National Center for Environmental HealthAgency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

School Environments and Children’s Health

Patrick N. Breysse, PhD, CIHDirector, NCEH/ATSDR

Healthy Schools Network

June 6, 2016

National Center for Environmental Health

Vision – Healthy People in Healthy Environments

Strategic Priorities• Protect children from the health risks of harmful exposures and

conditions

• Reduce asthma morbidity and mortality

• Ensure safe drinking water

Overview

Indoor air quality

The physical environment

Failing infrastructure

School Siting

Conceptual model

Indoor Air Quality

Schools and Health – Indoor Air Quality

People, particularly children, spend between 80 - 90% of their time indoors• Growing recognition that home indoor air quality is an important

health risk

Particulate matter, allergens, oxides of nitrogen, endotoxin, mold

Associated with increased risk for respiratory diseases (e.g., asthma, allergies, and rhinitis) in children and adults

Schools and Health – Indoor Air Quality

Schools represent the second most important indoor environment for children• we know much less about the range of indoor air pollutants, their

concentrations, and impacts

Complex sources• Indoor and outdoor

Schools and Health – Indoor Air Quality and Productivity

Occupational studies of health and productivity associated with building environments reinforces the importance of indoor air quality as a source of impaired health and performance• The potential for the indoor environment to impact productivity is

particularly relevant to schools where concentration and intellectual performance are key to success

Teachers and students

Schools and Health – Indoor Air Quality

Studies have implicated a range of potential contaminants of concern • Particulate matter

• Volatile organic compounds

• Molds, fungi, and dampness

• Carbon monoxide

• mercury

• Allergens - mouse

Schools and Health – Indoor Air Quality

Air Exchange Rates• Ventilation can be assessed by measuring the build up of C02

• Poor ventilation associated with increased error rates

• Increasing ventilation is associated with

better test scores

Reduced

Reduced respiratory symptoms

decreased absences

The Physical Environment

Schools and Health – Physical Environment

Temperature • Classrooms with temperatures outside the human comfort zone (below

67°F and above 74°F

student productivity, efficiency and test scores are significantly lower

Noise• Noisy fans, open windows, can be significant source of distraction

Research has shown that students in noisy buildings fall behind in reading and math

Schools and Health – Physical Environment

Lighting• Ample lighting, especially from natural daylight are associated with

better test scores

• Evidence suggests children’s melatonin cycles are disrupted when they are deprived of natural light

Affects their alertness during school

Failing Infrastructure

Schools and Health - Aging Infrastructure

In 2014, the National Center for Educations Statistics estimated that the average age of the nation’s main school buildings was 55 years old • The average date of construction for our nation’s schools at 1959

American Society of Civil Engineers• School Infrastructure - grade D

Energy D+; drinking water D ; roads D; transit D; waste water D

The Problem’s Problem

We don’t have national data on school facilities

We don’t really have a complete picture of the condition of our nation’s schools.

Schools and Health – Safe Water

Lead and other contaminants associated with failing water infrastructure• Baltimore spends $450,000 a year

supplying bottled water to all but six of its 180 schools

Portland, Newark, Chicago, Tacoma and other cities have been in the news lately

School Siting

Safe Siting

In 2011, EPA releases voluntary school siting guidelines (then updates them in 2013) https://www.epa.gov/schools/school-siting-guidelines

ATSDR is developing and implementing a national initiative to protect children from health risks caused by the location of child care and early learning facilities.

A Story Behind ATSDR’s Safe Siting Initiative

Kiddie KollegeFranklin, NJ

Mercury exposure at childcare facility

Conceptual Model

Environmental Justice Issue

Are the Feds Helping Schools Address IAQ?

NIOSH recommendations for schools

EPA Indoor Air Quality Action Kit

CDC Programs

Examples of Current NCEH/ATSDR Activities

National Asthma Control Program• Strategies for Addressing Asthma within a Coordinated School

Health Program

School-based health care and asthma management

Childhood Lead Prevention Program• Lead in drinking fountains

ATSDR • Day care facility siting criteria

Call To Action!

For more information, contact NCEH/ATSDR1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636)TTY: 1-888-232-6348 www.atsdr.cdc.gov www.cdc.govFollow us on Twitter @CDCEnvironment

The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

Questions?