An investigation of indoor air quality in school classrooms
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
An investigation of indoor air quality in school classrooms
in Victoria, Australia
Mary Myla Andamon1, Priyadarsini Rajagopalan2, Jin Woo3 and Ruth Huang4
1, 2,3,4
RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
mary.andamon@rmit.edu.au, priyadarsini.rajagopalan@rmit.edu.au, jin.woo@rmit.edu.au
and ruth.huang@rmit.edu.au
Abstract: Poor thermal conditions and indoor environmental quality are known to decrease productivity
and cause dissatisfaction for building occupants. Acceptable indoor air quality (IAQ), for example, is
defined as air with no known contaminants at harmful concentration levels, and yet prescription of
ventilation rates in standards and guidelines in educational facilities are deemed sufficient for
acceptable IAQ. However, studies have shown these requirements are often not met. While the impact
of indoor environmental quality on health and educational outcomes in schools have been extensively
investigated, scientific studies on measurements of indoor environmental conditions in P-12 schools in
Australia are limited. This paper presents the initial results of the year-long study investigating the IAQ
performance before (for two school terms) and after (last two school terms) the installation of fresh
filtered air ventilation systems in the selected school classrooms in Victoria, Australia. Specifically, this
paper is the evaluation of the Term 1 indoor air quality conditions of ten (10) classrooms in four (4)
primary schools and a secondary school prior to the intervention in the ventilation system.
Keywords: indoor air quality, CO2 concentration, student performance, primary school classrooms
1. Introduction
Good indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools is particularly important in providing a safe, healthy, productive
and comfortable teaching-learning environments for students, teachers and other school staff. World-
wide, there is significant research into the indoor environmental quality of school classrooms,
particularly on indoor air quality and ventilation. Reviews on school environments show that schools
generally have inadequate ventilation and exhibit poor indoor air quality (IAQ) (Daisey et al., 2003) with
various indoor air pollutants sometimes at elevated concentrations (Annesi-Maesano et al., 2013).
School children constitute a sensitive population and are especially vulnerable to environmental
contaminant exposures. The physiological systems in children are not fully developed (Makri et al.,
2004). For one, children breath larger volume of air compared to adults such that the respiratory system
of children may be exposed to higher concentration of indoor air pollutants in school classroom
(Bennett et al., 2007). Moreover, with children more physically active and because of their activities and
behaviour in classrooms (sitting on floor, crawling, etc.), they are more exposed to indoor air pollutants.
Revisiting the Role of Architecture for 'Surviving’ Development. 53rd International Conference of the
Architectural Science Association 2019, Avlokita Agrawal and Rajat Gupta (eds), pp. 497–506. ©
2019 and published by the Architectural Science Association (ANZAScA).498 M.M. Andamon, P. Rajagopalan, J. Woo and R. Huang
School children can spend approximately 65 to 90%o of their time in indoor environments with
potentially a large portion in schools. Australian students in Years 1 to 12 receive at least 25 hours of
instruction per week (Victorian Department of Education and Training, 2017) or up to 1,075 hours
indoors in school buildings annually. These primary students will spend up to 12,900 hours of their lives
in school buildings from pre-school to Year 12 – which would be up to 25% of their waking lives to the
completion of their schooling (Cheryan et al., 2014). With the number of hours spent in classrooms, the
conditions of indoor environmental quality factors in school buildings and their impact on children’s
health, well-being, comfort and learning ability require attention.
The quality of indoor environments is characterized by thermal comfort and IAQ variables attributed
to the presence of chemicals (CO, CO2, NO2, VOCs, formaldehyde, particulate matter, etc.) and biological
(mould, fungi, pollens, bacteria, etc.) pollutants (Bluyssen, 2009). However, indoor micro-environments
differ and are uniquely characterised depending on the local outdoor air, specific building characteristics
and indoor activities (Stranger et al., 2007). Inadequate IAQ conditions due to indoor pollutants and
thermal conditions have been found to influence performance, school attendance of students (Mendell
and Heath, 2005) and cause respiratory and other health related issues (Csobod et al., 2014). Poor
ventilation in school classrooms have been associated with student academic achievement (Haverinen-
Shaughnessy et al., 2011) and along with poor IAQ, are responsible for acute and chronic health effects
(Annesi-Maesano et al., 2013), particularly respiratory health issues in young children (Taptiklis and
Phipps, 2017a).
