Clearing the air: a model for investigating indoor air quality in Texas Schools.

* A pilot project addressed indoor air quality (IAQ) at a high school in Galveston, Texas.

* One goal was to establish an indoor air quality program based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA's) Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools program.

* The Tools for Schools program takes a low-cost, minimal-involvement approach.

* It relies primarily on the education of students, staff, and faculty.

* Little has been done, however, to evaluate the impact of a program based strictly on this approach.

* The Tools for Schools kit is largely informational.

* It does not provide mechanisms for the collection of data to assess effects.

* Therefore, a second goal of the pilot project was to validate the study's Tools for Schools-based program through air quality testing.

* The study had five components:

1. forming an indoor air quality committee,

2. conducting a survey to identify areas of environmental concern within the school.

3. visually inspecting those sites and recommending either remediation or further study,

4. measuring concentrations of indoor pollutants at sites identified as potentially problematic, and

5. reporting results to the administration

* The study made two basic departures from Tools for Schools guidelines:

1. it developed survey instruments that were distributed with Tools for Schools checklists, and

2. air quality sampling was conducted in sites identified by the committee.

* Data were gathered for levels of

-- formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs),

-- ozone.

-- particulate matter (P[M.sub.10]),

-- mold.

-- relative humidity, and

-- temperature.

* Data values were compared with

-- federal standards,

-- recommended values established by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) for non-industrial populations, and

-- effects screening levels (ESLs) developed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

* Overall, levels of VOCs in each area sampled were low.

* None exceeded recommended levels.

* It should be noted, however, that permissible exposure limits are typically based on occupational studies.

* In many cases, no standards exist for chronic ambient exposures.

* If non-industrial standards or guides have not been established for a contaminant, the industrial-hygiene profession customarily recommends a guideline of one-tenth the ACGIH threshold limit value.

* There are few data to support these guidelines, however.

* At the school, values for particulates, ozone, and formaldehyde were well below recommended levels.

* Formaldehyde was, however, elevated beyond one-tenth of the AC-GIH-recommended levels for industry and the NIOSH guideline in virtually every sample.

* In addition, air sampling revealed the presence of molds, including Aspergillus and Alternaria, in areas where mold was not visible.

* These results seem to indicate that the Tools for Schools guidelines are sufficient for assessing VOCs in the school studied.

* In general, Tools for Schools provides an excellent starting point for any school in addressing indoor air quality.

* It should be noted, however, that organic compounds (e.g., benzene) can be toxic at very low levels that may not readily be detected by odor.

* In addition, air sampling revealed the presence of molds, including Aspergillus and Alternaria, in areas where mold was not visible.

This department, Practical Stuff! originated from you, our readers. Many of you have expressed to us that one of the main reasons you read the Journal of Environmental Health is to glean practical and useful information for your everyday work-related activities. In response to your feedback, we dedicate this section to you with salient points to remember about two to three articles in each issue.