The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its state partners will begin monitoring air quality at schools more closely, particularly near large industries and in urban areas.
Lisa Jackson, administrator of the EPA, on Monday announced the new initiative to further measure levels of
toxic air pollution near many schools for better
protection.
“I’m a mother first, and like all parents, I want to be sure my children are breathing healthy air at school,” Jackson said. “Questions have been raised about air quality around some U.S. schools, and those questions merit investigation. EPA will work quickly to make assessments and take swift action where necessary. Our job is to protect the American public where they live, work and play–and that certainly includes protecting schoolchildren where they learn.”
Jackson outlined a timeline for prioritizing and monitoring schools to determine any which are exposed to high levels of toxic air pollution. EPA anticipates monitoring at some schools will begin within the next 30 days. Directed by EPA, the monitoring will be conducted primarily by state and local governments. Some states have already begun monitoring.
Recent media reports have raised critical questions about air quality outside schools near large industrial facilities. At Administrator Jackson’s confirmation hearings, she was asked about this issue by Congress and pledged to take swift action to investigate and remediate if necessary any potential high-risk exposure for school children.
EPA said it will work with states, tribes, and local communities to ensure that monitors are deployed quickly to get high-quality data and to share results with American families.
From 1990 to 2005, emissions of air toxics in the United States declined 41%, according to an EPA release. Levels of air toxics, however, can vary widely from place to place depending upon a number of factors including the amount and types of industry nearby, proximity to heavily traveled or congested roadways, and weather patterns.
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