Air Quality on Campus
Due to unusually poor weather conditions, pollution levels in Bangkok have risen, but we have already taken long term measures to monitor and provide safe environments for our students.
Over the summer holidays, Bangkok Patana School had school-wide renovations installing pre-cooled fresh air filtering systems and adding a large array of solar panels as part of its commitment to student well-being.
The school is committed to reducing its carbon footprint, lessening its impact on the environment and improving the health and well-being of its students as a key priority.
In addition to the new solar panels, the school added pre-cooled filtered fresh air systems to 28 buildings on the campus (some buildings already had these systems previously installed). The fresh air systems not only filter the incoming air to levels lower than US and EU regulations but also pressurise the buildings so that open doors won’t mean a rush of incoming, unfiltered, outside air. These systems, which have shown to reduce sick building syndrome by replacing inside air with filtered outside air, have two separate filters on the intake vents, in effect reducing the amount of PM 10 and PM 2.5 to levels set by the US Environmental Protection Agency, which has set the 24-hour PM 2.5 standard to 35 μg/m3.
By ensuring that every building in the school is equipped with whole building systems that not only filter the air but also prevent unfiltered air from entering, student exposure to air pollution is lessened. Bangkok Patana is the only school in Thailand that has committed this type of investment into implementing long-term, innovative solutions to ensure the health and well-being of its students.
The pollution levels (PM2.5 and AQI) are monitored every day (even on holidays) using a variety of data sources on and off campus. In addition, we complete a daily evaluation of pollution levels around Bangkok so we can gauge our air quality compared to other schools and areas.
Our AIR QUALITY POLICY (click here) is based on the US EPA standard to carefully consider the health and well-being of our students and staff. The General Air Quality Index levels are posted early morning at the three main entrances to school and on the Parents, Staff and Students’ Dashboards. On days when the air quality is on the border leading to Caution For Sensitive Groups or worse, the levels are checked during the day to make adjustments to activities if necessary.
