In the last few months, Green with Envy Home Store has received many calls from parents complaining that their children are feeling sick and cannot focus in school. The common response from the schools is that the children are immature or have some sort of learning issue. Could the actual school building be contributing to these changes in behavior? The answer is clear. Does your local school have a formal Indoor Air Quality(IAQ) program? Yes, a legitimate formal program with guidelines and training. The shocking truth is that only 51.4% of schools in the United States do have a formal indoor air quality management program. These schools were significantly more likely than were schools without a program to have policies and use strategies to promote superior indoor air quality. These findings were published in the Journal of School Health in June 2010. Some great facts from the article include:
*A growing body of evidence shows that poor air quality in schools is associated with illness, decreased academic performance and absenteeism
*Poor IAQ in schools most often results from a failure to control moisture, temperature, humidity and pollution sources and also from a failure to ventilate classrooms adequately, performs routine maintenance and reduce pesticide use.
*Compared to office buildings, schools house around 4 times the occupants in the same amount of floor space.
The results of the study really surprised Green Guy due to the major differences in school policies around the country. Most schools seemed to address problems in buildings but really not in a formal manner. The study found the following specific conditions in schools:
Mold and Moisture-90.3% of schools addressed mold and moisture issues within 48 hours. and most conducted periodic inspections of the building foundations, walls and roofs for cracks and leaks
Indoor Air Pollution-85.9% of schools have a plan to use, label, store and dispose of hazardous materials. 78% keep an inventory of hazardous materials and 65.9% have a smoke free school policy
Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Systems- Nearly all schools (96%) conducted periodic inspections of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems but only 50.3% maintained ventilation standards from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers.
Staff Training-93.9% of schools have someone to oversee maintenance issues but only 74.3% of schools required custodial or maintenance staff to receive training on the labeling, storage and disposal of hazardous materials. Likewise, only 59.8% of schools required training on how to address mold issues.
The one issue that really hits home at Green with Envy Home Store is the use of low-emitting products in schools. In the past, we have written about many issues relating to indoor air quality in schools and our own experiences. Only 56.5% of schools in the study have a policy to purchase low-emitting products. These products include cleaners, paints, floor sealers and the dreaded carpets in the buildings. Please contact your school board members and ask about your schools IAQ policy. The children in your community would appreciate your efforts.