GENERAL BACKGROUND ARTICLES ON AIR POLLUTION IMPACT ON STUDENTS HEALTH
This section is about the health impact of poor Indoor Air Quality – not it’s impact on learning.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, water and air pollution in schools can permanently damage children’s brains and lungs.
You would think our government agencies would be vigilant about this – but they are not. There are no federal requirements for routine testing of either water or indoor air quality in schools. Only 6 states require routine testing.
It was local doctors (not the school administration or teachers) in Flint Michigan who discovered that thousands of children had reduced their IQ for life by drinking water with high lead levels at home and at school. Read more about this here and here.
The same kind of damage can come from polluted air.
It was graduate students in Michigan that found that schools located in areas with high pollution had standardized test scores 17% lower than those located in areas with clean air. If you want more information about this read the whole article here.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the air inside schools can be polluted up to 100 times more than the air outside – and, like lead, it can also cause permanent damage to young brains, and lungs. EPA has some wonderful information on its indoor air quality in schools website but you will notice that no reference is made to legal requirements that testing occurs, or how to do testing.
Who is protecting our kids?
How Healthy Schools Save Money
Dr. David Mudarri states that “A healthy mind and healthy body go together. Available research shows improved indoor environments can have a profound effect on human health.” In doing so this advisor board member of HFI the Healthy Facilities Insitute help schools everywhere become healthier on the inside and outside. The Health Facilities Award is handed out to schools who stand out on being healthy in more ways than one. Click here for more details on the Health Facilities Award.
Are levels of air pollution linked to student health?
The evidence is strikingly similar, poor air quality equals poor health in children. “Human studies of many and varied designs have found that exposure to some pollutants, even at levels below regulatory thresholds, adversely affects health.” Respiratory problems such as asthma come into play and have risen in the past two decades. Check out more studies and information here.
EPA Healthy Schools, Healthy Kids
A school environment can affect the student not just by learning but in health too. The EPA Office of Children’s Health Protection work with the key aspect of children’s health in mind and know the risks and issues that can come into play. “Children may be more or less sensitive than adults when confronted with an equivalent level of
exposure to an environmental pollutant.” If you wish to read more on the article please click here or go to their website here.
Here is a shocking article about a boy named Mattew, who got sick way too often and even hospitalized during the school year. Something strange happened when summer came around the boy was healthy again. Again and again, constantly being out of school sick and healthy in the summer. Someone would guess he was ‘pulling-your-leg’ and faking it, but I assure you he wasn’t. Find out what happened here on CNNHealth.