Lung Health News, Spring / Summer 2000
At Dr. George Washington Carver Elementary school in San Francisco, the numbers looked bad: One out of five children was diagnosed with asthma. That meant a large number of absences due to asthma episodes and more little ones lined up outside the principal's office waiting for their asthma medications.
But through the efforts of the American Lung Association, concerned individuals and community members, the number of asthma episodes has dropped and indoor air quality has improved at Carver.
The school sits in an industrial area with aging buildings in the southeast area of San Francisco, known as Bayview Hunter's Point. Older buildings are at greater risk of having outdated materials containing toxics and other indoor air pollutants like mold in aging ventilation systems.
Tools For Schools, a project of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the American Lung Association, helps schools identify potential indoor air quality problems by working with administrators, nurses and maintenance staff. Poor indoor air quality negatively impacts asthma and other lung dieseases.
The American Lung Association is working to bring Tools for Schools to schools throughout California because poor indoor air quality negatively impacts asthma and other lung diseases. The program provides schools with free, ready-to-use kits that include a checklist to determine sources of indoor air pollution and ways to remedy it, plans for organizing and communicating with school staff, and a video.
Indoor Air Pollution Takes a Toll on Children
In 1996, the problem reached a peak at Carver Elementary School.
"Kids were getting sicker and sicker. We didn't know what to do," says Marie Howmke, RN, school nurse for the San Francisco Unified School District.
The school started using the American Lung Association's Open Airways For Schools curriculum, which helped children learn to manage their asthma.
"We knew that a vast majority of students were diagnosed with asthma before kindergarten. Some of them had asthma triggered at the school site. We wanted to make sure that the facility was not part of the problem," says Howmke, who has 30 years experience as a school nurse.
Organizations Convene Task Force to Address Environmental Health Issues
The American Lung Association of San Francisco & San Mateo Counties joined other organizations in establishing a task force to address the environmental health issues at Carver school.
Shelly Rosenblum, an environmental engineer at the EPA and the Tools for Schools coordinator says that indoor air pollution ranks among the top four environmental health risks.
In schools, poor air quality and subsequent asthma attacks can be affected by molds, diesel bus fumes wafting inside, aging ventilation systems, personal care products, solvents, marker fumes, chalk dust and pesticides.
Pesticides are a Serious Problem in Agricultural Areas
While in more urban areas where Carver school is located, pesticides are less of a problem, in agricultural areas they pose a serious health risk to school children.
"At Alisal High School in Salinas, pesticides are being sprayed a mile away," says Jeanette Donald, assistant director of Lung Health and Air Quality for the American Lung Association of the Central Coast.
Carver Team Looks for Problems and Finds Solutions
About four months after the problems identified by the inspection team were fixed, Howmke noticed fewer kids in her office.
"We do not have anything near the number of asthma episodes," she says. "That's because of the Tools for Schools program."
Tools for Schools
Help improve the air in your school through the Tools for Schools action kit.
The Tools for Schools kit shows schools how to carry out a practical plan of action to prevent and resolve indoor air problems—and create a healthier environment for children and staff.
The number of children with asthma increased by 60 percent during the 1980s, and poor indoor air quality can trigger asthmatic episodes. Over half of the schools surveyed found at least one environmental problem which affects indoor air quality, according to a recent government report.
Good indoor air quality contributes to a favorable learning environment for students, productivity for teachers and staff, and a a sense of comfort, health, and well-being for all school occupants. These combine to assist a school in its core mission—educating children.
For more information about Tools for Schools, just call 1-800-LUNG-USA to be connected automatically to your local American Lung Association office.