1.1. Criteria for indoor air quality and ventilation rates
A common standard index for indoor air quality does not exist. Typically, IAQ is expressed as the
required level or ventilation or CO2 concentrations. The basis of criteria for indoor air quality and
ventilation rates is the general acceptance that IAQ is influenced by emission from people and their
activities, from building and furnishing, and from the HVAC system itself (DIN, 2007). Indoor carbon
dioxide (CO2) concentration measurements are commonly used as indicators of indoor ventilation and
surrogates for air quality of indoor environments. Concentration levels exceeding 1,000ppm is an
indication of insufficient ventilation and unacceptable conditions in relation to odours removal. Outdoor
carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration levels typically range between 300 to 500ppm, and typical indoor
CO2 concentration levels range between 500 to 1,500ppm (Seppänen, 2006). ASHRAE Standard 62.1
(2016) recommends a steady-state C02 concentration in a space no greater than about 700ppm above
outdoor air levels with ventilation rate to be held to 7.5 Ls-1 per person.
Australian Standard AS 1668.2 (2012) sets out design requirements for mechanically ventilated
buildings, based on the need to control odours, particulates and gases, to achieve acceptable IAQ. AS
1668.2 advocates minimum outdoor airflow rate between 10-12 Ls-1 per person, and in addition,
specifies a minimum floor area requirement per occupant. For example, 12 Ls-1 per person and
minimum floor area of 2m2 per person in classrooms serving persons up to 16 years of age. However,
there is no information on minimum CO2 concentrations or other indoor air pollutants exposure levels.
The Standards New Zealand NZS 4303:1990 Ventilation for acceptable indoor air quality (1990)
specifies a fresh air requirement of 8 Ls-1 per person in a class of 30 occupants, as cited in Designing
Quality Learning Spaces: Ventilation & Indoor Air Quality (Ministry of Education, 2007) and adopts the
benchmark of 1,000ppm CO2 concentration levels.
The measurement and analysis of indoor CO2 concentration levels often assist to understand
ventilation conditions within an indoor environment. Seppänen et al. (1999) suggest that the control ofAn investigation of indoor air quality in school classrooms in Victoria, Australia 499
the ventilation is equivalent to control of CO2 concentration levels in the same indoor space. Many
studies have found classrooms with high indoor CO2 concentration levels are potentially under-
ventilated. Classrooms with ideal ventilation are typically where indoor CO2 concentration levels range
between 600 to 800ppm. Classrooms in the US, Canada and Sweden were reported to have CO2
concentration levels exceeding 1,000ppm, and high CO2 concentrations at 1,000ppm is associated to
increased absenteeism (Shendell et al., 2004). In UK classrooms student were exposed to unacceptable
air conditions of CO2 concentration of up to 5,000ppm (Bakó-Biró et al., 2012). Another study in Portugal
across 51 elementary schools similarly reported high CO2 concentrations of close to 2,000ppm (Ferreira
and Cardoso, 2014). Fadeyi et al. (2014) also reported inferior IAQ of exceedingly high CO2 concentration
levels (>1,600ppm) found in elementary classrooms in United Arab Emirates. In New Zealand, Wang et
al. (2016) have measured high levels of CO2 concentrations (exceeding 3,500ppm) in classrooms during
school hours. Luther and Atkinson (2012) likewise found high CO2 concentrations (>2,700ppm) in
Australian classrooms during winter.
Mendell and Heath (2005) have identified that students’ attention and performance are linked to
ventilation rates. It is evident that deficient ventilation has direct impacts on health and students’
performance, yet IAQ and ventilation rates are rarely measured in schools (Daisey et al., 2003;
Shaughnessy et al., 2007; Taptiklis and Phipps, 2017b).
2. P-12 schools in Victoria, Australia
The primary objective of this research is to investigate the link between indoor air quality and student
school performance in a sample of school classrooms in five (5) P-12 school buildings in Victoria,
Australia and to inform the development of suitable air quality guidelines. This paper focuses on the
initial evaluation of the indoor air quality of the ten (10) school classrooms (2 classrooms for each
school) during the school Term 1 (January-April), corresponding to summer-early autumn. These
preliminary results will set the context for comparison with the conditions of the classrooms after the
installation of fresh filtered air ventilation system during the winter break prior to School Term 3 (July-
September/winter-early spring).
