Understanding Air Quality Standards in Connecticut

By Tony Sheffy

THE AIR WE BREATHE

My kids know my obsession with facts. They have been cross-examined at the dinner table enough to know that credible evidence (often going to the proof of their whereabouts) rests on solid facts. Because their stories occasionally fall short, there is usually an appropriate consequence that follows.

In apparent retaliation, my kids are always trying to ambush me with impossible trivia questions. The latest assault: what activity do we perform 16 times per minute, 23,000 per day and 670,000,000 times during the course of our lifetime? Conceding defeat, I accepted the answer from the victor with the "you don't know everything" look on her face. The statistics represent the estimated number of times that we breathe in a minute, a day and during the course of our lives.

Those numbers amaze me. However, the statistics that I came across verifying my daughter's claim were more startling. I returned to her with my own question: what causes almost the same number of premature deaths as car accidents or breast cancer every year, and is also estimated to cause our economy an average yearly loss of 150 billion dollars. The shocking answer: it is estimated that 50,000 deaths per year are related to poor air quality. Air that we are taking into our lungs some 23,000 times per day.

The good news is that we are fortunate to be part of a progressive state. Connecticut recognizes the correlation between air quality and good health. Over the last several years there has been a focus in Connecticut on the importance of improving indoor air quality. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Connecticut Department of Public Health and Conn-OSHA, in conjunction with the EPA are continuing to study, make recommendations and regulate acceptable standards for indoor air quality in the work place and in the state's public schools.

As to public schools, the state is acutely aware that poor air quality in the classroom can impact the learning environment, comfort and attendance of students and teachers. Poor air quality has also been connected to reduced productivity due to discomfort, sickness, or absenteeism.

In response, Connecticut has made available to school administrators a wealth of information to assist schools in improving indoor air quality. In addition, there are a number of important state laws governing air quality in and around schools. Here are a few examples. To limit dangerous emissions, the state regulates the time that a school bus may idle its engines. The use of pesticides and the timing of pesticide application are strictly controlled.

There are a number of very specific laws and regulations regarding the renovation and remediation of older schools and the construction of new schools. These laws address indoor air quality by focusing on installation of the proper ventilation and plumbing systems, study of radon levels, potential for exposure to microbial contaminants and chemical compounds, the degree of pest infestation and pesticide usage, the degree of moisture incursion that cold result in mold, building cleanliness, building structural elements, and the presence of and plans for removal of hazardous substances.

Science and advances in medical research continue to assist lawmakers and government officials in making policy that will improve indoor air quality in both our work place and in our public schools. Their diligent efforts will likely make the air that we breath some 670,000,000 times over the course of our life time the most pure, clean and healthy that it can be.

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