New studies suggest carbon dioxide that accumulates in classrooms could limit how well the brain processes information, lead to more student absences

By Janet Raloff

Web edition: November 1, 2012

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Classrooms are one environment where carbon dioxide levels can be high.

Credit: iStockphoto

There are standards — rules, essentially — for how much outdoor air should be cycled through buildings to keep people inside healthy. That circulating air is known as ventilation. And when there isn’t enough new air coming in to push the stale air out, pollutants can build up. One of those pollutants, carbon dioxide, or CO2, increases with every breath we exhale. Indoor-air scientists have always used this CO2 as a harmless yardstick for measuring the staleness of indoor air. A new study now suggests that yardstick might not be so harmless after all.

Visit the new Science News for Kids website and read the full story: Exhaled air: A problem in buildings?