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Background: A proper and adequate school environment is important for an effective learning process and for the maintenance of students' health, given that they spend a considerable amount of time at school. Safety preparedness in schools includes, for example, protection from biological, physical, and chemical risks and physical hazards associated with poor construction and maintenance practices. Objectives: This study aims to evaluate safety preparedness in girls’ public schools in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Methods: Seventeen girls' schools were randomly selected in the Eastern Province of KSA. A designed checklist was used for this study, composed of two main parts. The first part included general information about the school, while the second part was composed of 6 items with a total of 58 questions, evaluating the school's safety preparedness. Results: The safety preparedness in the studied schools ranged between 70 and 90%. Some safety practices were found to be adequately applied, others were poorly applied, and certain items were completely absent. Generally, some examined schools were not compliant several safety and emergency preparedness recommendations. Conclusion: Collaboration between the School Safety Committee and schools is essential to reach a satisfactory standard in terms of school safety. Therefore, it is recommended that the School Safety Committee engages with schools more actively, especially in terms of the preparation of a school safety management plan.

Context: Noise pollution has been well-recognized as one of the major trepidations that can adversely affect public health and quality-of-life in urban areas across the globe. Community noise, or environmental noise, includes the primary sources of road, rail and air traffic, industries, and public works. Aims: The main aim of this study is to assess the noise level inside the University of Dammam (UD) campus. Settings and Design: Three different locations were selected for measuring noise levels during this study; outside walls, the internal streets, and inside several buildings of the UD campus. Materials and Methods: Levels of the environmental noise pollution were measured at three different periods of the academic year 2011-2012; during study days, final exams and the holiday periods. Statistical Analysis Used: Results of this research were statistically analyzed by the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences SPSS program. Results: Levels of noise outside walls of the UD campus were higher than those inside the campus walls at all periods. Inside the UD campus, levels of noise were the highest at locations that are characterized by the high traffic movement. In addition, the highest level of noise was recorded during the studying period, while the lowest level was obtained during the holiday period. Levels of the indoor noise inside buildings of the campus were nearly the same or very slightly higher than those of the outdoor levels which indicate that the effect of human activity inside university buildings on noise pollution can be neglected comparing with the outdoor sources. Conclusion: Both levels of noise inside and outside buildings were higher than their guideline values. These high noise levels require effective environmental control strategies and increasing awareness between all staff members inside universities camps.

Aim of the Study: The complex hospital environment requires special attention to ensure a healthy indoor air quality (IAQ) to protect patients and healthcare workers against hospital-acquired infections and occupational diseases. Poor hospital IAQ may cause outbreaks of building-related illness such as headaches, fatigue, eye, and skin irritations, and other symptoms. The general objective for this study was to assess IAQ inside a large University hospital at Al-Khobar City in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: Different locations representing areas where most activities and tasks are performed were selected as sampling points for air pollutants in the selected hospital. In addition, several factors were studied to determine those that were most likely to affect the IAQ levels. The temperature and relative percent humidity of different air pollutants were measured simultaneously at each location. Results: The outdoor levels of all air pollutant levels, except volatile organic compounds (VOCs), were higher than the indoor levels which meant that the IAQ inside healthcare facilities (HCFs) were greatly affected by outdoor sources, particularly traffic. The highest levels of total suspended particulates (TSPs) and those less than 10 microns (PM 10 ) inside the selected hospital were found at locations that are characterized with m4ore human activity. Conclusions:Levels of particulate matter (both PM 10 and TSP) were higher than the Air Quality Guidelines (AQGs). The highest concentrations of the fungal species recorded were Cladosporium and Penicillium. Education of occupants of HCF on IAQ is critical. They must be informed about the sources and effects of contaminants and the proper operation of the ventilation system.