Indoor Air Quality Report Gives Granby Schools A Clean Bill Of Health

Business Manager Harry Traver cited no major concerns about indoor air quality when he reported on the subject to the Granby Board of Education on Wednesday, but said minor issues are being addressed.

Traver discussed concerns in each of the five schools in the district, and corrective efforts that will be or have been made. 

Among the items that have surfaced during the 2010-11 school year are leaks in rooms 1312, 2207 and 3218 at Granby Memorial High School. 

“New items are high school leaks that they’ve been chasing for a while and still haven’t been resolved,” Traver said of the facilities department staff. “They are actively pursuing those.”

Other concerns at the high school included visible dust on the vents in the gym and little ventilation in the girls’ locker room, the latter of which was also present in fiscal year 2010. 

At the middle school, a slight musty smell was reported in Room 67, when there is damp weather. 

“[Director of Facilities] Santi [Camarotti] went over and inspected that today and didn’t find a musty smell, but will follow up,” Traver said Wednesday evening.

Other concerns at the middle school were ventilation in the girls’ and boys’ bathrooms, as well as the need for delivery trucks to turn off their engines to prevent exhaust from going into the air ducts. 

The report states that after surveying faculty and staff members, the school was found to be a “relatively clean facility with good indoor air quality,” which was also reported in 2010. 

Kelly Lane Intermediate School, according to the report, received the same general comments as last year as well.

“Kelly Lane is in excellent shape in regards to IAQ,” the report reads. The only other comment from fiscal year 2010 was carried into this year as well, which was regarding the coldness of rooms 1 through 10 during the winter. 

At Wells Road Intermediate School,  there was “a very small number of reported concerns by the staff,” according to the report. 

And, at F. M. Kearns Primary School, a concern was a mildew smell on the carpet in Room 23 where a hot water pipe leaked. 

“There’s corrective action planned for that already,” Traver pointed out.

Another concern at Kearns was the need for buses to turn off their engines in the morning while waiting for the school doors to open. 

“That becomes a problem when the weather becomes warmer,” Traver said. “The windows at Kearns start to open and fumes can get in.”

Sec. 14-277  of the state statutes addresses the idling of school buses and exceptions to the rule.

The statute says that the “operator of any school bus shall not operate the engine of any school bus for more than three consecutive minutes when the school bus is not in motion.” An exception is when the outdoor temperature is below 20 degrees F.

“Those are the items I thought would be worthy of remark and there is nothing major, so that’s good news,” Traver told the board.