Tackling Air Pollution at School

该网络的目的是汇聚跨学科的专业知识，以解决学校的空气质量问题。我们国家乃至整个人类社会未来的健康取决于在健康的环境中教育儿童。应对学校空气污染(TAPAS)网络侧重于每个社会的脆弱部分--学校儿童和他们的环境。我们的愿景是创建和开发一个可以引入学校的选项菜单，以提供一个没有污染物并与自然和谐相处的环境，让孩子们有一个充实和健康的教育体验。这些产品需要有效、廉价，并在可能的情况下具有教育性：即它们应该让儿童了解他们所处的环境，并为他们提供机会，让他们在社会、科学和行为方面参与其中。我们选择将重点放在学校和在校儿童身上，原因如下。儿童是社会中特别脆弱的一部分。与成年人相比，他们生理上调节体温的能力较差，更容易受到空气污染的影响。在社会的弱势群体中，小学生将在未来最长的一段时间内受到恶劣空气质量的影响。最近，英国有2000多所学校被确定为空气污染超过世卫组织限制的“污染热点”。从实用的角度来看，在学校工作有很多好处。学校保存学生出勤率和学生的记录，提供与健康有关的缺课信息。他们也有关于房间占有率、学生活动(例如体育、膳食)和在学校中的活动的数据。这一信息对于确定个人暴露是至关重要的。此外，学校提供各种各样的空间，包括实验室、会议厅、就餐区和教室，每个空间都有不同的通风和室内污染源。由于缺乏知识，学校缓解污染的能力受到阻碍。例如，在学校附近空转汽车引擎，同时接送儿童在操场上暴露在空气中，或对室内NOx和颗粒物(PM)水平的影响尚不清楚，使学校无法决定是否禁止空转。我们的跨学科团队由室内和室外污染、空气污染模型、数据科学、建筑设计和通风、教育、社会行为和健康影响方面的专家组成。这将使该网络能够通过提供一系列解决方案来解决与学校污染有关的关键问题。我们亦建议加入一个重要的教育项目，让学生了解恶劣空气质素的影响，并在他们成长过程中把这些知识带在身边，从而为社会带来持久的改变。学校还收容有特殊教育需要和残疾的儿童，他们更容易受到伤害，往往需要特殊的环境条件。此外，目前有一系列与学校室内环境质量有关的活动，该网络将首次以协调的方式将这些活动汇集在一起。

The aim of this network is to bring together interdisciplinary expertise to address the problem of air quality in schools. The future health of our nation and indeed all human society depends on educating children in healthy environments. The Tackling Air Pollution at School (TAPAS) network focuses on that vulnerable section of every society - school children and their environment. Our vision is to create and develop a menu of options that can be introduced into schools to provide an environment free of pollutants and in harmony with nature, so that children have a fulfilling and healthy educational experience. These products need to be effective, inexpensive and, where possible, educational: i.e. they should involve the children in an understanding of their environment and provide them with an opportunity to engage with it in social, scientific and behavioural terms.We have chosen to focus on schools and school children for the following reasons. Children are a particularly vulnerable section of society. They are physiologically less able to regulate their temperature and are more susceptible to exposure to air pollution than adults. Among the vulnerable groups in society school pupils will experience the impact of poor air quality for the longest period into the future. Recently, over 2000 schools in the UK were identified as being in 'pollution hotspots' where air pollution exceeds WHO limits. From a practical viewpoint, working in schools has many advantages. School keep records on student attendance and pupils which provide information on absences related to health. They also have data on room occupancy, pupil activities (e.g. PE, meals) and movement through the school. This information is essential to determine personal exposure. Additionally, schools offer a wide variety of spaces including labs, meeting halls, dining areas as well as classrooms, each with different ventilation and indoor sources of pollution.The ability of schools to mitigate exposure to pollution is hampered by lack of knowledge. For example, the impact of idling vehicle engines near school while dropping off and collecting children on exposure in the playground or on indoor levels of NOx and particulate matter (PM) is unclear, making it impossible for schools to decide whether to ban idling or not. Our interdisciplinary team consists of experts in indoor and outdoor pollution, air pollution modelling, data science, building design and ventilation, education, social behaviour and health impacts. This will allow this network to address the critical issues associated with pollution in schools by offering a menu of solutions. We also propose to include a significant educational component so that pupils will learn about the impacts of poor air quality and take this knowledge with them as they grow up, thereby producing a lasting change in society. Schools also accommodate children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) who are even more vulnerable and who often require special environmental conditions. Furthermore, there are currently a wide range related activities concerning indoor environmental quality in schools that this network will bring together for the first time in a coordinated fashion.