Application Note

Application Note
Ask many school administrators
about the air quality inside their
buildings, and the frank answer is
liable to be “Well, we don’t know.”
They should. School air quality
and student performance go
together as naturally as breathing
in and breathing out.
In the words of the U.S. Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency
(EPA), “Good indoor air quality
contributes to a favorable learning
environment for students, per-
formance of teachers and staff,
and a sense of comfort, health,
and well-being. These elements
combine to assist a school in its
core mission educating children.”
1
This article provides key facts
about why school air quality is so
important, plus the building blocks
to start developing an air quality
management plan to help your
schools provide a healthy and
comfortable indoor environment
and minimize risk and liability.
A threat to the school’s
educational mission
Poor IAQ can compromise the
learning environment, trigger
health problems among students
and staff, and snowball into
major issues of remediation and
liability.
•
A 2004 rev
iew by the U
.S
.
Department of Education
identified adverse health
effects related to the presenc
e
of chemical pollutants, lead,
biolog
ical pollutants such as
mold, allergens and airb
or
ne
particles.
Indoor air quality:
Can your schools
pass the test?
From the Fluke Digital Library @ www.fluke.com/library
•
The same study concluded
that “it is also likely that inad
-
equate IEQ (indoor environ-
mental quality) conditions are
c
ommon in U.S. schools and
lead to adverse effects on stu-
dents and teachers.”
2
Measuring ambient temperature and relative humidity to evaluate air comfort.
•
The EPA reports that asthma,
often triggered by airb
or
ne
agents, causes more school
absenteeism than any other
chronic childhood c
ondition,
and costs students 14.7 million
missed days a year.
3
1
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) IAQ Tools for Schools Kit, IAQ Coordinator’s Guide.
2
A Summary of Scientific Findings on Adverse Effects of Indoor Environments on Students’ Health,
Academic Performance and Attendance, page 10, U.S. Department of Education, 2004.
3
Asthma F
acts, U.S. EPA, May 2005.