The five (5) school buildings were built in the last 20-30 years and all classrooms had mechanical
ventilation systems. The classroom sizes range from a floor area of 55-70m2 and volume of 149-180m3
with occupancy of 15-27 students. During the 12-week period in school Term 1, the general level and
conditions of the physical parameters describing the classroom environments were monitored using
Onset HOBO MX110: air temperature (±0.21°C from 0° to 50°C range); relative humidity (1% to 90% RH
range,±2% from 20% to 80% typical at 25°C) and CO2 concentration (0 to 5,000 ppm, ±50 ppm ±5% of
reading at 25°C, less than 70% RH). These parameters were continuously monitored in each classroom
and recorded at 15-min intervals.
For one (1) day in Term 1, the experiment on schoolwork performance were performed in each of
the school classrooms. Students completed the d2 paper-and-pencil Test of Attention widely used in
paediatric populations (Brickenkamp, 1994). The d2 Test is a measure of selective attention,
concentration, and speeded visual perceptual discrimination as well as impulsivity. For students from
age 8-9, the duration of the test is between 8 and 10 minutes (Brickenkamp, 1981). Students in the four
(4) primary schools were in Years 3 to 6 and ages between 8-12 years old. The secondary students were
in Level 7-8 and ages 12-15. The indoor environment conditions (air temperature, relative humidity,
mean radiant temperature, air velocity, and CO2 concentrations) were monitored and further recorded
during the experiments. These indoor physical parameters were measured with probes connected to500 M.M. Andamon, P. Rajagopalan, J. Woo and R. Huang
Testo 480: air temperature (0 to +50 °C range, ±0.5 °C), relative humidity (0 to 100 %RH, ±(1.8 %RH), air
velocity (0 to +5 m/s, ±0.03 m/s), globe temperature (dia 150mm, 0 to +120 °C) and CO2 concentrations
(0 to +10000 ppm CO2, ±75 ppm CO2; 0 to +5000 ppm CO2, ±150 ppm CO2). These probes were fitted on
a tripod with measurements taken at a height of 900-1000mm and placed close to the testing area in
the classrooms.
3. School classroom conditions
The 12-week measurements of the classroom conditions provide the background data and
information on the established conditions prior to the experiment on schoolwork performance and the
installation of the ventilation system intervention.
3.1. General classroom conditions
The general conditions of the school classrooms during school hours (from 10:00am-3pm) are shown in
Table 1. Average indoor air temperatures, Ta, were generally consistent across the 10 classrooms
ranging from 21.6°C to 23.6°C with average relative humidity levels pf 49-59RH%. The Term 1
monitoring period is from 29 January to 21 April 2019 (summer and early autumn) and the mean
outdoor temperature was 20°C with 56-61RH%. January and February are the summer months in
Australia and during the same period, the maximum temperatures ranged from 32°C to 35°C. The
minimum temperatures were 11°C-12°C, typical of early autumn minimum temperatures.
Table 1: Mean values of the main environmental parameters in 5 schools (10 classrooms) for
12 weeks, 10:00am-3:00pm
Classroom S1A S1B S2A S2B S3A S3B S4A SS4B S5B S5B
Indoor Ta,= (°C)
Mean 21.9 21.6 22.0 22.7 21.8 21.9 23.6 22.1 22.2 22.6
SD 1.6 2.0 1.5 1.50 0.7 0.7 1.1 0.8 0.7 0.6
Max 23.9 24.1 23.7 24.4 22.5 22.6 24.8 23.1 23.0 23.3
Min 19.6 18.7 19.8 20.5 20.7 20.9 21.9 20.8 21.2 21.7
RH (%)
Mean 56 59 51 49 51 52 49 52 51 52
CO2 (ppm)
Mean 992 692 854 649 749 678 1274 1319 748 747
SD 77.4 28.8 109.9 50.9 43.8 26.5 79.7 109.9 113.1 115.8
Max 1072 733 952 714 823 704 1398 1451 887 859
Min 895 663 699 580 702 638 1177 1186 574 578
Outdoor Ta (°C)
Mean 20.2 20.6 20.6 20.6 20.8
Max 32.6 32.8 32.8 32.8 35.1
Min 12.2 12 12 12 11.1
Outdoor RH (%)
Mean 61 56 56 56 56
Max 96 89 89 89 95
Min 24 25 25 25 22An investigation of indoor air quality in school classrooms in Victoria, Australia 501
The CO2 concentration levels in the 10 classrooms varied with mean values ranging from 649ppm to
1319ppm. School S4 classrooms had the highest CO2 concentration levels measuring a maximum of
1398-1451ppm. Whereas, the two classrooms, S2B and S3B exhibited the lowest CO2 measurements at
649ppm and 678ppm, respectively. The basis of the commonly-referenced guideline value for CO2 of
1000ppm is the 650ppm concentration difference with the outdoor CO2 concentration of 350ppm
(ASTM, 2012). Comparing the mean measurement values of CO2 concentrations with the current annual
average outdoor CO2 concentration at Cape Grim of 402ppm (BoM and CSIRO, 2018), the difference of
247ppm to 917ppm above outdoor levels indicate that indoor air quality in these 10 school classrooms
can be categorised as ‘Acceptable’ (IDA 3) to ‘High’ (IDA 1) following the classifications of IAQ according
to EN 13779 (2007).
