Building and cleaning materials
Overview and health risks

Fresh Air Is in Short Supply at Many Schools

Children are much more vulnerable to airborne pollutants than adults. Because their breathing passages have smaller diameters than those of adults, even very small irritations can narrow airways to dangerous degrees. Also, because children have higher metabolisms, their bodies require more oxygen, relative to their size and weight, than adults do. This means they breathe more rapidly than grown-ups and thus inhale more pollutants per pound than the average adult.

Unfortunately, they may be breathing a great many of those pollutants in their classrooms, cafeterias and other indoor areas at school.

We normally think of air pollution as something in the outdoor skies, but it is an indoor threat as well. The EPA has found that indoor levels of air pollutants are frequently as much as five times, and sometimes more than 100 times, higher than outdoor levels—and most people spend about 90% of their time indoors. Schools are not exempt from this problem.

Over the course of most of the 1990s and into the beginning of this new millennium, the number of children under age 18 who suffer from asthma doubled. Nearly five million kids currently have the disease, which translates into about one in every 13 students. And asthma is now the number one cause of school absenteeism and a leading reason for children being admitted to the hospital. Worse yet, between 8,000 and 26,000 new cases of the potentially fatal condition are diagnosed in children each year.

Indoor air pollution is certainly part of the problem. Even if it isn’t the primary cause of the explosion in asthma cases, it at least serves to make the asthma symptoms of children worse. Either way, we owe it to our children to give them clean air to breathe so that they don’t develop any respiratory problems. Because asthma isn’t the only issue. Other health complaints also can be traced to indoor air quality, such as common colds, headaches, nausea and dizziness.

As parents, we can directly regulate the indoor air quality of our homes, but not so with schools. And that is where children spend much of their time. As the U.S. General Accounting Office has said, “While laws compel children to attend school, some school buildings may be unsafe or even harmful to children’s health.”

One way to help “clear the air” for our kids in schools (and the faculty and staff as well) is to reduce the use of chemicals with harsh or even toxic fumes. Pesticides are one of the bigger culprits, and you can learn more about that specifically by exploring the “Pesticides” section of this school-oriented portion of the Web site. But pesticides aren’t the entire picture. Dust in the air, particles from lead-based paint, mold, crumbling masonry…all these and more can pollute the air in schools.

By using the links at the left of this page, you can learn more about how exposure risks can be lessened and what you can do to help get schools cleaned up and the air quality where it should be. In addition, consider exploring some of the following sites to educate yourself more about indoor air quality issues, as well as asthma in children:

Environmental Law Institute

A report titled “Healthier Schools: A Review of State Policies for Improving Indoor Air Quality” is available at the Environmental Law Institute’s Web site at www.eli.org, or you can click here to review it now. Among other things, the report provides information on state policies for preventing school indoor air problems by promoting better maintenance and management of existing facilities.

Tools for Schools

The EPA offers a “one-stop resource” for school building health, with a focus on air quality issues. Click here to visit their site at www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/

American Lung Association

The association’s Web site at www.lungusa.org has indoor air quality information relating directly to schools. Click here to check it out.

Asthma and Schools 

The Asthmas and Schools Web site at www.asthmaandschools.org has links to educational and medical information and other resources for those who work in schools from kindergarten through grade 12. Click here to visit them.

Another resource is the National Hispanic Indoor Air Quality Hotline, which provides bilingual (Spanish/English) information about indoor air pollutants in schools, homes and offices. To reach them, call toll-free at 800-725-8312.

Finally, you can contact us to get a copy of Generation Green’s “Asthma Risk Reduction Action Kit,” which puts a heavy emphasis on air quality issues at schools. Just contact us by e-mail at info@generationgreen.org or call toll-free at 800-652-0827 if you want a copy.