Clean Air at School

Speaker 1 (00:06):

Before we can understand how indoor air quality impacts our lungs, we first need to understand how our lungs work. When you breathe in through your nose or mouth, air travels down your airways or trachea, dividing into your right or left lung via the bronchi. The bronchi then separate into small tubes called bronchioles. Like tree branches, bronchioles divide into thousands of even smaller passages. At the end of each bronchiole is a cluster of little air sacs called alveoli. Alveoli are wrapped in tiny blood vessels called capillaries. The air you breathe in fills these air sacks with oxygen-rich air. Here is where oxygen is transported throughout the body. Not all the air you breathe in is clean. Indoor air contaminants can include small particles that are suspended in the air. When those particles from the air travel deep into your body, they can have a negative impact on your health. These particles can include things like dust, tobacco smoke, diesel emissions, pollen, pet dander, mold spores, chemicals, gases, and more.

(01:09):

Particulate matter, often written as PM, are so small they go into the lungs all the way to the alveoli. Once there, they can irritate and corrode the alveoli wall, damaging the lungs and causing lung disease. Healthier in schools can benefit students, teachers, and other school staff. Clean air can improve health, alertness, attention, test scores, and comfort for both students and teachers, but not all the air we breathe in school is clean. School air may have several pollutants, including mold, bacteria and viruses, chemicals from glues, paint or cleaning supplies, particulate matter from chalk dust, soil, new furniture, cooking, carpets, heaters, and wood stoves. Also, polluted outdoor air from busy traffic, nearby factories, and wildfires can come inside the school.

(02:02):

To improve the indoor air quality in your school, remove the source of the air pollution if you can. Prevention is best. Air out your classroom by opening doors and windows. Filter the air with an air cleaner. Air cleaners take in the room's air and capture particles, viruses, and many chemicals. The air cleaners then release clean air back into the room. Learning how to protect yourself from poor air quality doesn't have to be hard. Visit lung.org to learn more.

Hello and welcome to an overview of the Clean Air School Challenge.

So what is indoor air quality? You know, indoor air quality refers to the air quality within and around buildings and structures, especially how it relates to the health and comfort of those inside the building.

You know, every day we take about 22,000 breaths and we spend about 90% of our time indoors. So, it's really important that the air we breathe indoors is clean. However, indoor air is usually two to five times more polluted than outdoor air.

Now, what influences indoor air quality? A whole, whole host of things: from pollutants to the filtration and air flow, to temperature and humidity, and the building age and outdoor pollutants coming inside, building materials, furnishings, occupant behavior, and so much more. And we know that children are impacted by indoor air quality a bit more than adults. And this is really because they take more breaths, they're exposed to more environmental pollutants, they're still developing—including their sensitive lung tissue—and they're in a position where they cannot protect themselves.

We know that poor indoor air quality in schools impacts both students and staff. We know that it reduces productivity and academic performance. It's related to increased absenteeism and missed work days. It impairs the focus and concentration and the decision-making abilities of students and faculty. It can lead to dizziness, tiredness, headaches, difficulty breathing, and coughing. We can see from indoor air quality an increased spread of airborne bacteria and viruses. And also, it can make individuals with asthma and allergy—those reactions—worse.

So the American Lung Association is offering the Clean Air School Challenge. The goal of the Clean Air School Challenge is to have schools assess and write an energy-efficient indoor air quality management plan. And the American Lung Association is here to help schools at every step of the way, including assessing, planning, and acting on improving indoor air quality.

There's a variety of benefits of schools participating in the Clean Air School Challenge, including the education and training that we at the Lung Association have to offer, one-on-one technical assistance, the opportunity to apply for mini-grants at the assess, plan, and act level. The Lung Association will provide recognition, peer mentorship, and also the opportunity to participate in learning collaboratives.

Finally, schools that participate in the Clean Air School Challenge can access a whole host of Lung Association programs and resources to learn more and really be an active voice in your school's indoor air quality. Learn more at lung.org.

And if you have questions, you can contact us directly at cask@lung.org.

Thank you. We'll see you online.