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Plano School District Receives Award from EPA for Indoor Air Efforts

Release Date: 8/12/2002
Contact Information: For more information contact the Office of External Affairs at (214) 665-2200.

Plano Independent School District is one of 21 schools and school districts from across the nation that received an award August 8 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for adopting EPA's Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools (IAQ TfS) program.

The award was presented to school district representatives at EPA's 3rd annual IAQ Tools for Schools National Symposium in Washington, D.C. More than 500 health professionals and environmental experts from around the country attended the awards ceremony.

"Good indoor air quality contributes to a favorable learning environment," said EPA Administrator Christie Whitman. "The IAQ Tools for Schools program is a common-sense guide to help prevent and solve the majority of indoor air problems affecting many of our nation's schools."

After the Plano ISD facility department spent $60,000 to eliminate mold contamination from a rented facility used for an early childhood center, district administrators realized the importance of a proactive approach to indoor air quality issues.

The IAQ TfS program, supported from top-level management from the very beginning, was the driving force for the district's indoor air quality management plan. Support began at a principal's meeting in December 2001, in which the Deputy Superintendent committed each school to implementing the kit.

Facilities staff posted electronic versions of the building inspection checklists on the district's Intranet site and regularly reported public indoor air quality updates on the district's Web site.

The district developed a software program to analyze data collected from building checklists and walkthrough inspections. Facilities staff is progressively developing the indoor air quality program as a tool to implement and support the Preventive Maintenance Program and continues to receive the support of the district administrators for large indoor air quality projects.

The schools receiving the EPA Excellence awards used EPA's IAQ TfS kit to improve indoor air quality. Children spend an average of eight hours a day in school. Pollutants inside classrooms and other indoor school facilities are often two to five times higher than outdoor levels and can trigger asthma attacks. Asthma in young children has risen by nearly 60 percent in the last 15 years and is responsible for 10 million missed school days per year. EPA's IAQ TfS program is a nationwide voluntary initiative to help school officials address indoor air quality problems and reduce exposure to asthma triggers in the classroom and other school facilities.

Available to schools at no cost, the Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools kit shows schools how to improve indoor air problems at little cost by using simple activities and existing school staff. For more information about this program visit EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6pd/toolsforschools/tools4u.htm.