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St. Louis County, Mo., Health Department Receives $30,000 EPA Grant for Community-Based Asthma Care in Normandy School District

Release Date: 10/11/2012
Contact Information: David Bryan, 913-551-7433, bryan.david@epa.gov

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Lenexa, Kan., Oct. 11, 2011) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced that the St. Louis County Health Department will receive $30,000 for community-based asthma care for the Normandy School District. The funding is part of a combined $1.2 million in funding to 32 state and local governments, tribes, and non-profit organizations for indoor air quality projects across the nation.

According to school district nurses, approximately 880 of 4,500 students in the district are known to have asthma. The health department will raise awareness of asthma and its triggers among school district staff including school nurses. The department will also provide education materials to caregivers and persons with asthma on the management of indoor asthma triggers. The project includes in-home assessments and classroom training for healthcare professionals on indoor asthma trigger management.

“EPA is proud to be working with our awardees across the nation to improve the air we breathe at school, work and home,” said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. “American communities face serious health and environmental challenges from air pollution. This effort gives us an opportunity to improve indoor air quality by increasing awareness of environmental health risks.”

Indoor air pollutants in homes, buildings, and schools can negatively impact the health of occupants. Some pollutants cause health problems such as sore eyes, burning in the nose and throat, headaches or fatigue. Others can cause worsen allergies, respiratory illnesses (such as asthma) or even cancer (from radon gas).

The projects will help improve indoor air quality and reduce the associated health risks by:

• Increasing effective indoor air quality practices through community-level education and outreach
• Promoting positive indoor air quality management practices in schools by working with school districts and teachers
• Increasing the number of homes tested for radon, homes built with radon-resistant features, and existing homes mitigated for radon
• Creating awareness to reduce asthma triggers in the home and encourage the use of asthma management plans through community-based asthma programs