What is EPA IAQ Tools for Schools?
IAQ Tools for Schools is the US EPA program and action kit that shows schools how to run an indoor air quality management plan with in-house staff and low-cost practices.
Who uses it
School districts, facilities staff, nurses, teachers and the IAQ coordinator who leads the plan. EPA presents it as a practical plan schools can carry out at little or no cost.
What the kit contains
Per EPA, the kit holds best practices, industry guidelines, sample policies and a sample IAQ management plan, reference guides including the IAQ Coordinator's Guide, a web-based Problem Solving Tool, and 11 checklists with backgrounders for specific audiences and school functions.
States can go further. California's CalSHAPE program requires funded classrooms to have a CO2 monitor that alerts above 1,100 ppm.
From walkthrough checklists to continuous readings
Checklists are periodic. Aqueduct adds continuous classroom CO2, VOC index, temperature and humidity, ranked by zone, with exposure counted in zone-hours during occupied periods. An IAQ coordinator can then target the rooms behind most complaints and spot patterns such as VOC spikes when cleaning crews arrive at night.