We Follow EPA’s IAQ Tools for Schools Program

The Maryland Safe School Indoor Air Program

Requires Public Schools To Monitor Carbon Dioxide Levels. The Maryland Department of the Environment established the Safe School Indoor Air Program to improve indoor air quality in public school classrooms; requiring the Department, in consultation with the Maryland State Department of Education, to administer the program; requiring public schools to monitor carbon dioxide levels in each classroom in a school at least twice each school year; requiring certain remediation measures; and requiring each county board of education to develop a certain policy and implementation plan.

Unfortunately the legislation never passed and died.

Does Your School Have An IAQ Management Plan?

EPA’s Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools

We follow EPA’s Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Tools for Schools guidance which has been implemented successfully in tens of thousands of schools nationwide.

EPA recommends testing all schools for Radon. As part of an effective IAQ management program, schools can take simple steps to test for Radon and reduce risks to occupants if high Radon levels are found. The only way to know if elevated Radon levels are present is to test.

Radon gas enters from the soil beneath the school through cracks and openings in the foundation. Air pressure inside a building is sometimes lower than pressure in the soil under the foundation. Because of this difference in pressure, a building acts like a vacuum, drawing radon inside from the soil. Typical cracks and openings include joints where the floor meets the wall, expansion joints in the floor, openings in the floor for pipes and wires, and hollow masonry walls that penetrate the floor.

Radon Gas Kills 58 People Per Day

Radon is an invisible, odorless, tasteless, colorless, inert radioactive gas and one of the most hazardous indoor pollutants. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. In the U.S., an estimated 21,000 people die from radon-induced lung cancer annually. Thousands of classrooms nationwide have elevated radon levels, needlessly exposing hundreds of thousands of students and staff to this serious health risk.

Key Drivers For Success

Asthma is the Leading Cause of School Absenteeism

Nearly 13 Million Missed School Days Per Year...

Asthma has reached epidemic proportions in the United States, affecting millions of people of all ages and races. An average of one out of every 10 school-age children now has asthma, and the percentage of children with asthma is rising more rapidly in preschool-age children than in any other age group. Asthma symptoms that are not severe enough to require a visit to an emergency room or to a physician can still be serious enough to prevent a child with asthma from living a fully active life.

Each day, one in five Americans occupies a school building. The majority of these occupants are children. Environmental asthma triggers commonly found in school buildings include respiratory viruses; cockroaches and other pests; mold resulting from excess moisture in the building; dander from animals in the classroom; and dander brought in on clothing from animals at home.

Secondhand smoke and dust mites are other known environmental asthma triggers found in schools. Children with asthma may be affected by other pollutants from sources found inside schools, such as unvented stoves or heaters and common products including chemicals, cleaning agents, perfumes, pesticides and sprays.

Asthma Kills 11 People Per Day

Asthma is a controllable, chronic lung disease characterized by inflammation of the airways that leads to reversible airway constriction and excess mucus secretion. Narrowing of the airways results in reduced airflow that may cause symptoms of wheezing, coughing, tightness of the chest, and difficulty breathing.

Because Americans spend up to 90 percent of their time indoors, exposure to indoor allergens and irritants may play a significant role in triggering asthma episodes.