In 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new Preventive Maintenance Guidance and associated materials as part of the agency’s Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools suite of documents and resources.
The EPA makes the case for healthy schools in the new guidance document with the following statement:
Ensuring the school environment is healthy is essential because the health and comfort of students and staff are among the many factors that contribute to learning and productivity in the classroom, which in turn affect performance and achievement. Children especially are vulnerable to poor environmental conditions, and being exposed to such contaminants early in life can cause health problems well into adulthood. Indoor pollutants in schools include mold, dust, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), radon, lead, asbestos, PCBs, pesticides, secondhand smoke and others. Some of these pollutants can cause or exacerbate such health issues as allergies, respiratory illnesses like asthma and infectious diseases like the flu.
The document also states that many school facility issues that could impact indoor air quality (IAQ) can be prevented from becoming costly problems through preventive maintenance with thoughtful planning and regular maintenance. The guide walks readers through straightforward steps to develop and implement a sustainable IAQ preventive maintenance plan to help create healthy, reliable and efficient school buildings.
There is information to help make the case for a plan and gain the buy-in needed from the school community. There is also detailed guidance on walkthroughs and assessments of facilities and how to address common indoor air quality issues by implementing IAQ Technical Solutions, including integrated pest management (IPM); green cleaning; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and equipment upkeep; mold and moisture prevention; and other pollutant source control activities. Finally, the voluntary guide offers tips on staffing and communication, as well as evaluating activities to make the IAQ preventive maintenance plan a success.
These are just a few things to know about the EPA’s new Indoor Air Quality Preventive Maintenance Guidance tools for schools ([ Ссылка ]). To learn more about this or other indoor air quality, building science, environmental, health or safety issues, please visit the websites shown below.
Clark Seif Clark [ Ссылка ]
EMSL Analytical, Inc. [ Ссылка ]
LA Testing [ Ссылка ]
Zimmetry Environmental [ Ссылка ]
Healthy Indoors Magazine [ Ссылка ]
