Eden Prairie High School - Cost of Bad Air $2.4 Million

[Guest guest]

http://www.finance-commerce.com/daily/news/AIR527.htm

5/27/97

Cost of Bad Indoor Air: $2.4 Million in Eden Prairie

REFERENDUM MAY HELP SOLVE ‘SICK BUILDING’ PROBLEM AT EDEN PRAIRIE HIGH

SCHOOL

by Monte Hanson

F & C STAFF WRITER

Eden Prairie officials said it could cost up to $2.4 million to correct

indoor air-quality problems that have caused students and teachers at the

high school to feel sick.

Voters may be asked in a September referendum for funding to solve the

problem. Merle Gamm, executive director of business services, said

convincing taxpayers to spend more money is always touchy, but schools are a

special case.

“We think there are two sides,” Gamm said. “No. 1, nobody ever wants to pay

more taxes. The second side is, nothing is more precious to you and me than

our children.”

Poor indoor air and its effect on people is a growing issue as more cases

are reported nationwide. Sick buildings, as they are sometimes called, can

cause building occupants to have symptoms like nausea, headaches, sore

throats and fatigue.

The syndrome is especially prevalent in schools, where students are

clustered at a density that is four times what is found in a typical office

setting.

A study by the U.S. General Accounting Office last year ranked Minnesota

schools seventh worst nationally for the quality of their indoor air. The

study found that 19 percent of school districts across the nation and that

30 percent of the districts surveyed in Minnesota reported “unsatisfactory”

or “very unsatisfactory” indoor air quality in their schools.

Bill Angell, an air-quality specialist for the University of Minnesota

Extension Service, said the study had flaws that make some of its

conclusions questionable. Officials still don’t know if Minnesota schools

have a higher rate of air-quality problems than other areas of the country,

he said.

School administrators may be more likely to report problems in Minnesota

because awareness is much greater in the state than elsewhere, he said.

Still, it’s a very real problem that has existed for years, he said.

Although sick buildings are often thought of as a phenomenon of the last

decade, Angell said he saw an article from an 1871 edition of a magazine

called The Health Reformer that discussed the same issue.

A common cause of sick buildings is an insufficient amount of fresh air

entering buildings because of poor circulation systems. The result is high

carbon dioxide levels that can cause headaches, drowsiness and a general

lethargy that makes it difficult for students to learn, he said.

Another problem is water leaks that create high-moisture conditions where

molds, dust mites and bacteria can flourish.

A recent study by the American Lung Association said one person in six

suffers from problems caused by poor indoor air. Cases of asthma, also

believed to be related to bad indoor air, have tripled since the early

1980s, the group said.

In Eden Prairie, school officials point to poor air circulation for the

problems in their building.

Gamm said the high school was built in 1979 during an era when energy

conservation was a priority. The energy-saving circulation system that was

installed did not allow school officials to control the amount of fresh air

entering the building.

The problem has been exacerbated because more students attend the school

today than in 1979 and because a construction project this year is causing

fumes from equipment to enter the building.

Officials want to install a new system that will allow more outdoor air into

the building.

Gamm said the project could be done for as little as $1 million, if

officials want to correct the problem only in building areas where the most

symptoms have been reported. Overhauling the entire system would put the

price at $2.4 million.

The Eden Prairie School Board is expected to decide June 16 whether to have

a referendum and how much money to request.

(I can't find in their archives where they made any decision.)

http://www.finance-commerce.com/daily/news/EDEN729.htm

7/29/97

Students, Faculty Raise Stink About School Air

EDEN PRAIRIE HIGH SCHOOL TO SPEND $2.5 MILLION TO FIX BAD INDOOR AIR

by Monte Hanson

F & C STAFF WRITER

Eden Prairie school officials, responding to complaints about poor indoor

air that has made high school students and staff sick, will ask voters for

$2.5 million to fix the problem.

The vote, which is believed to be the first time the issue has gone to a

referendum in Minnesota, has been scheduled for Sept. 9.

Merle Gamm, executive director of business services, said the district faces

the challenge of explaining the problem to people over the next five weeks.

Poor indoor-air quality is a new health concern that many people aren’t even

familiar with, he said.

“For the people who understand the problem, they are 100 percent behind

spending money to correct it,” Gamm said. “But it’s a new problem and many

people don’t understand it. A lot of people say, ‘Poor indoor air, what do

you mean?’”

Poor indoor air — sometimes called sick building syndrome — is a growing

national health problem that includes such symptoms as nausea, headaches,

sore throats and fatigue.

The syndrome is especially common in schools because of the high density of

students.

The U.S. General Accounting Office last year ranked Minnesota schools

seventh worst nationally for the quality of their indoor air.

Although a number of factors can cause the problem, experts said a common

reason for sick buildings is an insufficient amount of fresh air.

That seems to be the case in Eden Prairie. Officials are requesting money

for a new mechanical system that will allow more fresh air to enter and

circulate in the school. The improvements will also allow the air to be

heated in the winter.

Gamm said the existing school building was built in 1979 during an era when

energy conservation was emphasized. Air-exchange systems from that era were

designed to use the same air over and over to preserve energy.

But experts have discovered in recent years that recirculating air can make

people sick, he said.

Gamm said a variety of symptoms have been reported in Eden Prairie,

including worsening allergies and emphysema.

Nationally, the American Lung Association said cases of asthma have tripled

since the early 1980s, partly because of bad indoor air.

The Eden Prairie vote is part of a larger package of $24.3 million in new

construction and improvements that district voters will be asked to approve

in the referendum. Included with the indoor air-quality question will be a

request for $5 million for new technology, including computers,

communication equipment and fiber optic transmission lines.

In a separate question, residents will be asked to approve $16.8 million for

a high school activities center, expanded kitchen facilities, kindergarten

activity room, elevator, and athletic field covered with an air-supported

bubble.