- Hub staff

When someone in the public says “Someone in the media should ask...”, we at the OwenSoundHub feel it is our responsibility to ask. And to share the answers with you, our readers.

This time the question was “Why do schools in the Bluewater District School Board (BWDSB) have, on average, three HEPA filters per school, when the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has 26 per per school?”

The first thing we did was check about TDSB. They have almost 600 schools, and according to their website , they are “installing more than 16,000 HEPA units in TDSB schools to enhance air cleaning and meet the TDSB’s commitment of placing an institutional-grade HEPA filter in every occupied classroom.” That would, indeed, exceed an average of 26 per school.

According to the BWDSB, "This is how HEPA filters are being prioritized (as much as possible) as they arrive.  Some of these items have been completed:
 
- classrooms with kindergarten students (JK, SK, JK/SK, and SK/1) – Ministry of Education requirement and previously completed
- classrooms where there is no mechanical ventilation system (2 schools…. one of them is partial) – ministry requirement and previously completed
- classrooms where there are students who are unable to wear a mask (both developmental learning and regular classrooms) – beyond a ministry requirement, most DL classrooms are complete
- smaller spaces, where possible, where staff members are required to work with students who are unable to wear a mask (e.g., a space used for physiotherapy) – beyond a ministry requirement
- older portables, if applicable, where a mechanical ventilation and filtration system could be enhanced – beyond a ministry requirement

An  additional 32 ministry provided filters are expected to arrive in mid to late January.  The board has been attempting to procure more than the ministry allotment.  An order was placed for more HEPA filters in December and we are awaiting a definite delivery date."

The age of schools, and whether or not they have mechanical ventilation, might impact the decision to use HEPA filters.

source: BWDSB