Nearly one in five Utah residents currently attend a K-12 public school. And for the kids who spend eight hours a day (or more) in school environments, air quality is of critical importance. Children are often more sensitive to environmental pollutants, which can affect school performance, long-term health, and the spread of respiratory illnesses like COVID-19. But air quality in most K-12 schools goes unmonitored and unmanaged, leaving its potential health impacts up in the air.
Now, an interdisciplinary team led by University of Utah ǿմý researchers has received $6.53M in funding from the EPA. The grant is part of a $34 million nationwide investment in research to monitor and address indoor air pollution in schools. The team will find ways to monitor and reduce indoor air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in schools in urban and rural regions of Utah, as well as with the Northern Arapaho Tribe in Wyoming.
“By the end of our project, each school will have an air quality management plan with recommendations for improving indoor air quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, all while saving energy and costs,” says the lead researcher on the project. “Schools will also have air quality sensors that allow them to track pollution levels in real time and receive alerts when levels are high.” Those alerts could let schools rapidly adapt to changes in air quality, for instance, by increasing air filtration if wildfire smoke is present.
A multipronged approach
The newly funded project will take a multipronged approach to improve air quality in schools. The team will assess school air quality issues by testing school buildings for energy efficiency, monitoring school facilities for air pollutants inside and outside of buildings, and conducting computer simulations of air quality. Researchers will also demonstrate the effectiveness of air pollution reduction strategies and develop a phone app for indoor air quality in schools. The team will connect with the community through outreach, training, and educational activities, as well as by providing indoor air quality and greenhouse gas reduction guidance to schools.
The success of this multifaceted approach will be powered by the collaborative nature of the project. Daher, the project lead, is an associate professor of occupational and environmental health in the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine (SFESOM) at the University of Utah. Other collaborators on the project include researchers in occupational and environmental health and pediatrics in SFESOM, the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Kahlert School of Computing at the University of Utah's Price College of Engineering, Snow College, the Utah Department of ǿմý and Human Services, and the Utah Clean Air Partnership (UCAIR).
Protecting young lungs
Addressing air quality in schools is particularly important because air pollutants often impact children more severely than adults. Kids’ developing organ systems are more sensitive to many pollutants, and children tend to breathe more air than adults relative to their body weight, increasing their exposure to any toxic substances in the air.
Additionally, Daher says that the health impacts of indoor air quality have long been overlooked. “There are no federal standards for indoor air quality, and often individuals may not realize they are exposed to high indoor pollution levels,” she says. “Air pollution levels inside schools can be two to five times greater than those outdoors, negatively affecting the academic performance of students, and health of both staff and students,” she adds.
“Children spend so much of their day in school,” says Janet McCabe, EPA Deputy Administrator. “It is critical for their health and academic success that schools have clean and healthy air. These grants will put schools in the best position to improve attendance and academic achievement, while addressing the unique and disproportionate health impacts that children in overburdened communities face as a result of indoor air quality challenges.”
associate professor of chemical engineering and a team member on the project, adds that cost-effective solutions to poor indoor air quality are readily available. “If we identify poor air quality inside a school, this grant will enable us to recommend and help implement solutions, like improved air filtration or modified HVAC operations during wildfire events,” Kelly explains.
Monitoring and improving air quality in schools has significant benefits for both students and schools. Better air quality improves student academic performance and attendance and reduces the spread of airborne illnesses. Additionally, improving indoor air quality tends to lengthen the lifespan of building systems and lower greenhouse gas emissions from schools while providing significant cost savings through lower energy consumption.
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About University of Utah ǿմý
University of Utah ǿմý provides leading-edge and compassionate care for a referral area that encompasses Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and much of Nevada. A hub for health sciences research and education in the region, U of U ǿմý has a $522 million research enterprise and trains the majority of Utah’s physicians, and more than 1,670 scientists and 1,460 health care providers at its Colleges of ǿմý, Nursing, and Pharmacy and Schools of Dentistry and Medicine. With more than 20,000 employees, the system includes 12 community clinics and five hospitals. U of U ǿմý is recognized nationally as a transformative health care system and provider of world-class care.