Students: Air Quality and Performance

Today, the #1 health cause for students missing school is asthma, experts say.

This is a relatively new shift. Why are we so surprised that asthma is a big deal?

Because, until our air became so polluted, asthma was not much of a problem. It's the air toxins that are irritating young lungs and causing asthma. Between 1990 and today, the number of minors with asthma more than doubled!

In addition to absence, poor air quality can affect concentration and student performance. While both students and staff are negatively affected by poor air quality, students are more susceptible to it because they breathe more volume of air per body volume and because their breathing passages are narrower. Thus, toxins easily become concentrated in their bloodstream.

Sources:
http://content.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/smokestack/search/MI/~/northville/northville/name/~/1/
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/
http://www.generationgreen.org/school%20air%20quality%20overview.htm

Northville Schools: Air Pollution

According to USA Today, Northville High School is slightly below average in cancer-causing toxins and slightly above average for other toxins.

Nationally, NHS ranks 61st percentile.

NHS Pollution by percent:

Manganese and Manganese compounds: 23%
----Sources: pesticides, batteries
----Risks: mental and emotional disturbances, slow and clumsy body movements
--------It's a brain disease called manganism.

Chromium and Chromium compounds: 8%
----Sources: chromium 6 (the more toxic/unnatural form) is industrial waste
----Risks: convulsions, kidney damage, liver damage, cancer, death

Diisocyanates: 8%
----Sources: foams, fibers, insulation, paints, varnishes
--------Especially from the auto industry
----Risks: respiratory diseases, e.g. asthma

Nickel and Nickel compounds: 8%
----Sources: coins, jewelry, stainless steel
----Risks: chronic bronchitis, reduced lung function, lung and sinus cancers

Sulfuric acid: 5%
----Sources: petroleum purification, fertilizers, explosives, metal pickling, lead-acid batteries
----Risks: cancer of the larynx

Polluters:

1. Severstal North America Inc. (Dearborn)
 Iron and steel mills

2. Progressive Metal Forming Inc. (Hamburg)
Metal stamping

3. Basf Corp. (Wyandotte)
Basic Organic Chemical Mfg

4. Borgwarner (Livonia)
Powder Metallurgy Part Mfg

5. Guardian Industries Corp. (Carleton)
Flat Glass Mfg

Northville Public Schools:
Best schools (tied) : Thornton Creek, Moraine (63rd percentile)
Worst schools (tied) : Winchester, Meads Mill (56th percentile)

Want to find out about your school?
http://content.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/smokestack/index

Ventilation

Proper ventilation in the home can be essential to decreasing levels of indoor air pollution.  Your house may be put at risk when the intake and exhaust is not in balance, causing positive or negative pressures.  When a house is under negative pressure, outdoor air is forced inside.  This flow causes problems such as backdrafting, or when combustion gases are pulled back down chimneys, and high levels of radon.  Excess moisture in the house occurs frequently in bathrooms, so make sure to test the functioning and performance ability of your bathroom exhaust fans.  Using these tips and being aware of the airflow in your home will keep the air you breathe safe for all inhabitants.

Sources:

http://www.nyserda.org/publications/guide.pdf

http://www.epa.gov/iaq/homes/hip-ventilation.html

http://www.epa.gov/radon/pubs/citguide.html

http://www.homeenergy.org/archive/hem.dis.anl.gov/eehem/91/910512.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7lUNMwoJcg

Cleaning

Many household cleaning products contain toxic chemicals.  In Salvador's study, all 42 products tested had harmful chemicals, including acetone, ethanol, limonene, and phenol.  Simple substitutions can decrease exposure to harmful gases while saving money.  For example, open a window for ventilation instead of using air fresheners and choose non-scented deodorant, laundry detergent, and fabric softeners.

Sources:

http://www.ei-resource.org/columns/multiple-chemical-sensitivity/scientists-find-household-cleaners-cause-indoor-air-pollution/

Wood Smoke

Safe burning techniques can help prevent unhealthy smoke from entering your home.  New EPA certifications have cut smoke emissions from wood stoves and fireplaces up to 70%; the newer models produce 2 to 7 grams of smoke per hour instead of 15 to 30 grams of smoke per hour.  An estimated 12 million wood stoves are still in existence in the United States, so following the procedures outlined in this video will help lower the risk of particle pollution entering your home and your respiratory system.

Sources:

http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/

http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t1/memoranda/strategies-doc-8-11-09.pdf

Cooking

Did you know that cooking methods could affect the air you breathe?  Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, or PAHs, are released into the air during inefficient burning processes.  They could be present around the house in smoke from wood burning or in certain foods.  Increased PAH levels are found in smoked foods, foods high in fat, and foods that have been cooked over high temperature.  Exposure to these chemicals could result in cataracts, jaundice, kidney and liver damage, and cancer.  Proper ventilation, eating fewer smoked or charbroiled foods, and cutting back on fatty or oily foods will help combat this problem.

Sources:

http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/factsheets/polycyclicaromatichydrocarbons.htm

http://www.beyondveg.com/tu-j-l/raw-cooked/raw-cooked-1f.shtml

Acting Locally

After researching the issue of idling buses, we decided to try to make a difference. Here is the letter we sent to our state representative:

45700 Six Mile Road

Northville, MI 48168

February 20, 2011

Kurt Heise

Anderson House Office Bldg.
124 N. Capitol
N-699 House Office Building
Lansing, MI  48933

Dear Representative Kurt Heise,

            We’d like to bring to your attention the fact that the prolonged idling of school buses is harming the health of Michigan children. In Northville Public Schools, the buses idle for about twenty minutes in the morning and in the afternoon. These diesel fumes accumulate both around and on the buses during this time. Pollutants released include carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, sulfur oxides, sulfates, and soot. These have been proven to cause asthma and cancer. In addition, they are especially potent in children. A common myth is that idling is less harmful than stopping and restarting the engine. In fact, idling for more than three minutes produces 66% more pollution than stopping and restarting.

