Washington day cares close to polluted roads

Small children are most affected by
air pollution, experts say.

It’s a cruel fact of physiology: kids are the hardest-hit victims of air pollution.

Pound for pound, children breathe more than adults, receiving a relatively bigger toxic dose delivered to their developing bodies. And the smaller the child, the bigger the impact. What makes an 8-year-old cough could make an infant stop breathing.

That science takes on particular significance in Washington, where 126 day cares are located beside major roads and where rules about where new facilities can open are not enforced.

Researchers say air pollution from vehicle traffic can aggravate asthma, reduce lung function and boost school absenteeism, as well as promote cancer later in life and harm developing immune systems.

An additional 439 day cares sit within 500 feet of the state’s heaviest truck routes, a new analysis by InvestigateWest shows. The diesel fuel that powers these trucks can spew 100 to 200 times more soot than gasoline engines, and the exhaust is so toxic that the World Health Organization classifies it as a carcinogen.

Nationally, more than 11 million children under 5 are enrolled in regular child care.  In Washington, one-fourth of all toddlers and one-third of all preschoolers attend a licensed child care facility, according to a 2008 survey.

The pollution risks are not always reflected in where parents choose to or are able to enroll their kids.

Just south of Everett along Interstate 5, a hedge separates the playground of Kids ‘N Us Learning Academy from a highway off-ramp. Among the dozens of day cares that fall within the pollution plume of I-5, Kids ‘N Us is one of the closest, its property line just over 300 feet from the heavily traveled road.

In Washington, the murky set of guidelines governing where day cares can operate does little in practice to protect kids from air pollution risks.

State child care licensing code does not restrict where in-home day cares — limited to 12 or fewer kids — can open.

Institutional child care centers, which have an average capacity of 69 kids, are required to be on an “environmentally safe site” and in a neighborhood “free of a condition detrimental to the child's welfare,” according to a state regulation.

The licensing process for a new day care does not require a site review by health officials to determine whether a property is safe from environmental hazards like nearby freeways. Instead, the Department of Early Learning, a fire marshal and the local planning department sign off on a new location. The agency also employs four health specialists to respond to complaints and concerns.

As is the case with schools, the construction of day cares can trigger a State Environmental Protection Act, or SEPA, review. But that process emphasizes air risks stemming from construction like dust and short-term truck traffic rather than ambient air concerns like a nearby highway.

Reducing harm from near-road exposures at day cares is something of a bureaucratic hot potato, with the Washington Department of Early Learning saying it’s not its job to correct for environmental risks, and health officials saying the initial push isn’t theirs to make.

State officials acknowledge that they are a lot more worried about keeping kids safe — meaning, for starters, alive — than in heading off seemingly subtle pollution threats. The high-profile deaths of two children in state-licensed day cares — one an accidental drowning in 2004, the other a death from E. coli in 2010 — focused regulators’ attention on acute threats to children.

Editor's note: This article has been edited for length. 

Source: Investigate West

Provide children with clean air

Concerned about the air quality in your children's day care centers or schools?

Electrocorp has designed efficient air cleaners for schools and universities, which provide cleaner and healthier air by removing airborne chemicals, odors, bacteria, viruses, particles, allergens and more.

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Finland: Schools suffer from indoor air pollution

Classrooms may be making your kids sick
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos

Over the past several years, countless studies have been made on dampness and moisture in buildings throughout Finland. In 2007, researchers chose 630 random houses and apartments that were built between 1950 and 1989 for their study. Of those homes, 51 percent had moisture problems; 33 percent of those had moderate to severe issues, particularly in houses. 

Many respiratory diseases, eye irritations and allergies have been directly linked to the moisture problem across the country.

The National Public Health Institute revealed in 2007 that there was a strong correlation between damp homes and the prevalence of asthma among children. Up to one in five asthma cases could be linked to water damage in the home.

A new study, made by the Trade Union of Education in Finland (OAJ,) has now discovered that moisture issues extend beyond the home. Up to two thirds of the schools and day-cares across the country have indoor air quality issues. Approximately 80 percent of the buildings in Finland, schools and day-cares included, are not sufficiently ventilated.

Water damage in some of the damp schools is so bad that recommendations have been made to tear them down, rather than try to repair them. Though poor indoor air quality in schools have been an issue for over fifteen years now, some people believe the issue is still not being handled properly. Remediation has been slow moving, leading to parents, in one town, taking matters into their own hands.

Tervajoki School in Vähäkyrö, Finland was shut down for a week while parents pulled their kids out of the school and promised to continue striking until changes were made. The school has since been relocated pending repairs or the building of a new school.

What do you think about the parents' strike? Would you do the same if  you thought your kids were at risk? Let us know!

Source: Helsingin Sanomat, Helsingin Sanomat, University of Turku, Air & Waste Management Association

Improving indoor air quality in schools

Apart from the home, kids spend most of their time at school. Considering the astronomical number of children with asthma today (7 million in US), it is extremely important that the quality of the air in schools is up to par.

Removing mold is the most important first step to solving indoor air pollution in schools. Many schools in North America have been shut down recently for precisely that reason. If a school is dealing with elevated moisture, however, ventilation is the first plan of action.

Electrocorp offers air cleaners that can complement remediation and ventilation efforts within schools and universities. Our units use two different types of filters to help remove harmful chemicals, gases and particles from the air: the HEPA filter (for particles) and the activated carbon filter (for chemicals and gases). An optional UV germicidal lamp will also help remove mold, bacteria and viruses, thereby resulting in better air quality for both students and staff.

For more information on our air cleaners, contact Electrocorp.

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