Calculation of CO2 generation rates. The CO2 generation rate of 0.0029 Ls-1 for children and 0.0052
-1
L/s for the teachers in the occupied classrooms were calculated according to ASTM Standard D6245
(2012), used as normative reference by ASHRAE Standard 62.1 (2016) based on the oxygen consumption
VO2, respiratory quotient, RQ, the activity levels and body parameters of children and adults occupying
the classrooms (Eq 1).
VCO2 = VO2 ∙ RQ = 0.00276 AD ∙ M ∙ RQ/(0.23 RQ + 0.77) (1)
Where:
VCO2 = CO2 generation rate, Ls-1 per person
VO2 = Rate of oxygen consumption, Ls-1 per person
AD = DuBois surface area, m2
M = metabolic rate, Met (1 met = 58.2 W/m2)
RQ = respiratory quotient
The DuBois surface area for children ranges from 0.8 to 1.4m2 and 1.8m2 for an average-sized adult
(ASTM, 2012). For this initial analysis, AD = 1.0m2for children. Based on the observed activities in the
schools during the one-day survey, the 1.2 met rate for normal activity levels was used. RQ is the ratio of
the volumetric rate at which CO2 is produced to the rate at which oxygen in consumed. The CO2
generation rate per person, VCO2 is then VO2 multiplied by RQ. The value of RQ = 0.83 was used and this
applies to a normal diet mix of fat, carbohydrate, and protein (ASHRAE, 2016).
Calculation of ventilation rate. The 10 classrooms have floor area sizes ranging 55-70m2 and volume
of 149-180m3 occupied by 15-27 school children. The air change rate was calculated using the mass
balance equation to maintain the steady state CO2 concentration (Eq 2) (Luther et al., 2018) on the
measured average CO2 concentration in the space, Cs and the base outdoor concentration, Co,
determined from the minimum indoor CO2 concentration at the end of the long decay periods
(weekends) (Roulet and Flavio, 2002).
a = (Ng/V)/(Cs – Co) (2)
Where:
a = air change rate, h-1
N = number of people (occupants) in the space
g = indoor CO2 generation rate per person, mLs-1
V = space volume, m3502 M.M. Andamon, P. Rajagopalan, J. Woo and R. Huang
Cs = Final (steady-state) CO2 concentration in the space, ppm (v)
Co = CO2 concentration in outdoor air, determined from the minimum values measured
on weekends, ppm (v)
The minimum CO2 concentration values ranged from 280-390ppm across the 10 classrooms in the
weekends of Term 1 (12 weeks). The minimum concentration values were deducted from the average
CO2 concentration to determine the increase resulting from indoor sources. The average of the
minimum CO2 concentration levels in the classrooms during the weekends ranged from 426-480ppm.
For the 4 classrooms, 2 with the highest CO2 concentration levels (S4A and S4B) and 2 with the lowest
CO2 measurements, S2B and S3B (Table 1), using the CO2 generation rate of 0.0029 Ls-1 for children and
Eq 2, the air change rates ranged from a low 1.12 ACH to 5.08 ACH (Table 2).
