Asthma Free School Zone is a neighborhood-centered and school-focused non-profit organization in New York City. Founded by Rebecca Kalin, MA, MPH, CHES in 1999,[1] Asthma Free School Zone was developed to address the environmental health hazards affecting the asthma rates of school children in her own neighborhood, the East Village. She set out to create healthier surroundings for her neighborhood schools[2] and from her success, the organization grew to become a citywide campaign to educate and eradicate some of the major causes of asthma that choke classrooms and playgrounds throughout New York City.

The Problem

Asthma

Asthma is a chronic disease that affects the sufferer’s breathing by causing one’s airways, the tubes that transport air in and out of the lungs, to become enlarged. This swelling makes the airways very sensitive, so that when they come in contact with an allergen or irritant,[3] they constrict, allowing less air to flow through them, making it difficult to breath. While asthma cannot be cured, it can be controlled. This can be accomplished by controlling one’s exposure to the triggering irritant. And while asthma affects people of all ages, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, it most often starts during childhood and, “in the United States, about 20 million people have been diagnosed with asthma; nearly 9 million of them are children.”[4] While nearly 50% of asthma sufferers are children, according to the US census, they represent less than 25% of the population.[5]

Asthma Triggers-- Outdoor Pollutants

While there are many types of asthma triggers, including health-related triggers, indoor pollutants, and those resulting from lifestyle choices, one major cause is outdoor pollutants.[6] Idling vehicles are an example of an outdoor pollutant, as they produce exhaust, which is bad for our health and the environment. Diesel fumes, in particular, produce a disproportionate amount of air pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide, fine particulate matter, and air toxics (a list of air toxics can be found at http://www.lakes-environmental.com/laketoxi.html) Unfortunately, many school buses still run on diesel fuel and thus present a high risk of contaminating the environment of school zones.[7] Diesel fuel emissions present such a danger that they have been found to cause asthma and asthma-like symptoms, in addition to exacerbating a pre-existing condition.[8] As Asthma Free School Zones website explains, “The fine particulates of diesel fuel can bypass respiratory defense mechanisms and lodge deep in the lungs, impairing lung function. While prolonged exposure to particulate matter is a factor in reducing overall life expectancy by a few years, short-term exposure is associated with increased risk of death from heart attacks or other cardiovascular events.”[7] As children are the population in greatest proximity to school buses, and experience the greatest interaction with them, they are at the greatest risk from their health-related effects.

The Program

Recognizing the relationship between a school’s environment and the asthmatic symptoms of its children, Asthma Free School Zone was developed to protect this vulnerable population. As Rebecca Kalin explained at the announcement of the passage of a New York idle-free school zones act, “Until the day when children can protect themselves from environmental hazards it is up to adults to do it for them. Because a school holds a concentration of children, protecting the school zone makes sense.”[9] While asthma rates throughout New York are disproportionately high for all residents when compared to the rest of the country, few populations are more vulnerable than children.

Core Program

Asthma Free School Zone has a two-pronged approach to address the health problems caused by school zone polluters, a core program and a site-specific program. The core program consists of educational outreach and awareness campaigns.[10] This aspect of the organization brings attention to the health risks New York City children face every day at school and educates communities to the correlation between their children’s chronic breathing problems, the absenteeism it causes and their schools. Parents learn that it is the very place they are sending their children to learn that is causing their health problems, which, ironically, is forcing them to miss days of classes, curtailing their educational experience.

Site-Specific Program

The site-specific program focuses on individual schools, targeting their pollution problems and providing pertinent and achievable solutions. Realizing that massive citywide educational campaigns and statements about creating change throughout New York City can seem daunting and overwhelming to even the most dedicated advocate, Asthma Free School Zone supplements its first program by studying the environment of a particular school, pinpointing the major causes of contaminants in that location, launching a school-specific education campaign, and lobbying for change in that community.[2] Focusing on creating tangible change school-by-school, community-by-community, Asthma Free School Zone demonstrates how its larger goal can be realized.

