by Jbs012010c3 — January 22, 2010—School districts leading the way to prevent and solve indoor air quality problems in schools were honored at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 10th Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools National Symposium in Washington, DC, January 14-16. vThis year’s award winners are: Keller Independent School District, Keller, TX; Kenosha Unified School District #1, Kenosha, WI; North Penn School District, Lansdale, PA; Westport Public Schools, Westport, CT; Wayzata Public Schools, Plymouth, MN; Ocean Township School District, Oakhurst, NJ; Omaha Public Schools, Omaha, NE; Spokane Public Schools, Spokane, WA; Jack Levine, Director of Finance and Administration, Amity Regional School District No. 5, Woodbridge, CT; and Michael Sheehan, Director of Facilities, Operations and Safety, Baldwin Union Free School District, Baldwin, NY.
The IAQ Tools for Schools program is a comprehensive resource to help schools maintain a healthy environment in school buildings by identifying, correcting and preventing indoor air quality (IAQ) problems. EPA created the program a decade ago to address a range of IAQ and related problems in school buildings, including respiratory problems, headaches and nausea, and an “alarming” rise in asthma and allergies among schoolchildren.
A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that about half of the nation’s schools now have IAQ management programs in place, up from about one-fourth of schools in 2002, notes EPA. The study also found that 85 percent of schools with IAQ management programs relied on EPA’s Tools for Schools program to guide their actions.
