EDUCATIONAL & STUDENT FACILITIES
A BREATH OF FRESH AIR IN THE CLASSROOM
Rebecca Munson, Managing Director of Air Spectrum Environmental, discusses why it’s important to address poor air quality in education spaces, and how to approach it.
Poor air, poor learning There’s no hiding from it - the UK’s air quality has declined significantly, with 97% of addresses being negatively affected, breaching the World Health Organization’s safety levels for the top three airborne pollutants. The UK also marked a tragic milestone, legally recognising that the death of a child was partly caused by air pollution.
Classrooms don’t escape poor air quality risk either. In 2022 a study undertaken by Otrivine Natural, as part of an initiative called 'Actions to Breath Cleaner', revealed that six out of 10 classrooms have worse air quality than a busy, traffic filled road.
While many of the schools monitored for the study were in big cities, some were also in villages, with equally poor air quality ratings as their urban counterparts. The reasons for the indoor pollution didn’t just originate from outside factors, but mostly indoor sources of contamination – volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Common VOCs are Formaldehyde, Benzene, Toluene, Xylene, Perchloroethylene, and more. Widespread sources
58 | TOMORROW’S FM
of VOCs indoors include disinfectants, cleaning agents, air fresheners, and even dehumidifiers. Due to the stringent hygiene requirements post-pandemic, returning students are likely exposed to a higher level of these substances. Other common sources of VOCs in the school setting are likely to be plastics, glues, disinfectants, and solvents.
The physical effects of poor air quality include lack of concentration, sleepiness and a general inability to focus, all of which affect students’ capacity for learning. Other risks to health include an increase in bronchial distress, such as asthma where it may be triggered, or worsened. Inferior air quality also affects teachers’ health and impacts their ability to do their jobs effectively.
Identify your air quality issues
with monitoring This is where the value of air monitoring becomes evident. In order to remedy the causes of poor air quality, issues must be identified to implement targeted air purification and ventilation solutions. By having a monitoring system in place, building management for the occupants’ safety
twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74
