Indoor Air Quality - Tools for Schools Action Kit for Canadian Schools

Chapter 2: Introduction To Iaq Action Kit

What is the IAQ Action Kit?

The IAQ Action Kit is a practical tool to help school boards, principals and their management teams, and school employees understand and address indoor air quality (IAQ) problems.

The kit provides clear and easily applied information and activities that can be used to improve the indoor environment of schools, help prevent indoor air quality problems, and promptly resolve problems if they do arise. It is flexible enough to conform to the specific needs of your school. In the broadest sense, using the kit represents an investment in people and school facilities to create a healthier school environment.

The kit is intended primarily for use by elementary and secondary schools, however its principles and activities can also benefit community colleges, universities, and preschool and daycare centres. In addition, architects and engineers could also apply many of the kit's principles when planning new schools or major renovations.

Guiding Principles of the IAQ Action Kit

The IAQ Action Kit strategy is based on the following principles:

• Many IAQ problems can be prevented by educating a school's management, staff and students about the factors that create them.
• When IAQ problems do arise, they can often be resolved using the skills of school staff and resource personnel. If outside assistance is needed to solve an IAQ problem, the best results will be achieved if school officials are informed customers.
• The expense and effort required to prevent most IAQ problems or to intervene at an early stage is much less than the expense and effort required to resolve problems after they develop.

The effective realization of these principles depends on the development of IAQ awareness, empowerment, and skills within a school.

Why Use the IAQ Action Kit?

Good indoor air quality is one of many factors that contribute to a favorable learning environment for students, performance of teachers and staff, and a sense of comfort, health, and well-being.

When a school suspects that it has an indoor air quality problem, this kit can help to identify areas of concern, outline potential solutions, solve simple problems, or gather the information needed to tackle more complex problems. All schools can benefit from using this kit to prevent IAQ problems and identify areas for improvement or development.

The proper use of this kit requires school boards and schools to define areas of individual responsibility and dedicate sufficient human, physical and fiscal resources to IAQ issues. This investment will result in healthier school environments, team building, and more efficient facilities management.

Failure to respond promptly and effectively to IAQ problems can result in a variety of consequences that can affect health, costs, and the educational process. These include:

• increased incidence of long- and short-term health problems such as cough, eye irritation, headache, asthma episodes, and allergic reactions, and, in rarer cases, life-threatening conditions such as severe asthma attacks, Legionnaire's disease or carbon monoxide poisoning;
• promoting the spread of airborne infectious diseases;
• aggravating asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Nearly one school-aged child in 13 has asthma, the leading cause of school absenteeism due to chronic disease. There is substantial evidence that indoor environmental exposure to allergens, such as dust mites, other pests, and molds play a role in triggering asthma symptoms. These allergens can be found in the school and other indoor environments;
• producing an unfavorable learning environment for children;
• reducing productivity of teachers and staff due to discomfort, sickness, or absenteeism;
• accelerating the deterioration of the school's physical plant and equipment, thereby reducing the efficiency;
• increasing the risk that school rooms or buildings will have to be closed, and occupants temporarily relocated;
• straining relationships among the school administration and parents and staff;
• generating negative publicity that could damage a school's or administration's image and effectiveness;
• creating potential liability problems.

What the Kit Contains

The IAQ Action Kit provides background information on indoor air quality and pollution control strategies, references to additional resources and information, and specific structured checklists for different building systems or school areas. These checklists identify the major roles and responsibilities of those individuals who should be on the IAQ team. The checklists are intended to educate and direct principals and their management teams and other school employees in the collection and interpretation of IAQ-related information.

There are 11 checklists, including:

• Administration
• Health
• Air Handling
• Classroom
• Relocatable Classroom
• Building Maintenance
• Custodial
• Food Service
• Waste Managment
• Renovation and Repair
• Design/Build/Lease-Back Facilities

Some checklists require more expertise than others. Each checklist identifies the intended user.

Before you use the IAQ Action Kit

Before applying any of the checklists, IAQ team members should also read the IAQ Backgrounder (Chapter 3) and How to Get Started (Chapter 4) to obtain a general understanding of the entire process, common sources of indoor air contaminants, and basic control strategies. Each checklist provides specific instructions for identifying, preventing, and resolving indoor air quality problems