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Recently, Chen Bing (pseudonym), a student from China University of Political Science and Law, reported to The Paper that during the summer vacation when he was studying for the bar exam, the school renovated the student dormitory, which produced pungent odors and dust, causing some students to experience headaches and sore throats. After the students purchased a detector at their own expense, they found that the formaldehyde and TVOC values ​​in the dormitory were seriously exceeded.

Students said that during the renovation, the balcony and windows were closed and could not be opened for ventilation.

"The school asked us to move temporarily to another student dormitory, but we have to move back to this apartment when school starts. Can we move directly into the newly renovated apartment?" On August 19, the third-party testing agency commissioned by the students at their own expense provided a test report, which showed that formaldehyde and TVOC levels in the student dormitory still exceeded the standard.

In this regard, a teacher from the Logistics Department of China University of Political Science and Law said that the renovation of Chengyusi Student Apartment is expected to be completed by the end of August. After receiving feedback from students, a professional formaldehyde removal company was arranged on the morning of August 16. At the same time, on August 19, the school arranged for a testing agency to conduct tests at 12 points in 7 rooms. Based on the test results, the school will arrange for students to move back to the apartment in an orderly manner if the air quality meets the standards.

Student dormitory renovation causes serious air pollution

Chen Bing (pseudonym) is a 2024 dual-major and dual-degree student at China University of Political Science and Law. In order to prepare for the September bar exam, he stayed on campus during the summer vacation to review. "On July 1, the school notified that students of our major were required to move from the on-campus dormitories in the Changping campus to the nearby Chengyusi Building Student Apartments on July 5." In accordance with the school's requirements, Chen Bing moved to the Chengyusi Building Student Apartments on July 7.

On July 7, the day he moved to the new dormitory, Chen Bing saw a notice from the school in the group chat. The notice stated that in order to improve the living quality and living environment of Jian'anli Community (Building 6 and Building 7 of Chengyusi), the renovation project of Jian'anli Community (Building 6 and Building 7 of Chengyusi) will be launched from July 15. This includes the renovation of the building itself (including replacement of the water main pipeline, staircase exterior wall painting and insulation renovation, etc.), and the renovation of public areas (mainly including underground renovation of overhead lines, environmental improvement, etc.). The notice reminded that "noise, dust and pungent odors may be generated during construction", but the specific construction period and end time were not accurately notified.

Chen Bing told The Paper that the Chengyusi Building Student Apartments have been under construction since July 15. "During the construction, more than 300 students have moved in and are living normally in the apartment. Due to the exterior wall painting, we often smell a pungent odor in the apartment."

According to the chat records provided by Chen Bing, at around 10 p.m. on August 12, some students reported in the apartment group that they felt unwell due to the renovation, "eye pain, dizziness", "eczema on the arms", "the smell of latex is too strong, and the throat and lungs will feel uncomfortable just staying in the room for a while", "wearing a mask is useless, the throat has started to hurt"...

Students' self-test results show that indoor air is seriously polluted

In addition, Chen Bing said that since August 10, the construction team has covered all the balcony windows of the apartment with white plastic film, making it impossible to open the windows for ventilation. The pungent smell in the room has become more serious, which has a great impact on the normal life of students. "The students bought formaldehyde test strips and air quality testing instruments themselves, and they all showed that the formaldehyde exceeded the standard. The instrument showed that the HCHO (formaldehyde) value was as high as 0.645mg/m³ and the TVOC value reached 7.863mg/m³, which was already seriously exceeded the standard."

According to the Indoor Air Quality Standard, the indoor formaldehyde HCHO value should not exceed 0.08mg/m³ (1-hour average), and the total volatile organic compound TVOC should not exceed 0.6mg/m³ (8-hour average). If the human body is in an environment with excessive formaldehyde for a long time, symptoms such as headache, red eyes, and throat discomfort may occur. TVOC is one of the most serious pollutants that affect indoor air quality. It is toxic, irritating, and carcinogenic.

