SHERMAN STATION – Air quality problems at Katahdin Elementary School have prompted school officials to take steps to modify work that was done decades ago to save fuel.

During the energy crunch of the 1970s and 1980s, SAD 25 shut down and closed off mechanical air exchange systems in schools in an effort to save fuel, including at the elementary school on Route 11, which at that time was a junior high school.

“Most schools did it and now they’re paying the price,” said Superintendent Charles Pease.

That price for SAD 25 is about $20,000.

According to Pease, last winter during a few bitterly cold days, people in the school building complained that they could smell diesel fumes.

The fumes, Pease said, came from buses that were left idling adjacent to the school to warm up. Because there was no wind at the time, the fumes drifted into the school whenever a door was opened.

Without the air-exchange system in operation, there was no way to purge those fumes from the building.

Pease compared the situation to damming up water in a brook. Eventually, without movement, the water becomes stagnant.

“That’s what we did with the air here in school,” he said.

The district contracted with Allied Engineering of Westbrook to conduct air-quality tests in the school. Those tests were done in October.

The results revealed both good news and bad news, according to Pease.

On the plus side, there were no problems with mold and mildew, nor were there problems with carbon monoxide, which is deadly. Levels of carbon dioxide, however, were found to be too high, a situation which Pease said was caused by, “stale air,” that was not being removed from the school.

Carbon dioxide is a natural byproduct of human respiration. Exposure to high concentrations in the air can cause drowsiness and nausea.

To deal with the problem, the district has hired Mechanical Systems of Bangor to restore the air-exchange system at the 35-year-old school, using modern components. Pease said a large exhaust fan in the roof is being put back on line and vents within the building and to the outside are being uncovered and opened.

Some of the work has already been completed. The rest will be done while students are out for the Christmas vacation.

The air-quality will be tested again in January to see if the problem has been taken care of, Pease said.

He also said that buses have been moved to the lower side of the school to warm up, because prevailing winds in that area blow the diesel fumes away from the school.