Poor air quality in new school sites, researchers warn

Research from the Archives of Disease in Childhood has found that every new school in England is being built in an area with unsafe levels of air pollution.

Air pollution can cause damage to children’s health by increasing respiratory tract infection rates, asthma exacerbations, allergies and childhood cancers. 

The research found that almost 90 per cent of planned school builds exceed three World Health Organisation (WHO) targets on major air pollutants.

The study, led by Evelina London children’s hospital and King’s College London (KCL), called for air quality assessment to be mandatory at the proposal and planning stage of any new school building, and for national guidance and legislation to be updated.

The authors of the report said: “Children deserve protection from avoidable harm while at school.”

They identified more than 180 new schools to be built between 2017 and 2025 in England, and sites for 147 of these schools were acquired. 

They assessed air quality at those sites against the WHO air quality targets for PM2.5, PM10 and nitrous oxide, as well as against pollution levels across the UK.

Average readings of PM2.5 across all the sites were more than double those recommended by the WHO.

Large cities such as London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds had the highest pollutant levels. However, Liverpool, Bristol and Newcastle recorded lower levels. 

The researchers said the air quality around new schools approved and proposed to open in England was “alarmingly poor."

The WHO said that air pollution is now recognised as the single biggest environmental threat to human health.