Nearly 1 in 5 Utah residents attend a K-12 public school. And for kids who spend eight or more hours a day in school environments, indoor air quality is of critical importance. Children are often more sensitive to environmental pollutants, which can affect school performance, long-term health and the spread of respiratory illnesses like COVID-19. But air quality in most K-12 schools goes unmonitored and unmanaged, leaving its potential health impacts up in the air.
Now, an interdisciplinary team of University of Utah Health and Price Engineering researchers has received $6.53 million in funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, part of a $34 million nationwide investment in research to monitor and address indoor air pollution in schools. The team will find ways to monitor and reduce indoor air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in schools in urban and rural regions of Utah, as well as with the Northern Arapaho Tribe in Wyoming.
Led by UHealth’s Nancy Daher, an associate professor of industrial hygiene, the team features Kerry Kelly, associate professor in Price Engineering’s Department of Chemical Engineering.
“By the end of our project, each school will have an air quality management plan with recommendations for improving indoor air quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, all while saving energy and costs,” said Daher. “Schools will also have air quality sensors that allow them to track pollution levels in real-time and receive alerts when levels are high.”
Those alerts could let schools rapidly adapt to changes in air quality, for instance, by increasing air filtration if wildfire smoke is present.
“If we identify poor air quality inside a school, this grant will enable us to recommend and help implement solutions, like improved air filtration or modified HVAC operations during wildfire events,” said Kerry.
The newly funded project will take a multi-pronged approach to improve air quality in schools. The team will assess school air quality by testing school buildings for energy efficiency, monitoring school facilities for air pollutants inside and outside buildings, and conducting computer simulations of air quality. Researchers will also demonstrate the effectiveness of air pollution reduction strategies and develop a phone app for indoor air quality in schools. The team will connect with the community through outreach, training, and educational activities, as well as by providing indoor air quality and greenhouse gas reduction guidance to schools.
Air pollutants often impact children more severely than adults. Kids’ developing organ systems are more sensitive to many pollutants, and children tend to breathe more air than adults relative to their body weight, increasing their exposure to any toxic substances in the air. Better air quality improves student academic performance and attendance and reduces the spread of airborne illnesses. Additionally, improving indoor air quality tends to lengthen the lifespan of building systems and lower greenhouse gas emissions from schools while providing significant cost savings through lower energy consumption.