Baseline indoor air quality pollutant characterisation in five United States schools.

This paper summarizes baseline results from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) school demonstration studies. Indoor pollutants of concern were formaldehyde, sum of targeted volatile organic compounds o:VOC), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5), particulate matter less than 10 microns (PM10), and bioaerosols (bacteria, fungi, and thermophiles). The five schools presented here had no significant indoor air quality problems. Locations of these schools were distributed throughout various climate zones in the United States. Bioaerosols results for four of the schools are presented in this paper. Samples were taken at fixed sites within the schools and were taken again a year later at the same locations after heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HY AC) upgrades were performed. This paper will present baseline maximum, minimum, average, outdoor averages and selected cumulative pollutant results for the five schools.