ERIC Number: ED541345
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 6
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Parent's Guide to School Indoor Air Quality. Revised
Healthy Schools Network, Inc.
Air pollution is air pollution, indoors or out. Good indoor air quality (IAQ) contributes to a favorable learning environment for students, protects health, and supports the productivity of school personnel. In schools in poor repair, leaky roofs and crumbling walls have caused additional indoor air quality problems, including contamination with lead and asbestos, dust, or radon. United States Environmental Protection Agency studies of human exposure to air pollutants indicate that indoor pollution levels may be 2-5 times, and sometimes 100 times, higher than outdoor levels. Most people spend 90% of their time indoors. It is easy to understand why school decisions to cut spending on cleaning and repair ("deferred maintenance") are penny-wise and pound-foolish: resulting air pollution will harm occupants and multiply the cost to repair buildings later. This paper shows some typical signs/symptoms of IAQ problems and what schools should be doing. It also offers tips on when parents should suspect a school has an IAQ problem and what they should do if schools ignore IAQ problems. A list of resources is included.
Descriptors: Pollution, School Personnel, School Maintenance, Parent Materials, Guides, Educational Environment, Hazardous Materials, Decision Making, Costs, Expenditures, Symptoms (Individual Disorders), Child Health, School Construction
Healthy Schools Network, Inc. 773 Madison Avenue 1st Floor, Albany, NY 12208. Tel: 518-462-0632: Fax: 518-462-0433; Web site: http://www.healthyschools.org
Publication Type: Guides - Non-Classroom
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: Parents
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Healthy Schools Network, Inc.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A