Some students reported feeling unwell

Chen Bing said that under the strong response of the students, the dormitory management issued a notice in the apartment group on the evening of August 13, informing students that they could choose to move to the dormitory building of Beijing International Economics and Trade Training Institute (Beijing Watch Factory). "The notice did not say when we could live there specifically, and it took a long time for the students to move from the school dormitory to Chengyusi, and moving to a new place would take a lot of time and energy." Chen Bing said that some students had moved out that night, and some students chose to live in a hotel near the school.

School: Professional formaldehyde removal has been arranged

Although the school has provided a solution, some students are still worried because they will have to move back to the newly renovated student dormitories after school starts. "We saw that the workers in the corridor used 'engineering-specific' paint to paint the exterior walls. We don't know if this paint can be used in residential places like dormitories."

In this regard, the reporter of The Paper consulted a merchant who sells the same "Three Trees" Yuebai high-cover wall paint (for engineering projects) on an online shopping platform. The customer service said that the paint is for engineering projects and it is recommended to "leave it for a few months before moving in" after decoration.

Chen Bing said that after the students reported the problem, on August 14, Beijing Changshui Construction Co., Ltd., the construction party of Chengyusi Apartment, issued a statement on the air quality issue, saying that the construction unit commissioned Zhonghuan Huaxin Environmental Testing (Beijing) Co., Ltd. to conduct indoor air quality testing on some units in Jian'anli Community on August 14, 2024. The test results will be issued with a test report within 3-5 working days.

But the explanation did not reassure the students. Chen Bing said that some students found out through investigation that the testing company entrusted by the construction unit, Zhonghuan Huaxin Environmental Testing Co., Ltd., was criticized by CCTV last year in an article titled "Beijing cracks down on fraudulent behavior of third-party service agencies for exceeding emission standards but having "standard" test reports", pointing out that the company had engaged in fraud in the test report on oil and gas emissions from oil storage depots. "The students did not trust this testing agency and directly expressed their intention to refuse the testing of bad third-party agencies," said Chen Bing.

At the same time, students including Chen Bing also found Guohuan Zhongce (Tianjin) Testing Technology Co., Ltd. and conducted air quality testing on student dormitories at their own expense.

Chen Bing said that before the third-party test results commissioned by the students came out, on August 16, the school leaders also went to Chengyusi Apartment to communicate with the students, and posted the content of the communication in the group that night. The reporter of The Paper saw through the chat records that the school said that before the test results came out, or before the test results did not meet the standards, the students would not be allowed to move in; the testing agency would also be based on the agency chosen by the students. Regardless of the test results, the school would arrange for formaldehyde removal measures; if Chengyusi Apartment has taken measures to remove formaldehyde and other measures and the air quality meets the standards, the students will be arranged to move back.

The third-party testing agency commissioned by the students showed that many values ​​exceeded the standard

On August 19, the third-party testing agency commissioned by the students, Guohuan Zhongce (Tianjin) Testing Technology Co., Ltd., provided a detailed test report. The test results showed that the formaldehyde data at the seven test points in Chengyusi Apartment fluctuated between 0.1-0.15, which was unqualified according to the formaldehyde HCHO standard limit of ≤0.08 in the "Indoor Air Quality Standard". TVOC fluctuated between 1.09-1.6, which exceeded the limit of ≤0.6 according to the standard requirement of the "Indoor Air Quality Standard" for total volatile organic compounds TVOC.

In response to the above situation, on the same day, The Paper contacted the Logistics Department of China University of Political Science and Law. The staff of the Logistics Department said that the renovation of Chengyusi Student Apartment is expected to be completed by the end of August. After receiving feedback from students, they arranged for Beijing Shangqi Zhilian Technology Development Co., Ltd. to move into Chengyusi Apartment on the morning of August 16 to carry out professional formaldehyde removal work, which has now been completed.

The staff member told The Paper that on August 19, the school had arranged for the above-mentioned company (Beijing Shangqi Zhilian Technology Development Co., Ltd.), which specializes in formaldehyde removal, to conduct tests at 12 points in 7 rooms, and the students had no objection to the company's testing. The test results have not yet been released, and the school will arrange for students to move back to their apartments in an orderly manner based on the test results, once all indicators including formaldehyde, benzene, TVOC, etc. have fully met the indoor air quality standard system. If there are students who have to travel far to move and it is inconvenient, the property management will also be arranged to help.