Table 2: Air change rates for Classrooms S4A, S4B, S2B and S3B
during 12 weeks in Term 1 (10:00am-3:00pm)
Classroom N V (m3) Cs (ppm) Co (ppm) ACH (h-1)
S4A 27 240 1274 323 1.23
S4B 25 245 1319 368 1.12
S2B 22 188 649 389 4.69
S3B 25 169 678 374 5.08
3.2. Classroom conditions during the one-day survey
To further evaluate the indoor conditions of the school classrooms, additional measurements were
taken for one day during the school hours of 10am-3pm wherein the 10-minute d2 performance tests
were completed by the students. The indoor air temperatures were 22.4°C to 24.3°C with 42-73 RH%.
Air velocities within the classrooms were typical of spaces with mechanical ventilation, mean values
ranging from 0.09 to 0.20 ms-1. Though quite low, the maximum air velocity of 0.20 to 0.28 ms-1 indicates
the use of fans or air-conditioning for cooling.
Table 3: Mean values of the main environmental parameters in 4 schools (8 classrooms) for 1 day
(10am-3pm)
Classroom S1A S1B S2A S2B S3A S3B S4A SS4B S5B S5B
Indoor Ta (°C)
Mean 23.4 23.7 23.8 22.8 22.4 24.2 22.4 22.8 n/a n/a
Max 24.6 24.8 24.6 23.8 23.6 25.5 25.6 23.3 n/a n/a
Min 22.3 22.4 22.4 22.0 20.8 22.7 19.6 22.6 n/a n/a
RH (%)
Mean 73 73 38 40 51 47 43 42 n/a n/a
C02 (ppm)
Mean 486 506 1558 1548 967 987 1593 1774 n/a n/a
Max 552 601 1833 2250 1193 1158 1891 2192 n/a n/a
Min 381 426 1077 1127 651 812 786 1121 n/a n/a
Air velocity (ms-1)
Mean 0.20 0.18 0.10 0.09 0.11 0.11 0.12 0.15 n/a n/a
Max 0.28 0.26 0.14 0.11 0.12 0.14 0.21 0.20 n/a n/a
Min 0.13 0.10 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.08 0.06 0.08 n/a n/a
MRT (°C)An investigation of indoor air quality in school classrooms in Victoria, Australia 503
Classroom S1A S1B S2A S2B S3A S3B S4A SS4B S5B S5B
Mean 35.0 34.9 34.6 22.6 36.4 40.1 22.8 33.2 n/a n/a
Max 37.8 36.7 37.6 23.4 39.0 43.3 25.2 34.3 n/a n/a
Min 32.9 32.0 32.5 22.0 32.0 34.8 20.9 32.0 n/a n/a
Operative Temp 28.7 28.8 29.2 22.7 29.4 32.1 22.5 27.8 n/a n/a
(°C)
PMV
Mean 1.2 1.3 1.3 -0.4 1.4 2.2 -0.5 0.8 n/a n/a
Max 1.6 1.6 1.7 -0.2 1.9 2.8 0.2 0.9 n/a n/a
Min 0.9 0.9 0.8 -0.6 0.5 1.2 -1.2 0.8 n/a n/a
PPD(%)
Mean 35.2 40.3 40.3 8.3 45.5 84.9 10.2 18.5 n/a n/a
Max 56.3 56.3 61.8 5.8 72.1 97.8 5.8 22.1 n/a n/a
Min 22.1 22.1 18.5 12.5 10.4 35.2 35.2 18.5 n/a n/a
Outdoor Ta (°C)
Mean 20.7 24.4 18.0 21.0 32
Outdoor RH (%)
Mean 96 28 61 33 30
From the measured globe temperatures, the average calculated mean radiant temperatures, MRT,
ranged from 22.6°C to 40.1°C. The maximum values for CO2 concentration levels, however, showed
values >1150ppm reaching a value 2250ppm (Classroom S2B). The two classrooms in School S4 also
consistently exhibited the highest CO2 concentration levels with mean values of >1593ppm.
Based on observations of activity levels and clothing worn, 1.2 met and 0.60 clo values were
assumed to calculate the predicted mean vote (PMV) and predicted percentage dissatisfied (PPD)
thermal comfort indices. The mean values of the PMV index ranged from -0.4 to 2.2 during the day-
measurement, with mean values of the PPD index ranging from a low 8.3% to 84.9%.
4. Assessment of schoolwork performance
The lack of reported research studies in the literature on the assessment of academic performance and
the correlation with indoor air quality parameters is an objective of this study. Part of this study is to
assess the schoolwork performance and attempt to establish a relationship with the indoor conditions,
particularly, indoor air temperature, relative humidity and the CO2 concentration levels. The analysis of
the d2 Test results is currently in progress and not yet completed for reporting in this paper.
