Footnotes
Reference Guide for Indoor Air Quality in Schools
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
This common-sense guidance is designed to help you prevent and solve the majority of indoor air problems with minimal cost and involvement.
Why Air Quality Is Important
National Weather Service
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), issues daily air quality forecast guidance as part of a national Air Quality Forecasting Capability.
K-12 Education: School Districts Frequently Identified Multiple Building Systems Needing Updates or Replacement
US Government Accountability Office (GAO)
School districts spend billions of dollars a year on building and renovating facilities at the nearly 100,000 K-12 public schools nationwide. We surveyed districts and states about common school facilities’ issues and priorities.
The relationships between classroom air quality and children’s performance in school
Building and Environment, Volume 173
The data from published studies were used to derive systematic relationships between learning outcomes and air quality in classrooms.
Office air quality may affect employees’ cognition, productivity
Harvard School of Public Health
The air quality within an office can have significant impacts on employees’ cognitive function, including response times and ability to focus, and it may also affect their productivity, according to new research led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Care for Your Air: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Some pollutants in the air are especially harmful for children, elderly people and those with health problems.
Relative humidity in droplet and airborne transmission of disease
Journal of Biological Physics
A large number of infectious diseases are transmitted by respiratory droplets.
Impacts of Indoor Air Quality on Cognitive Function
Harvard School of Public Health
The Global CogFx study, a research project conducted among 302 office workers in six countries (China, India, Mexico, Thailand, the UK and the US) aims to understand the effects of indoor air pollution on cognitive performance.
Indoor Air Facts No. 4: Sick Building Syndrome
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The term "sick building syndrome" (SBS) is used to describe situations in which building occupants experience acute health and comfort effects that appear to be linked to time spent in a building, but no specific illness or cause can be identified.
OSHA Technical Manual Section III: Chapter 2
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Modern office buildings are generally considered safe and healthful working environments. However, energy conservation measures instituted during the early 1970's have minimized the infiltration of outside air and contributed to the buildup of indoor air contaminants.
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a poisonous, colorless, odorless and tasteless gas. Although it has no detectable odor, CO is often mixed with other gases that do have an odor.
Associations of Cognitive Function Scores with Carbon Dioxide, Ventilation, and Volatile Organic Compound Exposures in Office Workers
Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP)
The indoor built environment plays a critical role in our overall well-being, both due to the amount of time we spend indoors (~90%) and the ability of buildings to positively or negatively influence our health.
New Report Links Office Design with Staff Health and Productivity
Green Building Council (GBC)
This report from WorldGBC puts forward the best and latest information on the building design features that are known to have positive impacts on the health, wellbeing and productivity of office occupants, and points to financial implications.
School Buildings and Student Success
Harvard School of Public Health
In this report, the Healthy Buildings team at Harvard Chan School illuminates how the school building influences the student’s health, thinking and performance.
Healthy Housing Reference Manual
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and US Department of Housing and Urban Development
Housing quality is key to the public’s health. Translating that simple axiom into action is the topic of this book.
The Standards for Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality
ASHRAE
ANSI/ASHRAE Standards 62.1 and 62.2 are the recognized standards for ventilation system design and acceptable indoor air quality (IAQ).
How Indoor Spaces Can Make You Sick – or Keep You Well
Healthy Buildings by Joseph G. Allen and John. D. Macomber
Asthma-Related School Absenteeism, Morbidity, and Modifiable Factors
The American Journal of Preventative Medicine
Asthma is a leading cause of chronic disease-related school absenteeism.
Ventilation rates in California classrooms: Why many recent HVAC retrofits are not delivering sufficient ventilation
Building and Environment: The International Journal of Building Science and its Applications
Previous research has shown that under-ventilation of classrooms is common and negatively impacts student health and learning.
Design Guidance for Education Facilities: Prioritization for Advanced Indoor Air Quality
ASHRAE
The intent and scope of this document is to provide guidance to owners, operators, designers, and professional service providers on how to best implement indoor air quality (IAQ) improvements, including risk mitigation strategies, in educational facilities.
Improving Indoor Air Quality in California Schools
UC Davis Western Cooling Efficiency Center
Ventilation means providing outdoor air into classrooms. Ventilation removes indoor air pollutants from buildings by bringing in outside air and exhausting room air.
Air Quality Section (AQS)
California Department of Public Health
The Air Quality Section (AQS) promotes healthy indoor and outdoor air for all Californians, through multidisciplinary expertise in chemistry, physics, engineering, epidemiology, exposure assessment, and microbiology.
IAQ in Schools
Indoor Air Quality Scientific Findings Resource Bank Berkeley Lab
This section provides an overview of indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools and its influence on the health, performance, and absence of occupants of schools.
The National Human Activity Pattern Survey (NHAPS): a resource for assessing exposure to environmental pollutants
Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology
Because human activities impact the timing, location, and degree of pollutant exposure, they play a key role in explaining exposure variation.
Ten questions concerning air fresheners and indoor built environments
Building and Environment: The International Journal of Building Science and its Applications
Air fresheners are pervasive within indoor built environments, such as workplaces, schools, housing, transportation, hotels, hospitals, care facilities, and a range of private and public buildings.
Household Air Pollution
World Health Organization (WHO)
Household air pollution is generated by the use of inefficient and polluting fuels and technologies in and around the home that contains a range of health-damaging pollutants, including small particles that penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream.
Fine Particles Questions and Answers
NY State Department of Health
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is an air pollutant that is a concern for people's health when levels in air are high.
Pesticides’ Impact on Indoor Air Quality
US Enviornmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Pesticides are chemicals that are used to kill or control pests which include bacteria, fungi and other organisms, in addition to insects and rodents. Pesticides are inherently toxic.
Volatile Organic Compounds’ Impact on Indoor Air Quality
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects.
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA)
Dust Mite Allergy
If you have allergies or asthma, a tiny creature living in your home could be making big problems for you.
Typical Indoor Air Pollutants
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Information about several indoor air pollutants common to schools, in a format that allows for easy comparison.