Addressing Indoor Air Quality in Schools

Nearly 57.5 million students and school employees enter the doors of our nation’s schools every day. According to estimates from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, half of these adults and children spend their school days breathing air polluted with toxic chemicals, mold, viruses, bacteria, asbestos, pesticides, smog and particulates from vehicle pollution, and more. Despite efforts by school employees and their unions to improve indoor environmental quality in classrooms and other school buildings, many of the conditions that cause unhealthy indoor air and environmental quality continue to plague our nation’s schools.