Do you remember how exhausted you used to feel toward the end of a school day? It could have had something to do with poor indoor air quality.
Indoor air can be two to five times—and occasionally up to 100 times—more polluted than outdoor air.
A new bill, the Indoor Air Quality and Healthy Schools Act, seeks to ensure that our schoolchildren are protected from unhealthy indoor air. It’s well worth supporting.
Tell the House: Support the Indoor Air Quality and Healthy Schools Act
Most people in the U.S. spend about 90% of their time indoors. And poor indoor air quality is one of the top environmental risks to public health, responsible for over 3 million deaths globally each year.
Poor indoor air quality can be caused by a wide variety of factors, including fuel-burning appliances, emissions from building materials and furniture (like off-gassing from new carpets or upholstery), excess moisture that can contribute to mold growth, and unhealthy outdoor air.
While the Clean Air Act has significantly improved outdoor air quality in the United States over the past few decades, no similar law exists for indoor air quality. The Indoor Air Quality and Healthy Schools Act would help fix this glaring inequity.
Children have still-developing respiratory systems and are therefore especially vulnerable to poor indoor air quality. This critical bipartisan legislation, introduced by Representatives Paul Tonko (NY) and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), would give EPA the authority and resources needed to protect public health from poor indoor air quality. It would require EPA
- to establish and regularly update a national assessment of indoor air quality in schools and childcare facilities,
- to establish and regularly update a list of significant indoor contaminants,
- to develop health-based, voluntary guidelines to reduce the public’s risk of exposure to these contaminants,
- and so much more.
Join moms in urging Congress to protect the air our kids breathe inside.
Learn more about Moms’ work on schools and playgrounds.
Tell the House: Support the Indoor Air Quality and Healthy Schools Act