William H. Farquhar Middle School, Olney, MD. Photo credit: Patrick Ross
School Health Research Library
We have curated a library of peer-reviewed scientific studies from around the world published since 2016, focusing on the school built environment and occupant health and performance. This research builds on the 2017 Schools for Health: Foundations for Student Success report released by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health that synthesizes foundational research about school indoor environmental quality impacts on students and staff.
To help translate this research into action in schools, we have compiled School Health Research Highlights to help school staff and leaders access key findings and actionable strategies on priority topics.
Displaying 391 - 400 of 585 | Export entire research library
Determination of optimal ventilation rates in educational environment in terms of radon dosimetry
Dovjak, Mateja
Simulations showed that the highest radon concentrations were observed in case 1 with a DVR of 79.6 m3/h (621 Bq/m3) and case 4 with a DVR of 69.4 m3/h (711 Bq/m3), both defined by national regulations. The calculated values in both cases exceeded…
Keywords: Effective dose, Radon, Ventilation rate, School, Renovation
Measuring students’ exposure to particulate matter (PM) pollution across microenvironments and seasons using personal air monitors
Ryan, Ian
Children were consistently exposed to higher PM2.5 concentrations in the fall (median: fall = 2.84, spring = 2.31, winter = 0.90 µg/m3). At school, 2.19% of PM2.5 measurements exceeded the EPA annual fine particle standard, 12 µg/m3 (winter = 7.38…
Keywords:
Why has the COVID-19 pandemic generated such global interest from the engineering community?
Tang, Julian W
Why has the COVID‐19 pandemic generated such global interest from the engineering community? Firstly, the nature of the COVID‐19 pandemic (by definition) is global, with SARS‐CoV‐2 spread to all populations worldwide—rather than just being limited…
Keywords:
Indoor and outdoor air concentrations of volatile organic compounds and NO2 in schools of urban, industrial and rural areas in Central-Southern Spain
Villanueva, Florentina
. The most abundant pollutants at schools were the aldehydes formaldehyde and hexanal. After carbonyls, n-dodecane was the most abundant compound in the study areas. The NO2 concentrations were higher in the urban area, followed by industrial area…
Keywords: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), Carbonyl compounds, Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), Indoor air quality, School, Spain
Enhancement and Homogenization of Indoor Air Quality in a Classroom Using a Vertical Airflow Ventilation Scheme
Park, Su-Hoon
In the classroom with the existing ventilation system, the age of air was low in the area near the ventilation inlets, while air congestion areas were widely distributed and air age was high near the outlets. Conversely, in the vertical airflow…
Keywords: Classrooms, Ventilation, Indoor air quality, Age of air, Computational fluid dynamics
Impact of School Air Quality on Children's Respiratory Health
Fsadni, Peter
The mean indoor PM 2.5 level of 17.78 μg/m3 and CO (9.11 ppm) exceeded World Health Organization thresholds. Indoor ozone levels exceeded the mean European school's indoor ozone concentration of 8 μg/m3. High exposure to formaldehyde, NO2, and…
Keywords: Asthma, Atopy, Ozone (O3), School
Interventions for improving indoor and outdoor air quality in and around schools
Rawat, Nidhi
Studies suggest that the removal efficiency of air purifiers for PM2.5, PM10, PM1 and BC can be up to 57 %, 34 %, 70 % and 58 %, respectively, depending on the air purification technology compared with control levels in classroom. The HVAC system…
Keywords: Classroom pollution, School interventions, Children exposure, Exposure reduction, Citizen science, Classroom ventilation
Assessment of indoor and outdoor air quality in primary schools of Cyprus during the COVID–19 pandemic measures in May–July 2021
Konstantinou, Corina
Indoor PM, temperature, RH and VOCs increased with progressing school periods in the day, while indoor CO2 decreased. Indoor RH and CO2 were negatively associated with % open windows, while indoor PM2.5 was positively associated. Most of school time…
Keywords: Indoor air quality, School, Environmental pollutants, Sensors, Exposure, COVID-19 measures
Indoor air quality at school and students' performance: Recommendations of the UNESCO Chair on Health Education and Sustainable Development & the Italian Society of Environmental Medicine (SIMA)
Pulimeno, Manuela
The UNESCO Chair on Health Education and Sustainable Development and the Italian Society of Environmental Medicine (SIMA) propose the following recommendations that include useful suggestions to cope with issues related to COVID-19 pandemic: Avoid…
Keywords: Indoor air quality, School, Students, Performance, Health, COVID-19
Key Factors Determining Indoor Air PM10 Concentrations in Naturally Ventilated Primary Schools in Belgrade, Serbia
Matic, Branislava
PM10 concentrations were significantly most frequent in an interval of ≥80.1μg/m3, that is, in the interval above 50μg/m3. Mean PM10 value was 82.24±42.43 μg/m3, ranging from 32.00μg/m3 to of 197.00μg/m3
Keywords: Indoor air quality, Classrooms, Particulate matter (PM), Respirable particulate matter (PM 10), Primary schools, Exposure, Serbia