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Healthy School Environments: Addressing
the sick building syndrome
Indoor air quality problems can strike
any school and schools have several unique features which
make them more vulnerable to significant indoor air quality
(IAQ) problems:
- Age of buildings: In the U.S., nearly 90% of schools were
built before 1980, and 50% prior to 1960. Although indoor
air quality problems can occur in any old or new building,
increased risks in older buildings may be due to outdated
ventilation systems and older roofs that may leak.
- Lack of money for renovation and maintenance: Many school
districts cannot afford to complete regular maintenance
procedures and renovations on older equipment. Failure to
do so may provide a catalyst for increased problems with
ventilation systems, roofs, and other areas of school buildings.
- Overcrowding: Almost one-fifth of Americans spend their
days in schools. A typical school has four times as many
occupants per square foot as an office building. With increased
student populations, many schools are overcrowded, with
ventilation systems that were not designed to accommodate
the high numbers of people occupying the building.
Good IAQ in schools is crucial to
creating a safe
and healthy learning environment.
- For children and adults, poor indoor air quality can cause
serious respiratory problems. Children in particular are
affected by poor indoor air quality. Children's respiratory
systems are still developing, making them more susceptible
to indoor air contaminants. They have higher respiration
rates than adults, causing them to inhale more air contaminants
than adults do. This makes them more vulnerable to pollutant
sources such as radon, second-hand smoke, and pesticides.
Resources
- For more information on indoor air quality and addressing
IAQ problems in schools, go to the Indoor Air Quality Page
of NEA's Health Information Network.
- The EPA's IAQ Tools for Schools Action Kit, which is co-sponsored
by NEA, shows schools how to carry out a practical plan
of action to improve indoor air quality.
- The NEA Professional Library has produced the Healthy
Schools Handbook, a 446-page resource on a variety of indoor
environmental issues. To obtain a copy of this handbook
($21.95 plus $5.00 s&h), call the NEA Professional Library
at 800/229-4200, and ask for stock #1863-X-00-P
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