The d2 Test is a timed test to estimate individual attention and concentration performance and
measures processing speed, rule compliance and quality of performance (Brickenkamp and Zillmer,
1998). It is administered to the students via a one-page, paper and pencil test consisting of 14 lines of
the characters ‘d’ and ‘p’ with one to four dashes. The task is to scan across each line to identify and
cross out as many target characters as possible (a ‘d’ with a total of two dashes placed above and/or
below) per line in a limited time of 20 seconds – every 20s to move on to the next line.
The performance parameters of d2 Test include total number of items processed (TN), the number
of mistakes due to omission (E1), errors of commission (E2) and concentration performance (CP). TN is a
quantitative measure of performance of all items that were processed regardless of their relevance. It is
a highly reliable measure of attention allocation, processing speed, amount of work completed and
motivation. E1 is a relatively common mistake and sensitive to attentional control, rule compliance,504 M.M. Andamon, P. Rajagopalan, J. Woo and R. Huang
accuracy of visual scanning, and quality of performance. It occurs when relevant items (‘d’ with two
dashes) are not crossed out. E2 occurs when irrelevant letters are crossed out. It is a less common error
and related to inhibitory control, rule compliance, accuracy of visual scanning, carefulness, and cognitive
flexibility. CP is derived from the number of the correctly crossed out relevant items less E2. It is highly
reliable, providing an excellent index of the coordination of speed and accuracy of performance for
paediatric populations (Wassenberg et al., 2008; Rivera et al., 2017).
As initial analysis, classrooms in Schools S2, S3 and S4 have been selected as pilot tests to confirm
student performance pre- installation of the ventilation system. These 4 classrooms were selected for
reporting in this paper due to the highest and lowest CO2 concentration levels (Tables 1 and 2).
Classrooms S2B and S3B with the lowest CO2 concentrations levels, have 22 and 25 students,
respectively. Both classrooms are used by Year 5 students (10-11 years). The two School S4 classrooms,
S4A and S4B are occupied by Year 6 students (11-12 years). Classroom S4A has 27 students, of which 15
participated in the test (56%). For Classroom S4B, with a total of 25 students, 17 participated (68%). 18
students (82%) in Classroom S2B participated in the test and 12 students (48%) from Classroom S3B.
Results for Classroom S3B reported the highest number of items completed. However, the results
also indicate the highest mistakes due to omission and commission (Table 4). Interestingly, test results
from Classroom S2B show the least errors of commission. Of the four classes, students in S4A reported
consistently higher TN, E1 and E2 compared to classroom S4B. Although students in S4A completed
more work, they also made more mistakes in both omission and commission. There is no marked
difference in CP results in Classrooms S2B, S4A and S4B. However, Classroom S3B yields the highest
score (by 14%) for concentration performance.
Table 4: Student performance test for Classrooms S4A, S4B, S2B and S3B (Term 1)
Classroom N TN E1 E2 CP
S4A 15 391.4 10.2 12.0 143.3
S4B 17 384.6 7.8 10.2 143.6
S2B 18 348.8 10.1 6.9 145.2
S3B 12 480.8 14.6 23.4 164.3
5. Conclusion and direction of future work
The early preliminary analysis of the Term 1 measurements of the school classrooms reported in this
paper show that the indoor air quality conditions in the 10 Victorian schools are similar to reported
results of other studies particularly with CO2 concentration levels exceeding 1,000ppm during school
hours. Of particular concern is the calculated low air change rates in these classrooms.
Methodological issues on the calculation of CO2 generation rates and estimation of ventilation rates
using CO2 concentration analysis will need to be further explored.
For further reporting of results of this study, the normative data from the performance tests: for
total number of items processed (TN), the total number of corrected response (CR), omission errors (E1)
and commission errors (E2) will be analysed and correlated with the monitored indoor conditions of the
classrooms.
Acknowledgements
This study is part of a larger project which includes aged-care facilities. The authors acknowledge the
Virtual Centre for Climate Change Innovation (VCCCI) of the Victorian Department of Environment, Land,
Water and Planning (DELWP) who funded the Victorian Climate Change Innovation Grant projectAn investigation of indoor air quality in school classrooms in Victoria, Australia 505
‘Enhanced Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) for Improving the Well-being of Vulnerable Population in Victoria’
(2018-2020).
