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CARBON DIOXIDE ANALYSIS OF THE PARK UNIVERSITY CAMPUS: *Hull, O.L. and S.A. Hageman. |
| The Park University campus located in Parkville, MO is a unique setting. Traditional limestone buildings are common but a large portion of the university is constructed underground. Room and pillar mining in the Argentine Limestone creates ventilation concerns not found in traditional buildings. This study assesses the carbon dioxide fluctuations at 32 different locations on campus. Over 500 readings were gathered at one minute intervals using a handheld sensor over a period of two months. Carbon dioxide levels in buildings averaged 1,030 ppm. The underground was categorized into the academic area (127,000 sq. ft) and the commercial area (873,000 sq. ft) and averaged 1,222 ppm and 956 ppm respectively. This 266 ppm difference is attributed to the proximity to large ventilation openings and higher concentrations of people in the academic underground. Of the 20 underground locations, four were consistently elevated. These four averaged 1,777 ppm, 1,708 ppm, 1,331 ppm, and 1,200 ppm with the two highest being adjacent rooms on the academic side. These rooms were 43% higher than the average. While all readings fall below the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) exposure limit of 5,000 ppm, some rooms were over 2,000 ppm. Results indicate that ventilation in the buildings and underground are sufficient and that any minor concerns associated with carbon dioxide levels actually needs to be addressed on a room by room basis because of the variability found throughout buildings and especially within the underground. |
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