# Presentation: 677285

## Air Quality & Health Informationfor Schools

- Air Quality & Health Informationfor Schools

- National Air Quality Conference
- February 14, 2005
- William A. Vance, Ph.D.
- Children’s Environmental Health Center
- California EPA

## Air Quality & Health Information	

- What is the flow of information?
- Who tells who what, when, and how?
- What are the state and federal requirements?
- What do schools do with the information?
- Do schools have “bad air day” policies?
- What information do schools need?
- Coping with poor air quality

## Who tells who what, when, and how?

- Local air quality districts notify school districts
-  Air districts issue:
- Spare-the-Air announcements
- 8-hr ozone AQI _>_ 127
- TV, radio, fax, e-mail
- Air Alerts
- List-server, subscriber’s preference
- Fax, text message cell phones, “Blackberries”

## Who tells who what, when, and how?

- Air districts issue (cont.):
- Health Advisory Notices (California)
- Ozone 0.15 ppm for 1 hr or more
- Fax, e-mail

## What are the reporting requirements?

- Federal:
- Air districts within a statistical metropolitan area (SMA) with 350,000+ residents must report air quality index (AQI).
- State:
- Staged smog episodes starting with Health Advisory Notice at 0.15 ppm ozone

## What do the school districts do with the information?

- School superintendents determine which schools in the district should receive the alerts and notices
- School principals notify teachers, nurses, and coaches
- Principal may change flag color if necessary
- Principal may request indoor space be available
- School staff review policy, who has asthma, who may require reduced exposures

## School Policies for “Bad Air Days”

- Decisions at different AQI categories:
- When to make indoor space available
- When to reduce intensity of outdoor activities
- When to reduce time spent outdoors
- When to cancel recess and P.E. classes
- When to cancel after-school sports practices
- When to cancel intramural games

## What information do schools need?

- To develop “bad air day” policies, schools must consider that:
- About one in eight children have asthma
- Children need vigorous exercise for lung development and physical fitness
- Outdoor activities occur during:
- 15 minute recesses
- 1 hour lunch break
- 1 hour P.E. classes

## What information do schools need to make decisions?

- Forecast for current day and next day
- Pollutant(s) of concern (ozone and PM)
- Where, when, and how long the air quality will be degraded
- What the standard is compared to school’s considerations
- Anticipated health effects at forecast levels

## The Challenges

- Ozone 1-hr AQI “disappears” June 2005
- Ozone 8-hr standard and AQI in wide use
- PM2.5 drives the AQI in winter, now summer?
- PM2.5 AQI based on 24-hr average standard
- Health effects for an AQI category are based on the standard (8 hrs and 24 hrs)
- Averaging times for standards are longer than recess and P.E.

## Planning for Poor Air Quality Days

- How many days per school year are affected by “unhealthy” air quality?
- Long range planning tools are available from the local air districts and the California Air Resources Board

## 2003 Ozone Air Quality Comparison 

| Location | Days Exceeding 1-Hour Standard | Days Exceeding   8-Hour Standard | 1-Hour Peak  (ppm) | 8-Hour Peak (ppm) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| So Coast Air Basin | 68 | 119 | 0.216 | 0.198 |
| San Joaquin | 37 | 130 | 0.151 | 0.130 |
| Sacrmnto
Mtropltin | 6 | 43 | 0.15 | 0.12 |

- 2003 Ozone Air Quality Comparison

## Slide 13

## Slide 14

## Coping with Poor Air Quality

- Understanding the air quality standards and associated health risks:
- Short-term exposures for an hour or less are not the same as exposures for 8 or 24 hours at the same pollutant concentration
- Dose of inhaled pollutant depends on concentration, breathing rate, and duration of exposure

## Ozone Exposure Curve

**Concentration**

**T i m e   E x p o s e d    ( H o u r s )**

**1**

**8**

**124 ppb**

** ****85 ppb**

- Unhealthy

- Acceptable

- Adapted from J. Cassmassi, SCAQMD

## *    Federal 8-hr standard

| 80 | 90 | (45) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 85* | 101 | (52) |
| 95 | 127 | (64) |
| 105 | 151 | (76) |
| 115 | 177 | (90) |
| 125** | 201 | 101 |
| 135 | 205 | 114 |
| 145 | 209 | 126 |
| 150*** | 211 | 132 |
| 155 | 213 | 139 |
| 165 | 217 | 151 |
| 175 | 221 | 164 |

