Parents voice concerns of local schools’ air quality monitoring systems
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El Centro parent Anita Nicklen is concerned for her daughter and other kids attending schools which do not use an air quality monitoring system.
“Oh! It makes me feel awful because my youngest daughter who graduated a couple of years ago from Southwest used to practice sports. She was in the soccer team and she was also a tennis player,” Nicklen said.
She was part of a community group at Thursday’s Air Quality Symposium in Heber.
“There are a lot of absences because of students getting asthma attacks and other health issues related to the environment. And they will be able to cut those down, those numbers,” Nicklen said.
Edith Ortega, a Westmorland school official, said using a system is benefitting their students.
“During this time we have experienced that asthma attacks and allergies in our students have decreased during the school day,” Ortega said.
Comite Civico del Valle Director Jose Luis Olmedo said local air quality is worsening.
“Imperial Valley has a graver prevalence of asthma when compared to the rest of the state or compared to the nation,” Olmedo said.
He said schools could install their own air monitors or take advantage of the IVAN system available online at www.ivanonline.org.
“Children spend a large part of their day in schools, and schools can have an enormous influence on protecting those children,” Olmedo said.
Nicklen said knowing when to go outside and when not to is important healthwise, specially for school children.
“We all have the right to breathe cleaner air,” Nicklen said.
