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Air Quality

Because the quality of the air we breathe directly impacts our health, air pollution poses a serious threat. Thousands of deaths each year are associated with particulate air pollution, and thousands more people live with chronic diseases caused by poor indoor and outdoor air quality.

Children are more vulnerable to the harmful effects of air pollution because they are still growing and developing. Children are also more vulnerable because they breathe more rapidly and inhale more pollutants per pound of body weight than adults do, and they often spend a lot of time doing vigorous activities. In some cases, childhood exposure to air pollution can cause serious health damage to an individual later on in life.

The facts about Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

• Indoor air pollutants include Volatile Organic Compounds (or VOCs, such as paint fumes), particulates (or tiny pieces of chemicals and debris), tobacco, smoke, radon, laboratory and art supplies, and building materials. House dust may also contain toxins such as lead, bacteria, viruses, dust mites, flea eggs, pesticides, asbestos, mold, and hazardous particulate matter from natural and human products. Dangers from hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) increase with certain environmental conditions such as temperature, moisture level, and poor ventilation in public and private buildings.

• Poor indoor air quality can cause serious health problems such as asthma, respiratory and pulmonary disease, chronic bronchitis, cancer, and a general decrease in feelings of wellness. Asthma is the leading cause of serious illness among children nation-wide and the most common reason for student absenteeism.
  

• Between school, daycare, and the home, children typically spend eighty percent or more of their time indoors. Many scientific studies, including those conducted by the EPA, link poor indoor air quality to poor student performance, both academic and social. Symptoms that result from poor indoor air quality such as fatigue, headache, dizziness, coughing,, sneezing, nasal congestion, skin irritations, sore and itchy throat and eyes, nausea, and lack of ability to concentrate are collectively referred to as “sick building syndrome.”

Indoor air quality can be improved by thorough cleaning, good ventilation (including changing heating and air conditioning filters regularly), reducing humidity, and eliminating known hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) from your indoor environment.

The facts about Outdoor Air Quality

• Outdoor air pollutants include natural sources of air particulates (from dust, fires, and soil content), and human produced pollution from factories, power plants, diesel and other vehicle exhaust, fossil fuel combustion, petroleum refining, wood and charcoal burning, and pesticides. Highly trafficked areas, such as cities, have poorer air quality and more smog because of the increase in pollution, (especially from truck and bus traffic), including ozone and particulates, and decrease in trees, which naturally filter our air.

• Outdoor air pollutants can cause many serious health problems including asthma, respiratory and pulmonary disease, chronic bronchitis, lung disease, cancer, increased allergic reactions, and a general decrease in feelings of wellness

General Air Quality Information Resources

www.epa.gov/ebtpages/air.html, an Environmental Protection Agency web page that provides information about air quality and links to many other government resources

www.psr.igc.org/nrtb.htm, a publication by the Physicians for Social Responsibility about the health effects of air pollution; click on “No Room to Breathe”

www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus, the National Library of Medicine’s web page, search for “air quality.” This site provides access to a variety of scientifically accurate sources concerning many health-related topics.

www.nih.gov, the National Institutes of Health web page where you can search for “air quality”

www.nrdc.org, website for The Natural Resources Defense Council, where you can access a variety of references and links, including those on air pollution

www.lungusa.org, website for the American Lung Association with access to information on air quality, related diseases, and pediatric programs A is for Asthma and Open Airways for Schools

Air Quality Information Resources for Schools/Parents

www.epa.gov/iaq/schools, the EPA Tools for Schools website, with info about the air quality program kit Tools for Schools and IAQ info for teachers, staff, parents, health professionals, businesses, and organizations. The IAQ Tools for Schools kit is free for schools. For more info call 1-800-438-4318. For general IAQ info call EPA's IAQ INFO Hotline at (800) 438-4318.

www.pta.org/programs/envlibr.htm, link to The National PTA’s environmental resource library

www.aft.org, website for the American Federation of Teachers, a union that represents K-12 teachers, staff, health care professionals, and public employees. It is an advocacy organization that helps members, children, and the public deal with various environmental hazards

www.nsc.org/ehc.htm, The National Safety Council’s Environmental Health Center website

www.healthyschools.org, website of The Healthy Schools Network, a state-based advocate for the protection of children’s environmental health in schools

www.cehn.org, website of The Children’s Environmental Health Network, a non-profit organization that works to protect children from environmental hazards and to promote a healthy environment, with a useful resource guide to other organizations and links to other resources