School siting: EPA says location matters.

摘要

Fifty-three million U.S. children and 6 million employees spend much of die day in a public or private school.' Pollution problems in diese settings are so widespread that the Congress mandated in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that die U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) develop model guidelines for choosing healthier sites for new schools. On 17 November 2010, the agency released a draft of its new voluntary guidelines.About 1,900 new schools were built in the 2008-2009 school year, according to the EPA, continuing a relatively similar construction trend since 20023 and bringing the total number of public and private schools to about 135,000.' The number of existing schools in settings that could be harmful to children is unknown, says Peter Grevatt, director of the EPA Office of Children's Health Protection.