Danger - One in Three Public Schools Hazardous to Children’s’ Health. Is Yours One of Them?

mcmilker — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:58:13 +0000

A new report, One-third of schools built in air pollution danger zones, released this month found that one third of public schools are built within 400 meters of a major highway. Great- you might think – easy access right?

Well yes, easy access but not so great for your children’s health. Research studies have shown that environmental pollution, like exhaust particles, can leave school age children more susceptible to respiratory illnesses.

“This is a major public health concern that should be given serious consideration in future urban development, transportation planning and environmental policies,” says Sergey Grinshpun, PhD, principal investigator of the study and professor of environmental health at UC. To protect the health of young children with developing lungs, he says new schools should be built further from major highways.

This research examined 8000 schools serving 6 million school age children across the country, in Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Denver, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Memphis, Minneapolis and San Antonio and indicates that the problem is far more widespread than was previously thought. Asthma is at epidemic levels in this country and part of the reason, especially for children is homes and schools built in increasing proximity to highways.

Green Options » pediatric asthma

Danger - One in Three Public Schools Hazardous to Children’s’ Health. Is Yours One of Them?

Close to 6.3 million children in the U.S. under 18 currently have asthma!