Clean Air Advocacy Ireland
Clean Air in Schools
“Every child has the right to a safe, clean and healthy environment.”
It is well established by now that children benefit from fresh clean air in their learning environments and that children benefit from learning outdoors for a variety of reasons; a big one being that more oxygen allows for better brain function and has a positive impact on children’s mental and physical wellbeing. Getting plenty of clean fresh air helps children’s brains to function at full capacity. The popularity of Forest Schools and outdoor Naíonraí and Creches in Ireland is testament to how good fresh air is for children’s learning and development. While this is a hugely positive development, unfortunately not all children have access to such outdoor learning opportunities. Not all outdoor environments are free of air pollution. And while much attention is given to outdoor air pollution, not enough attention has been given to our indoor air quality.
Once children reach primary school, the standard educational settings from then on are largely classroom based and increasingly more and more children are squeezed into overcrowded classrooms.
We spend approximately 90% of our time indoors. Children spend 40% of their time in classrooms. In poorly ventilated classrooms, CO2 levels can rise upwards of 2,500ppm and cause children to lose concentration and become drowsy. [1] This is not a good learning environment.
High CO2 levels also indicate poor airflow for the purposes of trying to reduce the build-up and spread of airborne pathogens, mould and Particulate Matter (PM) in a classroom. A high reading on a CO2 monitor (over 800 ppm is our preferred actionable CO2 level) [2] can serve as a useful signal to open windows to improve ventilation, and/or identify a need to install HEPA filters in the classroom if opening windows isn’t always an option due to outdoor noise and/or air pollution. HEPA filters result in a notable reduction in PM2.5 and viral RNA[3]. Studies have found that there is a relationship between reduced CO2 and improved educational performance. [4]
By reducing the spread of airborne pathogens, mould, dust and pollen; children spend more time in school, bring fewer infections home to their families and teachers require less sick days providing less disruption to classes.
[1] https://www.energy.wsu.edu/Documents/CO2inbuildings.pdf
[3] Henry C. Burridge, Sen Liu, Sara Mohamed, Samuel G.A. Wood, Cath J. Noakes,
‘Coupled indoor air quality and dynamic thermal modelling to assess the potential impacts of standalone HEPA filter units in classrooms’, Indoor Environments, Volume 1, Issue 3, 2024, 100034, ISSN 2950-3620,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indenv.2024.100034. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950362024000316
[4] Pawel Wargocki, Jose Ali Porras-Salazar, Sergio Contreras-Espinoza, William Bahnfleth, ‘The relationships between classroom air quality and children’s performance in school,’ Building and Environment, Volume 173, 2020, Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2020.106749. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132320301074 )
What we want
We want to protect community health and to improve student’s and teacher’s health and wellbeing in educational settings by promoting the use of ventilation and air purification technologies to improve indoor air quality in classrooms.
We want the Department of Education to create a ringfenced fund dedicated to the upgrade of ventilation systems to increase air exchanges in schools and to include the purchase of portable HEPA filters if upgrading the mechanical ventilation system isn’t feasible . This fund should run continuously to fund the replacement of filters when needed.
We want the HSE, Department of Health and/or the Environmental Protection Agency to run educational media campaigns to explain why improving indoor air quality is important and how it can be achieved.
We want students, teachers and parents to be informed and empowered to take action on the indoor air quality in schools by having remote access to CO2 readings of classrooms.
Clean Air in Healthcare
We believe everyone who is seeking healthcare deserves to be treated in a healthy environment, whether that is in a hospital, GP’s, a dentist surgery or any form of clinic, and not to risk illness whilst seeking healthcare
Clean Air in Schools
The benefits of clean air in schools are countless - from reduced absences, reduced illnesses spread into the community, less need for substitute teachers, increased attention and concentration, and much more
Clean Air in Workplaces
If you’re sick of being sick or you’re an employer and you’re constantly short-staffed due to illness, the best thing you can do for yourself, your employees and your business is to clean the air in your workplace