*****    Federal 8-hr standard
******   Federal 1-hr standard
******* State Health Advisory Notice

- (By extrapolation only, not official US EPA values)

## W. F. McDonnell, P.W. Stewart, et al. AJRCCM 156: 715-722 (1997)

- W. F. McDonnell, P.W. Stewart, et al. AJRCCM _156_: 715-722 (1997)

## W. F. McDonnell, P.W. Stewart, et al. AJRCCM 156: 715-722 (1997)

- W. F. McDonnell, P.W. Stewart, et al. AJRCCM _156_: 715-722 (1997)

**Notes:**
This is the lower left hand corner of the previous figure. 

The air quality of most interest to schools lies between the 8-hr standard of 0.08 ppm and the 1 hr standard of 0.12 ppm ozone.  This spans the air quality categories of “moderate” to “unhealthy for all” on the 8-hr scale.

If we look at the 0.12 ppm concentration and the top curve and slide backwards just a bit to estimate a 1 hour exposure, we can see that there is a potential for a 1 to 2% decrement in FEV1 in healthy young adults.

This decrement is reversible or recoverable, but points out the need to consider sensitive subpopulations, especially children with asthma.  This what US EPA does in its cautionary health statements.

## Dose-Response

- Dose, the amount you inhale, depends on the concentration, breathing rate, and how long you are outdoors
- Air quality standards are established at concentrations and time durations that are protective of the public’s health
- Shorter exposure durations result in lower dose and less severe health effects

## Establishing AQI “Action Levels”

- Very difficult for schools given 8-hr and 24-hr standards
- Requires a full understanding of the health effects, sensitive populations, breathing rates for various outdoor activities, acceptability by parents and staff
- Balancing exposures with need for exercise to promote healthy lung growth and physical fitness

## Tailoring Health Messages for Schools

- Air districts could consider:
- Caveat the standard U.S. EPA cautionary health messages as pertaining to exposures similar to the air quality standard (8 hour or 24 hours)
- Include a 1-hr time-based standard for comparison, where available
- Report multiple pollutants when AQIs _>_ 50

## Downtown Street

- _Available Sites_
- _Foothills_
- _Elementary School_

**Downtown Street**
- Air Quality Index for each hour of the day for February 10, 2005
**	****<<  <  Today   >  >>**** **

| 
Ozone
8-hr Average | 12  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10  11   12   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11
AM                                                         PM |
| --- | --- |
|  |  |
| PM2.5
24-hr Average | 12  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10  11   12   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11
AM                                                         PM |
|  |  |
| Carbon
Monoxide
8-hr Average | 12  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10  11   12   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11
AM                                                         PM |

## Tailoring Health Messages for Schools

- Air districts could consider (cont.):
- Including definitions of terms:
- 	“Prolonged” –  4 hours with breaks
- 	“Moderate exertion”  =  25 – 45 L/min
- 	“Heavy exertion”   > 45 L/min
- Where to find “real-time” air quality data
- Where to find additional health information

## What Schools Could Do

- Work with local air district on annual plan for poor air quality days
- Work with local air district on when air quality information is needed
- Share your “bad air day” policy with local air district
- Ensure you are on the air district’s notification lists

## Acknowledgements

- “Almost anything can be accomplished with teamwork.”
- David Nunez, M.D., California Asthma Public Health Initiative, California Deptment of Health Services (Co-P.I.)
- Majel Arnold, RRT, MS-HAS, CAPHI, DHS
- Gail Kennedy, MPH, UC San Francisco
- Annmarie Mora, Research Division, California Air Resource Board
- Funded by U.S. EPA’s Office of Children’s Health Protection through a grant to the Environmental Council of the States
- _[http://www.](http://www.calepa.ca.gov/ChildHealth)__[calepa](http://www.calepa.ca.gov/ChildHealth)__[.ca.](http://www.calepa.ca.gov/ChildHealth)__[gov](http://www.calepa.ca.gov/ChildHealth)__[/](http://www.calepa.ca.gov/ChildHealth)__[ChildHealth](http://www.calepa.ca.gov/ChildHealth)_