87.5% of them exceed state guidelines for safe exposure, specialists say

Oct 25, 2012 19:41 GMT  ·  By
Concerns are now raised with respect to the quality of indoor environments in the case of Californian day care centers
   Concerns are now raised with respect to the quality of indoor environments in the case of Californian day care centers

Earlier today, researchers working with the University of California, Berkeley have made it public news that, according to their latest research, roughly 87.5% of the day care facilities now up and running in California's Alameda and Monterey counties must soon improve on the quality of their indoor environment.

More precisely, the specialists found that these education facilities had indoor environments whose formaldehyde and other contaminants’ levels exceeded the standards for safe exposure listed under the Californian state law.

Most of the contaminants found in rather high concentrations in these 35 day care centers came from cleaning and sanitizing products, which suggests that the people in charge of running these facilities never meant to risk the children’s health.

However, researcher Victoria Leonard wished to emphasize the fact that, “These findings show that cleaning and sanitizing products impact air quality in child care settings.”

Furthermore, “Given that many young children have asthma or other respiratory problems, this study offers strong evidence to select safer cleaning products that have less volatile chemicals.”

As the official website for the University of California, Berkeley, explains, the main drive behind their carrying out this research was the fact that, unlike adults and even teenagers, children are significantly more vulnerable to the chemical compounds that happen to find themselves in their proximity.

The study's lead author, Asa Bradman, argued that, “Children are more vulnerable to the health effects of environmental contaminants, and many small children spend as much as 10 hours per day, five days a week, in child care centers.”

For the time being, efforts are being made to improve on the quality of these day care centers' indoor environment.

“Fortunately, many local, state and non-profit agencies are working to give child care providers the tools they need to address environmental concerns,” the Director for the EcoHealthy Child Care program, Hester Paul, explained.

This research into the environmental conditions provided by Californian day care centers was financed by the California Air Resources Board.