence that there is a health and safety concern.”

“Thames Valley will continue to monitor and provide updates, as needed,” a board spokesperson said in an email.

Smith said the union has been working with the board and the Ministry of Labor “to keep an eye on that situation.”

Article content

Smith said the main cause of poor air quality is likely mold, potentially triggering CO2.

In 2016, Thames Valley had “significant experiences” with mold at Ekcoe Central elementary school in Glencoe, about 50 kilometers southwest of London, Smith said.

The school was temporarily closed, he said.

“It was a cautionary tale for us that we have to take it seriously and get to the bottom of what is causing it,” Smith said. “Mould is nothing to be trifled with.”

The board has increasingly relied on laptops in the wake of dramatic enrollment growth.

The Thames Valley and London District Catholic school boards needed a combined 70 more laptops this school year to house students.

“There is such a shortage of space that laptops are being used for a long time,” Smith said. “They have a relatively limited lifespan and there is such a need for them and they are in short supply.”

Article content

Portables are meant to be used only as a temporary measure, he said.

“The longer they are around the more vigilant you have to be when making sure that they are up to spec in regards to repair and the maintenance piece is there to keep out (mould),” he said. “They get leaky and creaky and suddenly, they get mold.”

In October, a former Thames Valley teacher and a parent petitioned Thames Valley trustees to push for air quality improvements in schools.

Allene Scott, a retired Thames Valley teacher and member of Ontario School Safety, said the board should create an indoor air quality policy and monitor the amount of carbon dioxide and particles in the air.

Clean air is essential for the health and well-being of children,” Scott said in a presentation she and parent Tracey Baute made to trustees at a board meeting. “Studies show improving air quality boosts math and reading scores.

“It directly improves cognitive function and reduces illness that contributes to learning loss.”

[email protected]

Article content