Testimony of Jeffrey Povalitis, UFT Director of Safety & Health, submitted before the New York City Council Health Committee

My name is Jeffrey Povalitis, Director of Safety and Health of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT). On behalf of the union’s more than 190,000 members, I would like to thank Health Committee Chair Lynn C. Schulman for holding today’s public hearing on protecting New Yorkers from heat and air quality emergencies.

Even before the COVID crisis, our Health and Safety team at the UFT made ensuring safe air quality in schools a high priority for decades. During and after the pandemic, this focus has become even more urgent. Before school buildings re-opened in September 2020, we worked to ensure that ventilation systems in every classroom throughout the city had been inspected, updated and repaired as needed. Each classroom was required to have adequate ventilation through either natural or mechanical means or a combination of the two. In addition to the upgraded ventilation systems introduced to buildings during this process, each classroom was equipped with two air purifiers. Cafeterias in bigger schools have large air units for added protection and window-based exhaust fans to provide additional air circulation. These measures meet or exceed guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In regard to the bill being considered today, which would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to set standards regarding air quality in schools, and would require the Department of Education, in collaboration with the Department of Environmental Protection, to issue real-time reports on the DOE website regarding air quality in schools, we support the Council’s efforts to identify appropriate standards. In particular, we have long been fighting for an upper temperature limit to be set for our schools, and ambient temperatures and ambient humidity levels are measures that can be accurately gauged with reliable and affordable technology. In addition, the air conditioning products designed to resolve any issues found with temperature and humidity in classrooms and schools are currently available to install. We therefore strongly support both the development of standards around these measures and the continued efforts to ensure that all of our schools and classrooms have access to functioning and effective air conditioning systems.

Our team is eager to work with the Council, the DOE, the Department of Health, and other stakeholders in developing these and other air quality standards for schools. Ensuring that there is a thoughtful and well-informed process for both creating standards and assessing possible technologies for measuring them is crucial, since we have found that the processes for both measuring and mitigating carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and particulates are more complicated than those for temperature and humidity. Currently, there are no federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards for indoor air quality, although there are industry guidelines (ASHRAE) and guidelines from the CDC that are often referenced. This absence of universal standards, combined with a dearth of effective technology, means that it will be challenging to provide accurate readings for several measurements called for in the bill, including a daily average of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide levels and particulate pollution. We are concerned about the possibility of spending enormous amounts of city funds on measurement devices and monitoring systems when it is unlikely that any one meter or even a combination of meters can currently provide these readings effectively and accurately. Instead, we think it would be better to develop and implement performance-based standards that focus our resources on preventing and mitigating any damage to or lack of functional ventilation systems, rather than on measurement and reporting technology.

This is not to say that measurement devices should not be used in specific circumstances. For example, we have long supported the use of handheld carbon dioxide meters by school custodians and others when gauging air quality in classrooms, since carbon dioxide levels can be one useful proxy for determining when a room’s ventilation might not be supplying adequate outside air. ASHRAE has recommended that a level of 700 parts per million and the outside reading for carbon dioxide be used to indicate a supply of 15 cubic feet per minute of outside air per person. Rooms without adequate ventilation will show carbon dioxide levels that are higher than 1,000 parts per million on these meters. During and after the pandemic, the UFT distributed hundreds of these carbon dioxide monitors to its district representatives and chapter advocates.

However, it is important to note that even readings from these meters have been found to be fraught with interpretation and user error, and there are cases of classrooms being closed based on faulty calibration and inaccurate measurements. In one case, custodians’ readers mistook Purell hand sanitizer for formaldehyde during the pandemic, closing multiple classrooms. Meters that are designed to measure dust run into the challenge that thresholds for dusts and types of dusts can vary widely, so “dust” readings don’t tell you enough to make an informed decision about what type of dust is being found or how to address it. Combining this lack of accurate technology and results with real time data release and no clear corrective measures would do more harm than good, leaving parents and staff full of fear and closing classrooms without good reason.

That said, it is urgent that we identify and fix issues with ventilation and air quality in all of our schools. Instead of spending money and time on questionable monitoring technology, we believe the Council and the DOE’s efforts and funding would be better focused on developing clear performance standards for buildings, especially around ventilation systems, and on creating accurate means of measuring these performance standards and fixing problems when they are identified. In the area of ventilation measurement, strong industry standards do already exist for us to build on. For example, ASHRAE has issued the most comprehensive set of recommendations for indoor air quality; in the ASHRAE document 62.1, “Ventilation for Indoor Air Quality 2016,” they recommend that all ventilation systems provide 15 cubic feet per minute of outside air per person in classrooms. The CDC has also released guidance for schools on this, which can serve as a helpful resource.

The question of consequences and mitigation is also crucial — again, stating something is a problem can do more harm than good without a clear plan in place to fix the issues. Unfortunately, we found during the pandemic that in some schools, the ventilation equipment had been run to failure and not fixed until COVID hit. In some cases, fixing the problem can be as easy as opening more windows and ensuring that vents are not blocked and the ventilation system is working. With the threatened budget cuts to the school system, there will be increased pressure to defer overall building maintenance, including the maintenance of fans, vents and other elements of ventilation systems that are crucial for maintaining air quality in schools. Resources should instead be put into increased preventative maintenance such as more frequent inspections (daily in some cases) and small but needed repairs, including visually inspecting and maintaining fan units and outside air dampers. If more resources are put into getting ventilation systems fixed as soon as they break, this will result in far more improvements to our schools’ air quality than investing in expensive monitoring systems.

This is not to say that additional funding should not be provided to pay for new and effective technology. One particular point of concern is the ongoing removal and non-replacement of the MERV 13 filters that were installed during the pandemic. We believe it is urgent that these filters should be replaced rather than removed or swapped for less effective filters. MERV 13 filters and high-quality air dampers are high cost and high value because they work, especially in schools that rely on recirculated air (rather than the window air-conditioning units and rooftop units that bring in fresh air and are used in many buildings). Similarly, purchasing effective dust cleaners, upgrading older buildings’ HVAC systems, and installing new air conditioners in preparation for future heat waves and potential smoke situations would all be better investments in the air quality in our schools than purchasing new meters.

In addition, one common problem with air quality in many of our schools that is unaddressed in this legislation involves water leaks and the growth of mold. None of the real-time monitoring devices cited in the proposed language will capture the air quality and health risks associated with damp, moldy buildings. And as with the other concerns raised around air quality above, prompt responses to water damage and timely repair of roof and masonry leaks are far better approaches to maintaining good indoor air quality than a focus on measurement and monitoring. Routine and prompt maintenance and repairs of our school buildings can prevent these conditions from becoming serious problems.

That said, if any data is going to be collected — for example, the temperature and humidity measures that we support — it should be clear how schools will directly benefit from it. We recommend the bill add more language on what corrective action is recommended or required when exceedance occurs. Ideally, data on these measures should feed into the school’s Building Management System (BMS) and/or give an alert to the room staff and custodial engineer so that corrective actions can be taken on the school level as soon as possible.

As we move forward, we are committed to ensuring that the progress made during the pandemic to provide clean air and healthy learning environments in our schools is maintained. We look forward to continuing to work with the Council, the DOE and other stakeholders on this issue.