The Pollution Detectives School Project Is pollution in your school buildings hurting the students? What can they do about it? www.ThePollutionDetectives.org ThePollutionDetectives@gmail.com

One out of every five Americans either attends or works at a K-12 school.

By the end of this presentation you will understand some barriers to students’ and teachers’ success that often go unrecognized.

what we are going to do about them. And you will learn what we are going to do about them.

Childhood Exposure To Lead Can Reduce IQ For Life

“Portland, Oregon unnerved by discovery of high lead levels in school drinking water.”   http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-portland-water-20160613-snap-story.html

“Gov. Chris Christie [of New Jersey]has ordered lead testing at every public school in the state after dozens of schools were found to have lead-contaminated water supplies.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/schools-around-the-country-find-lead-in-water-with-no-easy-answers/2016/07/03/b44240fe-37c3-11e6-a254-2b336e293a3c_story.html?utm_term=.fa8f4c4ff94c

2 out of every 3 Texas schools tested for lead in the drinking water revealed unsafe levels of lead. https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/03/30/texas-must-eliminate-lead-water-schools

One in five of the school systems tested by the EPA between 2012 and 2015 was found to have unsafe levels of lead in the drinking water. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/03/17/drinking-water-lead-schools-day-cares/81220916/

Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, right behind smoking. EPA estimates one in five American schools has a radon level requiring attention. https://www.epa.gov/radon/radon-schools

Schools in areas with polluted air Students who attend schools in areas with outside air pollution fail standardized tests twice as often as students who attend schools with clean outside air. Schools in areas with clean air Failure Rate 21% Schools in areas with polluted air Failure rate 42% Paul Mohai et al. Health Aff 2011;30:852-862

“Studies have estimated that a third or more of U. S “Studies have estimated that a third or more of U.S. schools have serious mold, dust and other indoor air problems.” http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/14/health/school-indoor-air-pollution/index.html

An indoor air problem that has nothing to do with Climate Change - CO2 High levels of it indicate a lack of fresh clean air.

Emerging research Scientific research indicates that an Indoor CO2 level of 1000 ppm is the upper limit for effective learning in occupied classrooms. https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1104789/ http://escholarship.org/uc/item/5sw56439#page-9 http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/30/5/852.full?related-rls=yes&legid=healthaff;30/5/852

When classroom levels of CO2 were at 600 ppm students tested in the 95th percentile Is CO2 an Indoor Pollutant? Direct Effects of Low-to-Moderate CO2 Concentrations on Human Decision-Making Performance Usha Satish,1 Mark J. Mendell,2 Krishnamurthy Shekhar,1 Toshifumi Hotchi,2 Douglas Sullivan,2 Siegfried Streufert,1 and William J. Fisk2

can still stop students from learning. Emerging research A school classroom setting that meets state and federal law and ASHRAE Standards can still stop students from learning. See bibliography at end of presentation

One of the best and cheapest ways to improve student test scores is to remove lead, radon, and air pollution from schools.

higher standardized test scores, ranging Researchers have repeatedly found higher standardized test scores, ranging between 5 and 17 percentile points, when students study in non-polluted buildings. School Facility Conditions and Student Academic Achievement, Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

“Our district implemented an Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) management plan that led to unprecedented academic success for our students. Since 2005, we have seen an increase of 17.3 percent on test scores and an increase in the average daily attendance rate to 97 percent.” Frank DiNella, Keller Independent School District, Texas

There are currently no federal regulations to routinely inspect schools for pollution. http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/14/health/school-indoor-air-pollution/index.html

A dozen states have very modest requirements. http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/14/health/school-indoor-air-pollution/index.html

The rest, including North Carolina, have none. http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/14/health/school-indoor-air-pollution/index.html

So the next question is...

How much lead is in the water in our schools?

How much radon is in our schools?

How much polluted air is in our schools?

The scary thing is

we have no idea.

So we set up a program to lend pollution detection equipment to students to investigate 5 kinds of air pollution, radon levels, and lead in the water.

The students present their findings to the school administrators, School Board and/or PTA.

Results of the 2016/2017 pilot project in Rowan and Cabarrus Counties Two schools were studied: No lead detected in any of the water tested No dangerous Radon levels detected Both had poor indoor air quality.

Shady Brook Elementary No Radon No Lead in Drinking Water Room for improvement in CO2 Levels (current levels are not a threat to human health, but an impact on learning is still possible)

A Knox Middle School, Rowan County N. C A Knox Middle School, Rowan County N.C. Note: The meter could not measure above 2,000 PPm

Status of the project Received 501-c-3 tax exempt status. Received donation of software that helps us track the lending of equipment, and organizes our volunteer staff. Flint Michigan schools have reached out for help. Former head of EPA Clean Schools program reviewed our initiative, and called it “a game changer for American education.”

For 2017/2018 school year, the goal of The Pollution Detectives is to lend enough pollution detection tool kits to enable students, under the mentorship of science department faculty, to test 25% of our area’s 500 K-12 schools. Each kit can test between 10 and 15 schools a year, and costs around $5,000 capital cost.

Most presentations conclude with The End We don’t It is The Beginning