Poor air quality in schools is bad for children but easy to fix

Created Saturday, 2 September 2023

What does poor air quality in schools do to a child’s health, well-being and ability to learn? Why are children more vulnerable to air pollution than adults? And how can you achieve, or advocate for, a healthy indoor air environment in the classroom?

According to WHO (the World Health Organization), almost all children in the world live in places
where outdoor air pollution exceeds safe levels.

An effective way to protect our children from air pollution is to ensure the air is as clean as possible
in buildings where they spend most of their time, like in school.

However, studies show that indoor air quality (IAQ) in school buildings is too often subpar,
and even harmful.

A study from 2017 indicated that 20% of all schools in Sweden had problems with the quality
of the indoor air.
In 2014, a surveyed sample of school districts in the United States suggested that half the
schools in the country had issues with poor indoor air.
When examining the air quality in more than 300 schools in France, 93% turned out to have
concentrations of fine particles in the air that exceeded WHO guidelines for a safe indoor
environment.

Children are the most vulnerable

Substandard indoor air quality in classrooms is especially concerning when we consider the many
factors that make children more vulnerable to air pollution:

Children have smaller airways and breathe more rapidly, thereby inhaling more polluted air.
They are also generally more physically active than adults and are therefore breathing in more
air relative to their body size.

Their lungs are still growing and their metabolic system is not fully developed.
They have more respiratory infections - which seems to make them more susceptible to being
impacted by poor air quality.
Their nasal passages are less effective when it comes to filtering out pollutants.

Less learning when the air is bad

The ability to focus, concentrate and be attentive is a challenge for many children in ideal circumstances.
If the air in a classroom is poor, their ability to learn becomes even more challenging.

A study from 2020, suggests that 20% lower air pollution levels could improve the development of a child’s
working memory by 6.1%, which is the equivalent of four weeks of extra learning time per year.

Air pollution causes children to have respiratory symptoms such as chronic coughing and common colds.
Polluted air can have a damaging effect on their lung function - even at low exposure levels. And it can
also have a negative impact on a child’s brain development.

Breathing harmful air can lead to impaired motor skills, behavioral disorders and childhood cancer. It can
increase the risk of developing asthma as a child, as well as heart disease, diabetes and stroke later in life.

At worst, air pollution leads to death. In 2016, WHO estimated that 600,000 children died from acute lower
respiratory infections caused by polluted air.

The solution is not complicated

Every child deserves to breathe air that is healthy and conducive to their learning. Clean air in the classroom
is easily achieved by making sure your school building’s ventilation system has high-grade air filters,
for example, Camfil’s City range.

To take care of pollution generated from inside the classroom - particles that come from occupants, furniture,
wall paint, building materials, curtains, carpets, clothes, pens, etc. - we recommend supplementing your filter
solution with Camfil’s City range air purifiers.

Reducing the spread of viruses

Viruses frequently spread within indoor environments where there are many children, like in schools and
daycare centers.

A recent Irish study concluded that Camfil’s air purifiers have the capability to reduce the spread of airborne
viruses. According to the study, a City M air purifier removes aerosols from poorly ventilated rooms at four times
the normal rate. An ability that has been especially valuable during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sources:

A national campaign to assess the quality of indoor environments in French schools

“Poor air is common in schools” by Swedish Ventilation

“Reducing air pollution could improve children’s ability to learn” by the Philips Foundation and the University of Manchester

Irish study: Removal of aerosols in poorly ventilated spaces by University College Dublin and the Mater Hospital in Dublin