| April 19, 2007 To
Better Protect the Health of School Children
BURBANK— At a ceremony today at Providencia Elementary School, students
and air pollution officials will raise the first color-coded air quality
flags that schools throughout the Southland will begin flying this month to
help increase awareness of air quality conditions in their area.
“Children are especially vulnerable to the harmful effects of air
pollution and we have to do all we can to protect their health,” said
Michael Antonovich, Los Angeles County Supervisor and AQMD Governing Board
Member. “The school flag program is a simple way to alert school officials
and students of the day’s air quality conditions so that when the air is
bad, preventive measures can be taken.”
Beginning today, selected schools across the Southland will participate
in AQMD’s pilot Air Quality Flag Program. The two-year pilot program
includes a series of brightly colored flags -- each representing a different
air quality health category ranging from good to very unhealthy on the
national air quality index (AQI) -- that will fly on school flagpoles to
indicate the air quality conditions on that day. Teachers, students,
parents and the community can then refer to the AQI to learn about the day’s
air quality -- based on the flag color -- and what precautions, if any, they
should take.
“We are excited about participating in the program and increasing our
knowledge about the impact of air pollution on our students,” said Teresa
Delgado, principal at Providencia Elementary School. “The flags are not
only a great tool to readily alert school staff of daily air quality
conditions, but also provide a great learning opportunity for the children.”
AQMD currently issues a daily smog forecast to all school districts in
the Southland. School officials use this information to plan outdoor
activities depending on the air quality conditions for that day.
Starting today, schools participating in the pilot program will -- after
receiving the daily forecast – raise the colored flag that corresponds to
the daily forecast so teachers, children, parents and the community can
easily know what the air quality conditions are for that day.
The flags correspond in color to the five color-coded health categories
in the national AQI: GREEN – Good Air Quality; YELLOW – Moderate Air
Quality; ORANGE – Unhealthy for Sensitive People; RED – Unhealthy; and
PURPLE – Very Unhealthy. Unhealthy categories listed on the AQI include
precautionary measures one can take to reduce their exposure to unhealthy
levels of pollution. A full description of the AQI is on AQMD’s website at
http://www.aqmd.gov/pubinfo/brochures.htm.
Schools participating in the program are located in areas throughout the
four-county region where levels of pollution can – based on historical data
-- reach unhealthy levels.
Health educators from the American Lung Association of California will
train designated staff at each school on air quality issues, health impacts
and program implementation. Outreach materials will be provided to
teachers, students and parents. Classrooms at each school will have an AQI
chart and tracking calendar so students can track daily air quality during
the school year.
School officials interested in participating in the Air Quality Flag
Program should contact Jim Clouet at 909-396-3208 or jclouet@aqmd.gov.
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major
portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
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