Opinion: Sick of your kids being sick? Clean air in schools may be the answer

It’s time to take a closer look at air filters in classrooms to prevent illnesses and absences, write Julia Corey and Orla Hegarty

Sat, 07 Oct, 2023 - 02:21

Julia Corey and Orla Hegarty

Becoming unwell has become a dreaded side effect for many families sending children back to school. But, what if there was a simple way to break this cycle? What if one simple thing could drastically reduce the number of coughs, colds, and flu our kids catch from school, increase school attendance, and even improve concentration?

There is — cleaning the air our children are breathing.

Since 2020, we’ve all been reminded of the importance of hand-washing and staying home while sick. While these practices are important, they may not be the best way to reduce the spread of respiratory viruses.

A growing body of evidence suggests that some of the most common viruses, including RSV, rhinovirus, influenza, and Sars-CoV-2 are primarily spread through shared air.

These viruses can be spread by an infected person simply by breathing. And like cigarette smoke, these viruses can linger in the air for hours in poorly ventilated spaces. Even staying home when sick, as important as it is, falls short of a complete defence, as transmission can occur before an infected person begins showing symptoms.

The kids hosted a women in STEM panel to teach them about indoor air quality and health (w/ a surprise appearance by @JimRosenthal4). Then they wrote letters, made videos, and created a community outreach and education plan to help fundraise. 5/ pic.twitter.com/WRAAeOrj8X
— Megan Jehn, PhD, MHS (@JehnML) February 10, 2023

In a sequence of posts on Twitter (now rebranded as X) Megan Jehn shows what happened when a group of school children undertook a project on air quality. See further tweets below.

Because humans exhale carbon dioxide (CO2) with every breath, CO2 levels — measured in parts per million (ppm) — are used to assess indoor ventilation. Poor ventilation can lead to a build-up of CO2 indoors; if CO2 levels are high (1,000ppm and above), there may also be a high concentration of airborne viruses if an infected person is present. High CO2 levels can also negatively impact concentration; A Harvard study showed that high CO2 levels reduced cognitive function by more than 50%.

“We drink two to three litres of water a day. We breathe 11,000 litres of air a day. We filter our water to remove pathogens so they don’t enter our bodies. Why don’t we filter our air, given that this is the main way airborne pathogens get into our body?” says Kimberly Prather, distinguished professor of atmospheric chemistry at University of California San Diego.

The solution is simple. More and more studies are showing that improving indoor air quality through ventilation or air filtration significantly reduces transmission of airborne viruses.

Just last week, at the first WHO Europe indoor air conference, Catherine Noakes, professor of environmental engineering in Leeds, shared the results of a randomised controlled trial in England — classrooms with air filters had 20% fewer school absences than those without.

If every classroom in Ireland had air filters, nearly 3m student absences could be prevented each year.

Once they raised the money, the 8th graders presented the project to every classroom in the school to create buy-in. Then they organized a school-wide build event where every class came to the library to learn how to build their box. 7/ pic.twitter.com/RFan0P1luP
— Megan Jehn, PhD, MHS (@JehnML) February 10, 2023

Air filters also remove particles and pollution that can cause or exacerbate other illnesses like asthma and hayfever.

In May, the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) published a new code of practice for indoor air quality. Under this guidance, which has been signed into law, all classrooms and workplaces should consistently have CO2 levels under 1,000ppm.

A recent Swiss study of 150 classrooms found that more than 60% had CO2 levels more than double this level (>2,000ppm), and those with higher levels were significantly more likely to report outbreaks.

According to the HSA, if CO2 levels cannot be kept under 1,000ppm through natural or mechanical ventilation, air filters should be used to remove harmful contaminants.

So if the guidance is there, surely all of our classrooms are meeting these standards, right? Unfortunately not. Despite €62m in funding being promised in December 2021 to improve air quality in classrooms, only 42 schools have applied for funding… none of which was for air filters.

Even classrooms that do have air filters may not be using them properly. Several parents have shared stories of teachers forgetting to turn them on, or schools not replacing the filters as needed.

“When I enquired about Hepa (high efficiency particulate air) filters at my daughter’s school, they told me they did not have enough for all classrooms. The few they did have, they told me hadn’t been turned on in months,” says one Dublin-based mother. “I was at a loss for words. Why would they not simply plug in a device they had invested in, and that would reduce the number of kids getting sick?”

Each class decorated their newly built box and the students hosted a school-wide decorating contest. Just look at these amazing #CorsiRosenthalBox es. @CorsIAQ 8/ pic.twitter.com/H8eaSjBNbs
— Megan Jehn, PhD, MHS (@JehnML) February 10, 2023

Not only are air filters a simple and relatively low-cost way to reduce student and staff absences, they can also be a fun and engaging science project. Megan Jehn shared on X (formerly Twitter) how students in Arizona built DIY air filters called ‘Corsi-Rosenthal boxes’ for the school as part of a Stem project — complete with a decorating competition between classrooms.

We expect sanitary food, clean water, road safety measures, and more to keep our kids safe. So why do we not demand that they get clean air too? Especially when we now know it reduces short and long-term illnesses from viruses and air pollution, improves concentration, and decreases triggers for hay fever and asthma.

With up to 70% of household transmission beginning with children, fewer infections in schools would also result in fewer infections in the community.

Clean air is affordable and achievable for every school. Parents should be asking their schools if all classrooms meet the HSA guidance. Clean air should not be a luxury reserved for the wealthy and the politicians in the Dáil.

Do our kids not deserve it?

Julia Corey is a health researcher with a background in public and global health
Orla Hegarty is an architect and assistant professor at UCD School of Architecture, Planning & Environmental Policy

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