Education Palette - Ignite December 2019

According to the EPA, a school’s physical environment can have a significant impact on student health and academic performance. Factors affecting the physical environment include: Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), Acoustics, and Material Health. IAQ is important because, according to the CDC, asthma and allergies are the number-one cause of absenteeism in schools. For this reason, it’s important to keep TVOCs low and mold and mildew out of the learning environment. Acoustics is an important factor because a student’s ability to hear and understand his or her teachers and peers directly impacts his or her performance. Good acoustics contribute directly not only to the learner’s comprehension, but also to the effectiveness of the teacher. Finally, material health is important because toxins from chemicals found in everyday building products can be harmful to anyone in the space, but particularly impact the physical development of young people. Phthalates, for example, are industrial chemicals found in everyday products like fragrance and cosmetics, and are used to make vinyl flexible. These chemicals are proven to be harmful to human health, causing damage to the liver and kidneys and disrupt the development of the reproductive system because they act as endocrine blockers. As part of our commitment to health and well-being, Tarkett has been 100% phthalate-free since 2008.