United States
                Environmental Protection
                Agency
vvEPA
   Indoor Air Quality
  Design   '
                                   EPA402-F-03-012
        The U.S. Environmental  Protection Agency (EPA)  has
        developed a Web resource entitled Indoor Air Quality
        (IAQ) Design Tools for Schools. It was designed to help
 school districts and facility planners design the next generation of
 learning environments so that the school facility will help— rather
 than hinder—schools in achieving  their core mission of educating
 children.

 Approximately 56 million Americans—or 1 in 5 people—spend a
                                     significant portion
                                     of their day in one
                                     of about 119,235
                                     public and private
                                     primary and  sec-
                                     ondary schools. To
                                     keep   pace  with
                                     population growth,
                                     reduce overcrowd-
 ing, and comply with class-size reduction mandates, it is estimated
 that 6,000 new schools will need to be built in the next several years.
 Many thousand more schools will have to be renovated as districts
 continue to upgrade deteriorating school facilities.

 Facility designers and school officials  are increasingly embracing
 "high performance" school designs,  which use an integrated, "whole
 building"  approach to school planning that incorporates current
 technology to protect health while saving energy, natural resources,
 and money. For example, a typical 450-student elementary school
 today pays over $45,000 annually for  energy  related utilities.
 Incorporating energy efficient design improvements into the design
 and building of the school could save that school $13,000 annually.
 Smart School Design,
 Construction, and
 Renovation =
 Healthier and Higher
 Performing Kids
These savings do not include the potential benefits of improved
occupant health, productivity and performance from integrating high
performance design features.

IAQ  Design  Tools for  Schools complements the IAQ Tools
for Schools Program, which helps existing schools prevent and solve
IAQ problems.

IAQ Design Tools for Schools provides voluntary guidance for
school personnel, architects and engineers, builders and contractors,
parents and the community on key school construction  and
renovation issues such as:
•  Incorporating high performance building features into the
   design process.
•  Controlling pollutants and their sources.
•  Selecting and designing heating, ventilating and air
   conditioning systems.
•  Controlling moisture to prevent mold and damage to building
   materials and systems.
•  Remediating mold.
•  Specifying and maintaining portable classrooms.
•  Renovating existing schools.
•  Providing links to resources on a wide range of high performance
   construction issues, such as acoustics, daylighting, life-cycle
   costing, commissioning, and more.

IAQ Design Tools for Schools draws from EPA expertise as well
as other resources that have emerged from state and private sector
initiatives.
Visit:  http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schooldesign

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