Assessing Outdoor Air Near Schools
Toledo Elementary School - Toledo, OR
Understanding the Monitoring Data
EPA, states and local air agencies collected air monitoring information in communities near schools across the U.S. The purpose of this study was to look at whether certain pollutants in outdoor air around selected schools might be a health concern for school-age children, school staff, or the surrounding community.
EPA looked at the monitoring results in two ways:
- To keep your community informed during the monitoring period, we provided individual sample results here on this Web site throughout the monitoring period. The sample results page shows:
- air measurements from around the school available during the monitoring period,
- “sample comparison levels” for comparison to the sample measurements while monitoring was under way,
- background information on the monitoring location, and
- background information on the key pollutants being measured in the air at that site.
- At the end of the monitoring period, EPA looked at the complete set of air measurements for the key pollutants monitored at each school and provided an analysis. We considered the potential for long-term health problems from these pollutants if a person were to breathe the pollutant levels continuously (24 hours a day, seven days a week) for a lifetime. Based on the analysis, additional monitoring was not recommended for this school.