Technical Highlights, Market Transformation and Outreach

Scientific and Technical Advisory Meetings

• Presented the study plan and preliminary results at the ISEA meeting in South Carolina, November 2001. (365.3 KB, 16 pp)
   
• Three presentations were given at ISEA in Charleston, SC on November 3-7, relating to this project. Two presented sections of the study design and preliminary results of this project while the third presented the role of LBNL and other government groups in collaborations with the community on improving IEQ in schools. The titles of these presentations are:
   
  1. "Linking Energy Efficiency and Indoor Environmental Quality to Provide Thermal Comfort and Reduce Children's Exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds: Demonstration Project in New Relocatable Classrooms at Northern California Public School." (463.0 KB, 20 pp)
      
  2. "Studying the Public School Environment and Classroom Indoor Air Quality: Community-based Exposure Assessments Through Public-Private-Government Partnerships, Examples from CA and TX." (174.2 KB, 22 pp)
      
  3. "California Demonstration Energy Efficiency-Indoor Environmental Quality Project: Predicted Relocatable Classroom Indoor Air Quality due to Low-Emitting Interior Materials and Enhanced Ventilation." (365.3 KB, 16 pp)
      
• Element 6 TAG meeting, June 14, 2001 at LBNL
   
• Public workshop on California Portable Classrooms Study, run by CARB/CADHS, Oakland, February 22. This includes providing a thorough review of the field study questionnaire on indoor air quality and health symptoms, given to teachers, by four LBNL Indoor Environment Department staff members.
   
• Monthly meetings of a newly started, CADHS coordinated working group focused on research, development, demonstration, and evaluation of school environmental health and facilities, including IEQ. This group is comprised of agency staff and laboratory or university researchers funded mostly by state and federal agencies. Meetings are held in Berkeley on the first Wednesday of each month; the first meeting was in April 2001. Each meeting covers one or two topic areas. Two to four LBNL staff members attend each meeting; Mike Apte and Derek Shendell attend all meetings.
   
• The Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) Annual Meeting and Workshop, Sacramento, January 18, 2001. A new CHPS Best Practices Manual and references were released.
   

Summary of recruitment, meetings, and planned activities with Element 6 collaborators and participants

Element 6 required the recruitment of a major Northern California RC manufacturer, or a Southern California RC manufacturer with several Northern California clients, and 1-3 school districts in distinct climate zones with hot, relatively dry summers and cool winters with less fog and rain. These school districts also had to have orders for new RCs planned for the 2001-02 school year with construction and delivery set for late spring/early summer 2001. School districts could operate on the year-round or traditional schedule. To accomplish these goals, the following recruitment efforts and meetings occurred:

• Cold calling was implemented, and letters and short project descriptions were sent, in mid-November 2000 to contact eight RC manufacturers, 5 in Northern California and 3 in Southern California (in addition to the one previously visited by Mike Apte, spring 2001).
   
• Meetings were held at the administrative offices of three candidate Northern California RC manufacturers, in early-to-mid December 2000.
   
• Letters and short project descriptions were sent to 12 school districts, as potential participating collaborators, in January 2001 based on contacts received from the three candidate RC manufacturers and Internet resources in consideration of the climate criteria for the project. Three school districts showed a strong interest in the project and willingness to modify RCs from orders placed with one of the three RC manufacturers, American Modular Systems.
   
• Meetings were held at the school district administrative offices with facilities, operations and maintenance, engineering, and/or property and project managerial staff at three Northern California school districts in January 2001. Two school districts were in the northern Central Valley climate zone and one was in the transitional (southern San Francisco Bay) climate zone. In the end, two school districts, one in each climate zone, agreed to participate; approval for the collaboration was granted at all levels, from the superintendent down.
   
• Contact was terminated with the other nine school districts in late February 2001 once LBNL staff felt our two participating school districts were firm collaborators and the uncertainty of PG&E funding for a related market transformation project was too great.
   
• Visits to the school district's primary and/or secondary choices for elementary school campuses receiving the RCs were conducted in early February 2001. LBNL surveyed the campus, and were introduced to school principals and administrative staff. LBNL approved school district first choices.