            On top of all these health and environmental issues, the cost of idling is significant. Running an engine at low speed (idling) actually causes twice the wear of driving full speed on a highway for the same amount of time. Idling consumes half a gallon of fuel per hour. For our high school alone, this adds up to 1200 gallons per year which costs about $4,000—money that could be going to much better use. 

            We have found two solutions for this issue:

            First, the EPA offers a State Clean Diesel Grant Program, as outlined in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This grant allocates an estimated amount of $18 million annually to a state that applies. This money must be used for retrofit technologies such as exhaust filters, catalytic converters, and alternate fuels; idle reduction technologies; technology from the EPA’s Emerging Technologies List; or the early replacement of buses with certified engine configurations.

            In addition, many states have already adopted legislation that limits the idling time of buses around schools. Michigan has not. The application of these measures would prevent the accumulation of toxins as well as save money.

Sincerely,

Catherine Culkin

Morgan Parsons

Becky Pokrandt

Michael Truong

And Mr. Szukaitis and Mr. Polanski's AP Environmental Science classes

Idling Fumes

Please, if you feel as strongly about this as we do, make a difference! Write to your congressman.

Sources:

http://www.nett.ca/faq/diesel-1.html

 http://www.trucktrend.com/features/tech/163_0210_diesel_vs_gas/index.html

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/25/AR2010012500970.html

 http://www.nmenv.state.nm.us/aqb/ghg/documents/IdlingMythsandFacts.pdf

 http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/5289

 http://www.anr.state.vt.us/air/mobilesources/htm/Diesel.htm

If you want to calculate the fuel and money wasted for your school, go to:
http://www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus/idle_fuel_calc.htm

Our high school's facts:
We waste 1200 gal/years on idling alone.
That's about $4000!
It also converts to about 24,000 pounds of carbon dioxide. That's using a conversion rate of about 20 lbs carbon dioxide per one gallon diesel--feel free to apply it to your school to find out its carbon dioxide emissions!

Retrofit diesel oxidation catalysts (DOCs) for school buses cost approximately $1,000-$2,000. This means that with the money we would save in one year of reduced idling, our school could buy two to four of these filters for our buses.
On each bus equipped with a filter, this would:
 - reduce particulate matter emissions by 20%.
 - reduce hydrocarbon emissions by 50%.
 - reduce carbon monoxide emissions by 40%.
These filters can last up to 15 years!

While idling does help keep buses warm in winter, we shot a clip of buses idling with their doors open before school had even ended. Not only is this nullifying the warmth of running the engine, it's also letting these toxic fumes accumulate on the bus.
Thus, idling costs money, hurts the environment, and harms the people who drive or ride buses. The decision is easy: stop idling! This is an easy step to take that makes a big difference.

States that have already passed some form of anti-idling regulation:
Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
...Where's Michigan?

*Note: while running a bus or two on vegetable oil is a green and cheap way to transport kids, it's currently violating the EPA's Clean Air Act of 1990. It's not that vegetable oil is dirtier: it just hasn't been tested for all engines yet.

Outdoor Plants

Instead of limiting our views to indoor plants, let's talk about outdoor plants!
Outdoor plants such as trees help to remove air pollutants from the surrounding air thus improving the air quality around your house and your community. Check out the following links to learn more about trees and their effects on the air quality around you:

The Effects of Urban Trees on Air Quality
Benefits from Trees
Trees and Air Quality

Commonly found in New York, one of the best trees to decrease air pollution are Ginkgo trees. Ginkgo trees thrive in environments with poor air quality and are highly tolerant to toxic pollutants. This means that they are able to remove the toxins out of the air around them in order to survive.


Ginkgo Tree

When it comes to outdoor air pollution, an increase in trees overall decreases pollution in the air.

Challenge!

We at Team Earth challenge you, our readers, to improve your indoor air quality. In reference to our last post, you have the option to buy any of the various houseplants we listed. Or you can be creative and come up with other ways to complete our challenge!

Take a look at these websites for more ideas:

http://www.epa.gov/students/air.html
http://www.lbl.gov/Education/ELSI/pollution-main.html

Houseplants to Save You!

As we said in our last post, many plants help to improve the air quality in our homes. Some of these include:

Areca Palm

Lady Palm

Rubber Plant

Dragon Plant

English Ivy

Peace Lily

Gerbera Daisy

Snake Plant

Spider Plant

Weeping Fig

Any of these plants will greatly improve the quality of air in your home by removing the dangerous pollutants that linger in the air. 

~ Team Earth

Scientists prove the effectiveness of houseplants to improve air quality

As stated in How Houseplants Help Clean Pollutants From the Air in Your Home, NASA conducted an experiment that tested the ability of spider plants to remove formaldehyde from the air. The spider plants were able to remove 95% of the toxic substance from the air. More recent studies have found that other plants are also able to remove toxins out of the air such as benzene and ammonia.
Look for our next post on these specific plants!

If you want to read this article, go to firstsearch.oclc.org
Type in "100-141-966"
Then "mustangs"

Search "How Houseplants Help Clean Pollutants From the Air in Your Home" under the database WilsonSelectPlus. Then click "View Text in HTML Format". Enjoy!