How To Conduct a Site-Specific Analysis

A site-specific work-up is carried out at a selected school by observing traffic patterns, recording the number of idling vehicles, noticing whether cars have diesel engines,[11] and measuring the pollutant output with an Aethelometer.[12] These observations, coupled with the minute by minute analysis of black carbon emissions that the Aethelometer reports, allows for a correlation to be drawn between the two: as the idling persists, as the number of diesel engines multiply, as the traffic conditions worsen, the emissions reading increases. With this data, Asthma Free School Zone activists gain an understanding of the specific traffic problems plaguing the site and can start their community public-awareness campaign.

Outcomes

Legislative Reform

The work of Asthma Free School Zone, in conjunction with the efforts of the American Lung Association, Health Schools Inc., the West Harlem Environmental Action, as well as that of the Assembly Puerto Rican Hispanic Task Force encouraged the passage of a law in 2007 that gives the NYS Commissioner of Education the authority to ban idling on the grounds of all private and public schools in New York.[9]

Accolades

In acknowledgement of this work, Asthma Free School Zone has received a number of awards and grants: the US EPA 2005 Children's Environmental Health Excellence Award, the US EPA Region 2 Environmental Awareness Award, a 3-Year Federal Transportation CMAQ funding, and the NYS Health Foundation Grant in 2006.[1] But more notable than the awards themselves is the results of the group’s efforts. As Kathleen Callahan, Acting EPA Regional Administrator succinctly acknowledged, "Rebecca and her group, working with one school at a time, have really made a big difference in these childrens' lives. By working to improve the air quality inside and around public schools, they have successfully reduced the number and severity of asthma attacks and provided a healthier environment for the children and faculty."[13] Wilma Espada, a Crossing Guard at PS 361 and 315, agrees. In May 2006, after Asthma Free School Zone implemented its program where she worked, she noted, “My asthma is okay. Now it does not bother me. Because of the buses no idling, I don’t need my inhaler anymore.”[14]

Update

Currently, according to its website, Asthma Free School Zone’s full site-specific program is being implemented in 60 schools in the Bronx, Manhattan and Brooklyn and they are working with 150 other schools and daycares in a modified way.

ALSO ON THE LIVABLE STREETS NETWORK

• Dying to Get to Work (Streetsblog, 7/27/07)
  

• Senator Decries Bronx Asthma Crisis Then Rejects Pricing (Streetsblog, 7-13-07)
  

REFERENCES

Each source is referred to by the same number every time it is cited. Please keep citation style consistent.

[1] "Rebecca Kalin." Asthma Free School Zone. 28 Feb. 2008.

[2] Blumberg, Deborah L. “Anti-Idling Program is a Breath of Fresh Air for Kids.” The Villager. 02 Sept. 2004.

[3] "What is Asthma?" National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. May 2006.

[4] "Who is at Risk?" National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. May 2006.

[5] "U.S. Census Bureau Fact Sheet." 9 Mar. 2008.

[6] "Environment." Asthma Free School Zone. 28 Feb. 2008.

[7] "Exhaust Fumes." Asthma Free School Zone. 28 Feb. 2008.

[8] Pandya, Robert J., Gina Solomon, Amy Kinner, and John R. Balmes. "Diesel Exhaust and Asthma: Hypotheses and Molecular Mechanisms of Action." Environmental Health Perspectives 110 (2002): 103-112. 9 Mar. 2008.

[9] Rivera, Peter M. "Students, Teachers, Advocates and Lawmakers Applaud Anti-Asthma Laws as Disease Rates Continue to Rise Across State." Press Release. New York City. 25 Sept. 2007.

[10] "Program." Asthma Free School Zone. 28 Feb. 2008

[11] Stein, Michael. "Asthma Free School Zone." Michael Stein's Non-Profit Technology Blog. 30 Oct. 2007.

[12] Widdicombe, Lizzie. "Idle Hands." The New Yorker 15 Oct. 2007.

[13] EPA. "EPA Applauds Asthma Free School Zone for Protecting Children's Health." New York. 25 May 2005.

[14] "Project Proposal." Asthma Free School Zone. 6 Mar. 2008.

PICTURE REFERENCES

Pictures are cited in the order they appear above. Please keep citation style consistent.

[1] Courtesy of the Asthma Free School Zone.

[2] Courtesy of the Asthma Free School Zone.

FURTHER READING

• For Information by Asthma Free School Zone
  
• To read other articles on Asthma Free School Zone:
  The Village Voice
  The New Yorker
  
• To read more about the no idling law passed in 2007