Air Quality Monitoring
ISB is located outside of Bangkok City Center in a green area of Nichada Thani and we are less impacted by pollution, which has seen a rise in Bangkok over the December – February months each year. Fortunate as we are with our location, student health and safety is our top priority and we have put many measures in place to ensure we can safeguard our students from the negative impacts of poor air quality. We have developed thorough Air Quality Guidelines and we have invested in a calibrated air quality monitor on campus. The monitor checks PM2.5, Humidity and Temperature and displays a real-time reading of the current conditions on campus. It takes a sample every minute and displays that on the public ISB website. We are then able to make real-time decisions in line with our guidelines, based on accurate readings for our campus. Air Quality can fluctuate dramatically within a short period of time, therefore our real-time data is important for us to be able to make accurate and well-informed decisions for our students. We have three monitors on campus provided by the company AirGradient. We installed these AirGradient units because we wanted to be sure we have the most accurate reading on our campus and we use it as the official reading for all school activities and guidelines. ISB still maintains a Thermo Fisher ADR-1500 sensor and that data is also collected and used as part of the current readings. All the data points are stored so we can monitor trends. The live display page shows the PM2.5 and Heat Index in real time, based on US EPA and NOAA standards.
Air Filtration Systems
To ensure the health and safety of our community, we have invested over 20 million baht to fit each and every classroom on campus with a well-tested and effective positive pressure air filtration system. The decision to install positive pressure was done in partnership with expert consultants and following rigorous testing. These systems keep the PM2.5 air pollutant level averages well under 10 mg/m3 during regular operating hours, while also taking into consideration other concerns such as carbon dioxide levels. We have also installed the same positive air filtration systems in our multi-purposes spaces such as the gymnasiums, library, fitness rooms and health clinic. All classrooms from Early Childhood to High School have been fitted with these air filtration systems and are serviced regularly.
Practices
Our system is set up to send out email alerts to ISB staff, when the PM2.5 levels or Heat Index reaches our threshold limits, based on the current policies and guidelines. Our guidelines are based on best practice and are inline with other schools in the region.