References
Annesi-Maesano, I., Baiz, N., Banerjee, S., Rudnai, P., Rive, S. and Group, S. (2013) Indoor air quality and sources in
schools and related health effects, J Toxicol Environ Health B Crit Rev, 16(8), 491-550.
ASHRAE (2016) ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2016: Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality, American Society of
Heating Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), Atlanta, GA, 60.
ASTM (2012) D6245-12: Standard Guide for Using Indoor Carbon Dioxide Concentrations to Evaluate Indoor Air
Quality and Ventilation, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA.
Bakó-Biró, Z., Clements-Croome, D., Kochhar, N., Awbi, H. and Williams, M. (2012) Ventilation rates in schools and
pupils’ performance, Building and Environment, 48, 215-223.
Bennett, W. D., Zeman, K. L. and Jarabek, A. M. (2007) Nasal Contribution to Breathing and Fine Particle Deposition
in Children Versus Adults, Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A, 71(3), 227-237.
Bluyssen, P. M. (2009) The Indoor Environment Handbook: How to Make Buildings Healthy and Comfortable, ed.,
Earthscan, Hoboken.
BoM and CSIRO (2018) State of the Climate 2018, Australia Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) and Commonwealth
Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), 24.
Brickenkamp, R. (1981) Test d2 Aufmerksamkeits-Belastungs-Test (7th ed.), ed., Verlag ¨u Psychologie (Hogrefe),
Gottingen, Germany.
Brickenkamp, R. (1994) Test d2 Aufmerksamkeits-Belastungs-Test. Handanweisung. 8th expanded and revised
edition, ed., Hogrefe, Gottingen, Germany.
Brickenkamp, R. and Zillmer, E. (1998) Test d2 Test of Attention, 9th Ed (US) ed., Hogrefe, Oxford, UK.
CEN (2007) EN 13779-2007: Ventilation for non-residential buildings - Performance requirements for ventilation and
room-conditioning systems, European Committee for Standardization (CEN), 72.
Cheryan, S., Ziegler, S. A., Plaut, V. C. and Meltzoff, A. N. (2014) Designing Classrooms to Maximize Student
Achievement, Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1(1), 4-12.
Csobod, E., Annesi-Maesano, I., Carrer, P., Kephalopoulos, S., Madureira, J., Rudnai, P. and de Oliveira Fernades, E.
(2014) Final Report: Schools Indoor Pollution and Health Observatory Network in Europe (SINPHONIE), European
Commission: Directorate General for Health and Consumers and Directorate General Joint Research Centre -
Institute for Health and Consumer Protection, Ispra (VA), Italy, 157.
Daisey, J. M., Angell, W. J. and Apte, M. G. (2003) Indoor air quality, ventilation and health symptoms in schools: an
analysis of existing information, Indoor Air, 13(1), 53-64.
DIN (2007) DIN EN 15251: 2007 Indoor environmental input parameters for design and assessment of energy
performance of buildings addressing indoor air quality, thermal environment, lighting and acoustics, German
Institute for Standardization (DIN), 54.
Fadeyi, M. O., Alkhaja, K., Sulayem, M. B. and Abu-Hijleh, B. (2014) Evaluation of indoor environmental quality
conditions in elementary schools ׳classrooms in the United Arab Emirates, Frontiers of Architectural Research,
3(2), 166-177.
Ferreira, A. M. d. C. and Cardoso, M. (2014) Indoor air quality and health in schools, Jornal Brasileiro de
Pneumologia, 40(3), 259-268.
Haverinen-Shaughnessy, U., Moschandreas, D. J. and Shaughnessy, R. J. (2011) Association between substandard
classroom ventilation rates and students’ academic achievement, Indoor Air, 21(2), 121-131.
Luther, M. B. and Atkinson, S. E. (2012) Measurement and solutions to thermal comfort, CO2 and ventilation rates in
schools,Healthy Buildings 2012: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference of Healthy Buildings,
Queensland University of Technology, 1-6.
Luther, M. B., Horan, P. and Tokede, O. (2018) Investigating CO2 concentration and occupancy in school classrooms
at different stages in their life cycle, Architectural Science Review, 61(1-2), 83-95.506 M.M. Andamon, P. Rajagopalan, J. Woo and R. Huang
Makri, A., Goveia, M., Balbus, J. and Parkin, R. (2004) Children's susceptivility to chemicals: A review by
developmental stage, Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B, 7(6), 417-435.
