Air in your child’s school classroom could be the unsuspected cause of breathing problems such as asthma, a new study has discovered. Pollution in the air in many classrooms is worse than that being recorded outdoors, say researchers. Classroom air is full of ultrafine particles of pollutants that can be easily inhaled and go deep into the lungs. Researchers, led by Lidia Morawska, discovered that classroom air worsened during art activities, such as gluing, painting and drawing, and had twice the level of pollutants as the air outdoors. Ultrafine particle levels also increased when detergents were used to clean the classroom. (Source: Environmental Science & Technology, 2009; 43: 9103-9).
