3 alarming stats on air pollution in schools

• Our children spend most of their time in class, in closed rooms and shared with many other students. You wouldn't believe how hazardous could it be to their health! You can act to control the quality of your indoor air at home, but that is not the case at school. Discover some alarming figures...

• Nearly 1000 hours: time children spend at school every year

  Our children spend about 6h per day inside their school building. With slight differences from country to country, European schoolchildren sit in school up to 200 days a year;  according to a OECD study, this means for exemple 900h per year in France, 860h in Australia, 940h in the Netherlands or 922h in New Zealand.

  x4: the population density in schools is on average four times higher than in offices

  The OECD average in terms of class size is about 25 children per room. Overcrowded classrooms are a problem that has a direct impact on indoor air quality. Let's not forget that, as the number of children increases, so does the amount of furniture, equipment and products used in the classroom that can release chemicals into the air (VOCs).

  95%: percentage of Belgian schools exceeding CO2 limits

  CO2 concentration is a good indicator of Indoor Air Quality. Analyses carried out in schools in the province of Luxembourg (Belgium), showed that the percentage of schools exceeding the CO2 concentration limits in classrooms could reach 95%! This is due, among other things, to a lack of ventilation, and can have a very negative impact on the health and intellectual capacity of both children and school staff.

  The increase of diagnoses following the COVID-19 pandemic has also revealed in many other countries'  classrooms often exceeds healthy CO2 limits.

  Health and performance risks

  Although air pollution affects the whole population, it has more serious consequences for sensitive people, such as children.

  Children are still developing; their bodies are not fully mature, preventing them from detoxifying as effectively as adults. Plus, they breath two times faster than adults and have a faster metabolism, which also leads to a greater absorption of pollutants.

  The consequences of indoor air pollution on children's health are numerous: respiratory and heart diseases, headaches, increased risk of developing cancer, allergies or asthma, among many (many) others. But indoor air pollution can also harm your children's intellectual performance, being linked to attention and concentration disorders, IQ deficits, hyperactivity... Studies have shown that improving ventilation and air quality in the classroom will get better results, faster and more accurate responses, better visual memory, etc. It also reduces sickness induced absenteeism.

  For further information on the impacts of air pollution on your children's health, you can read our article "Your children's health at risk from indoor air pollution."

  Possible sources of pollution in schools

  Some sources of pollution are the same as in homes: building materials, paints, lacquers and varnishes, cleaning, furniture, heating...

  However, other sources are specific to schools, such as blackboards, chemicals used in science laboratories, sports equipment, DIY materials, etc.

  What to do?

  Most parents* would like to have an indoor air quality assessment carried out in schools, but they often lack the resources to make an impact.. Informing teachers and school directors of the problem is a first step. In many communities, specific guides already exist for them —such as the Hainaut Vigilance Sanitaire for the schools in the region of Wallonia (Belgium).

  Indoor air pollution is often also present in homes. Act to keep a good Indoor Air Quality! To achieve it, the "Air Label Score" certification helps you identify products with very low emissions into indoor air, thanks to a clear rating.

  Discover here all the certified products.

• Sources: L'ONE (Office des Naissance et de l'Enfance) - La qualité de l'air intérieur & Des gestes simples à notre portée, Service Public de Wallonie - Environnement , le Ministère de la Santé du Luxembourg, Hainaut Vigilance Sanitaire – Qualité de l’air intérieur dans les écoles, Clear the air for children - Unicef 2016, Indoor Air Quality in Schools - World Green Building Council, Back to School - Euronews (2016), Education at a Glance 2014: OECD Indicators, La qualité de l’air dans les écoles - RISO (2021), Nombre d'élèves par classe - L’Express (2019), Les pros de la petite enfance (2019).