UConn is giving CT students a science project to address air quality

Legislators and advocates gathered Monday afternoon to cheer a new partnership with the University of Connecticut: distributing air purifiers students can build to science classrooms throughout the state.

The subtext of the project was not altogether positive, however. Yes, advocates agreed, it’s an exciting hands-on lesson for kids — but once in use, the air purifiers will address real air quality problems in school buildings. Many schools still rely on aging, ineffective HVAC systems that no longer filter out germs or pollutants effectively, putting both students and teachers at risk of health complications.

The state took a swing at improving school air quality in 2022, when the airborne COVID-19 virus was still fresh in everyone’s mind. The General Assembly crafted new options for schools to fund HVAC renovations and introduced mandatory air quality reporting requirements; however, advocates said the momentum has since dropped off.

Many districts still aren’t upgrading or maintaining their HVAC systems or complying with the reporting mandate.

“Honestly, we’ve seen a trail-off of interest, right? Like this sort of, ‘Oh, well, we’re not gonna die,’” said Kate Dias, president of the Connecticut Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union. “But I think somewhere along the line, we’d like a better threshold than … ‘It’s not gonna kill us today.’”

Dias said 60% of school districts have not submitted their mandatory air quality reports and what has been submitted often contains gaps and errors.

“That does signify that we’re not really taking this as seriously as we need to on the ground level,” Dias said.

Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, who co-chairs the General Assembly’s working group on indoor air quality, was somewhat more forgiving.

“We went from a three-year inspection to a one-year inspection, and we added in a five-year inspection … so I think the districts are also having some trouble coming into, really understanding what it means to come into compliance,” Kushner said.

New Haven Federation of Teachers President Leslie Blatteau said the problem is particularly acute for districts that are already struggling with funding.

“The reality of two Connecticuts shows up here again. That the schools that serve more low-income students and families are at a disadvantage when it comes to how we fund our capital budgets,” Blatteau said.

Rep. Jennifer Leeper, D-Fairfield, who also co-chairs the indoor air quality working group, said schools that want to renovate their HVAC systems can now apply to the state for reimbursement as they would for other capital projects. The reimbursements are tiered based on district wealth, though Leeper acknowledged it doesn’t cover the full cost for anyone.

“Surely, even 20% of these really large expenses are often more than a local district can shoulder, so we’re continuing to try to find better solutions,” Leeper said.

But Kushner said the time to act is now.

“I don’t think we need another working group or a commission. We need schools and school districts and municipalities to understand that the program is there, that it is available to them,” Kushner said.

That participation can be through a construction project or the UConn project, she added.

Marina Creed, director and cofounder of the UConn Indoor Air Quality Initiative, said testing found the air purifiers removed 99.4% removal of airborne viruses in minutes. They also capture potentially harmful mold and dust particles.

“Well-designed and properly maintained HVAC systems remain the gold standard for healthy school buildings,” Creed said. “In-room filtration provides an important additional layer of protection.”

Enrolled schools will also receive air quality monitors to show students (and teachers) whether the purifiers are effective. The program is already operating in 18 districts and is accepting applications statewide. Creed said there is funding to fully outfit 967 schools with one air purifier per room.

Public Health Committee co-Chair Sen. Saud Anwar — a medical doctor specialized in treating lung diseases — said there’s a direct link between a school’s internal air quality and students’ ability to learn. 

“The indoor air is going to determine how they will breathe or how they will not be able to breathe,” Anwar, D-South Windsor, said. “If a child has allergies or asthma, their ability to comprehend, understand, participate in the school and activities is restricted.”

He also noted that children who go to school with poor air quality are at greater risk of developing asthma, while those who already have the condition will experience worse symptoms. Up to 1 in 5 children in some urban school districts have asthma, which Anwar tied directly to the quality of indoor air.

Julianna LaRue, an environmental activist with the Sierra Club, said air quality issues will only become more acute over the years. The reason, she said, is climate change; extreme weather events such as wildfires add harmful particulates to the air, while longer periods of high temperatures heighten the need for effective air conditioning.

Dias reiterated that air purifiers alone won’t be enough.

“While I love the science of this and I love the opportunity and I love the fact that it works, the long-term solution is not asking the children to solve the problem. The long-term solution is to set this as a top priority,” Dias said.

School administrators and board of education members were not present at Monday’s press conference. The Connecticut Mirror reached out to the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents and the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education for comment but did not receive a response from either in time for publication.