Are there reasonable steps that can be taken by school officials to reduce the likelihood of health effects to students from elevated ozone levels while not being burdensome or overly protective?
Before addressing ozone, it should be stressed that active, outdoor play is an integral component for the health and welfare of children. However, there are occasions when the risks from poor air quality can potentially outweigh the benefits of active outdoor play. Therefore, a balance must be reached to achieve the benefits of outdoor play while decreasing health risks from exposure to poor air quality. A forecast of an elevated Air Quality Index (AQI) should be treated as an alerting system regarding the potential for ozone levels to be elevated, which in turn, may potentially pose a health concern for exposed populations. Forecasting is a helpful tool but it does have limitations, as Heather points out, due to the complex phenomena that is modeled and ultimately forecasted. If an elevated AQI is forecast for a particular day, the forecast should serve as a reminder to school officials to periodically monitor the actual detected ozone levels in the forecast area. This can be easily a
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