School environments continue to breathe bad fumes

School environments continue to breathe bad fumes

• Ecologists in Action presents the report 'Air quality in school environments 2024', which includes the results of a citizen science campaign in which nitrogen dioxide (NO2) has been measured in 114 school environments in nine municipalities: Seville, Mairena del Alcor, El Viso del Alcor, Cartagena, Uviéu, A Coruña, Basauri, Etxebarri and Galdakao.
• The environmental organization reports that all the schools sampled exceed the average annual value recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for nitrogen dioxide, even quadrupling it in some cases.

Ecologistas en Acción has carried out an analysis of the levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the vicinity of 114 educational centers in nine municipalities in five provinces of the Spanish State: Seville, Murcia, A Coruña, Asturias and Bizkaia. For the study, primary and secondary education centers were selected located both on roads with high density of motorized traffic and in environments far from high-capacity roads and with little exposure to pollutants emitted by vehicles.

NO2 levels have also been measured next to the official pollution control stations, with the aim of calibrating the devices installed in schools. In total, 270 passive collectors have been placed in a total of 128 locations.

• None of the 114 schools analyzed meet the WHO recommendations; In all school environments analyzed, the NO2 concentration exceeds 10 μg/m³.
• Only 11 of the 114 school environments analyzed, 10%, are below 20 μg/m³. The remaining 90% would be above the new limit indicated in the revision of the Air Quality Directive.
• Ecologistas en Acción highlights that 15 of the 114 schools analyzed, 13%, are above 40 μg/m³, the legal limit currently in force.

The child population is especially sensitive to air pollution, due to their high respiratory rate, their greater exposure to the outside environment and the immaturity of their respiratory and immune systems, with NO2 being an active immunosuppressant.

According to WHO data, 90% of children in Europe attend schools every day whose environments exceed the levels of air pollutants considered safe. Air pollution caused by traffic has been shown to be a direct cause of childhood asthma, with 33% of cases attributed to this pollution source.

A substantial improvement in the information on the quality of the air breathed is necessary, particularly in the surroundings of educational centers and other sensitive centers (care, sports and health), complementing that provided by official measurement stations with maps of distribution and with specific measurement campaigns. In parallel to this measurement campaign, Ecologistas en Acción is developing workshops to raise awareness and train secondary education students in centers in Seville, Cartagena or A Coruña. Youth are aware of the problem and want to breathe clean air.

It is urgent to promote mobility systems such as pedestrian traffic, bicycles and public transport, which restrict urban motorized traffic in order to reduce the pollution derived from it. The legal obligation for all cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants to implement Low Emission Zones (ZBE) to reduce the circulation of polluting vehicles is an opportunity to improve air quality and citizen life that should be taken advantage of, and not take steps back in terms of sustainable mobility as some town councils are doing. This is the case of the removal of bollards in schools in Xixón, the return of cars to the doors of schools in Madrid, or the threats to eliminate the pacification of Poble-Sec, in Barcelona.

These measurements have been carried out by Ecologistas en Acción within the framework of the Clean Cities campaign, of which it is a part, in collaboration with Revolta Escolar and family associations. It is the fourth NO2 measurement campaign carried out by the environmental organization's volunteer groups, since 2020, and the third specifically to measure NO2 around educational centers.

Despite the success of these programs, some city councils threaten to reverse or paralyze these actions. The health of children must be a priority. Your right to the city, too. For this reason, on May 10, dozens of events will be organized throughout Spain and hundreds throughout Europe: pedibuses and bicycle buses, recreational and protest activities at the doors of schools, demonstrations, theater, concerts and many more activities to protest. , urgently, #CallesBiertasParaLaInfancia.