We’ve had a series of unhealthy air days this week, and I’ve been trying to raise awareness among the schools to have a good action plan. I was just emailed a nice example of what one local school is doing with each cutoff. I think the actions are reasonable and a good start for other schools to model. Here is their plan:
| API | Air Quality Description | Grade | Color | Measure to be Taken |
| 0 – 50 | Excellent | 1 | Green | Daily activities not affected |
| 51 – 100 | Good | 2 | Green | Daily activities not affected |
| 101 – 150 | Slight Pollution | 3A | Yellow | Daily activities not affected. Students with respiratory problems can, with parent permission, be ‘excluded’ from active participation in PE and/or to remain indoors during break. Teachers report any signs of respiratory unwellness in children to the nurse immediately. |
| 151 – 200 | Light Pollution | 3B | Orange | Daily activities not affected. Students with respiratory problems can, with parent permission, be ‘excluded’ from active participation in PE and/or to remain indoors during break. Teachers report any signs of respiratory unwellness in children to the nurse immediately. |
| 201 – 250 | Moderate Pollution | 4A | Orange | |
| 251 – 300 | Moderate-heavy Pollution | 4B | Red |
|
| > 300 | Heavy Pollution | 5 | Purple |
|
More Data For Parents
My previous post listed a couple great American Academy of Pediatrics reports that people should read, and print out and use in discussions with your schools. I also have a few reports from the New England Journal of Medicine, which provide excellent research showing that air pollution can harm children’s health. All can be accessed full-text or PDF for free within China:
- The Effect of Air Pollution on Lung Development from 10 to 18 Years of Age, 2004- very well designed study that followed a group of 10 year olds for 8 years. Those that lived in higher-polluted neighborhoods had statistically significant chronic decrease in lung function.
- Carbon in airway macrophages and lung function in children, 2006. This showed a dose-dependent worsening of lung function with an increase in carbon (fine particulate) inhalation. There’s also a nice editorial, Air Pollution and Children — An Unhealthy Mix
Share this:
Check Out These Related Articles: | ||
 Using the Beijing Air Quality Index (AQI) – Part I |  Fruits & Pesticides: Are Supermarkets Safe? |  Top 10 Most Popular Posts of 2009 |
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[...] that real-time data is crucial for people to make safe choices for outdoor activity, especially with schools needing to set up air pollution action plans by using the US Embassy [...]