Mendell, M. J. and Heath, G. A. (2005) Do indoor pollutants and thermal conditions in schools influence student
performance? A critical review of the literature, Indoor Air, 15(1), 27-52.
Ministry of Education (2007) Designing Quality Learning Spaces: Ventilation & Indoor Air Quality. Available from:
(accessed 6 May 2017).
Rivera, D., Salinas, C., Ramos-Usuga, D., Delgado-Mejia, I. D., Vasallo Key, Y., Hernandez Agurcia, G. P., Valencia
Vasquez, J., Garcia-Guerrero, C. E., Garcia de la Cadena, C., Rabago Barajas, B. V., Romero-Garcia, I., Campos
Varillas, A. I., Sanchez-SanSegundo, M., Galvao-Carmona, A., Lara, L., Granja Gilbert, E. J., Martin-Lobo, P.,
Velazquez-Cardoso, J., Caracuel, A. and Arango-Lasprilla, J. C. (2017) Concentration Endurance Test (d2):
Normative data for Spanish-speaking pediatric population, NeuroRehabilitation, 41(3), 661-671.
Roulet, C.-A. and Flavio, F. (2002) Simple and Cheap Air Change Rate Measurement Using CO2 Concentration
Decays, International Journal of Ventilation, 1(1), 39-44.
Seppänen, O. (2006) The effect of ventilation on health and other human responses, in M. Santamouris and P.
Wouters (eds.), Building Ventilation: The State of the Art, Earthscan, London, 247-264.
Seppänen, O., Fisk, W. and Mendell, M. (1999) Association of ventilation rates and CO2 concentrations with health
andother responses in commercial and institutional buildings, Indoor Air, 9(4), 226-252.
Shaughnessy, R., Haverinen-Shaughnessy, U., Nevalainen, A. and Moschandreas, D. (2007) Indoor Environmental
Quality in Schools and Academic Performance of Students: Studies from 2004 to Present, IAQ 2007: Healthy and
Sustainable Buildings, Baltimore, Maryland, 14-17 October 2007.
Shendell, D. G., Prill, R., Fisk, W. J., Apte, M. G., Blake, D. and Faulkner, D. (2004) Associations between classroom
CO2 concentrations and student attendance in Washington and Idaho, Indoor Air, 14(5), 333-341.
Standards Australia (2012) AS 1668.2-2012: The use of ventilation and airconditioning in buildings - Part 2:
Mechanical ventilation in buildings, SAI Global under licence from Standard Australia, Sydney, 125.
Standards New Zealand (1990) NZS 4303:1990 Ventilation for acceptable indoor air quality, SAI Global under license
from Standards New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand, 32.
Stranger, M., Potgieter-Vermaak, S. S. and Van Grieken, R. (2007) Comparative overview of indoor air quality in
Antwerp, Belgium, Environment International, 33(6), 789-797.
Taptiklis, P. and Phipps, R. (2017a) Indoor Air Quality in New Zealand Homes and Schools: A literature review of
healthy homes and schools with emphasis on the issues pertinent to New Zealand., ed., Building Research
Association of New Zealand (BRANZ), Porirua, NZ.
Taptiklis, P. and Phipps, R. (2017b) Indoor Air Quality in New Zealand Homes and Schools: A literature review of
healthy homes and schools with emphasis on the issues pertinent to New Zealand., Building Research
Association of New Zealand (BRANZ), Porirua, NZ, 126.
Victorian Department of Education and Training (2017) School Policy Advisory Guide - School Hours. Available from:
(accessed 14
November 2017).
Wang, Y., Boulic, M., Phipps, R., Plagmann, M., Cunningham, C., Theobald, C., Howden-Chapman, P. and Baker, M.
(2016) Impacts of a solar ventilation unit on temperature and ventilation rate in New Zealand schools: an
intervention study,Indoor Air 2016: The 14th international conference of Indoor Air Quality and Climate, Ghent,
Belgium.
Wassenberg, R., Hendriksen, J. G., Hurks, P. P., Feron, F. J., Keulers, E. H., Vles, J. S. and Jolles, J. (2008) Development
of inattention, impulsivity, and processing speed as measured by the d2 Test: results of a large cross-sectional
study in children aged 7-13, Child Neuropsychol, 14(3), 195-210.You can also read
