Environmental Health in Schools

Tuesday May 10, 2011 2:00 p.m. Eastern / 11:00 a.m. Pacific time

Free webcast hosted by the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

(AAIDD) http://www.aaidd.org

Environmental Health Initiative   http://www.aaidd.org/ehi/

Jerome A. Paulson, MD, FAAP, associate professor of Pediatrics and Public Health at George Washington University, will discuss environmental health in schools. 

Teachers and other adult staff are afforded protections from hazards by OSHA regulations, employment contracts, or occupational health services. But children who are more vulnerable to hazards than adults are not provided these protections. Major environmental problems include indoor air quality, lighting, pests and pesticides, heavy metals and chemical management issues, renovation of occupied buildings, noise, and cleaning processes and products. 

Dr. Paulson will offer recommendations for dealing with data collection, federal actions, state and local actions, and for building the capacity of the Environmental Protection Agency and the CDC-funded Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSU) in responding to and evaluating risks to children's environmental health in schools.

Click here to register

High levels of toxic lead found in air outside Chicago school. Residents in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood complained for years about metallic-tasting smoke rolling down their narrow streets but had little evidence it was harmful. Now they have proof. Chicago Tribune, Illinois.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/ct-met-pilsen-lead-problems-20110331,0,6458283.story

Consider School Air Quality in Absentee Rates

To the Editor (Education Week, 1 11 2011):

Regarding your articles about absenteeism, including “Early Grades Are New Front in Absenteeism Wars,” (Oct. 20, 2010), the healthfulness and safety of the facilities themselves should also be considered when looking for reasons why students aren’t in school.

The Environmental Protection Agency states: “Studies show that one-half of our nation’s 115,000 schools have problems linked to indoor air quality. Students are at greater risk because of the hours spent in school facilities and because children are especially susceptible to pollutants.” A 2002 review of studies related to school facility condition, commissioned by the 21st Century School Fund, found links to student absenteeism, achievement, and behavior. School buildings can affect student health in many ways.

A Government Accountability Office report from 1995 lists irritated eye, nose, and throat; upper-respiratory infections; nausea; dizziness; headaches; and fatigue or sleepiness as some of the impacts of poor indoor environmental quality.

The health problems resulting from unhealthy school conditions impact students’ educations in a variety of ways: absenteeism due to building-related health problems; “presenteeism,” when children are present, but not able to do their best because they don’t feel well; and use of substitute teachers because classroom teachers are absent for the same reasons as their students.

As the EPA notes in “Tools for Schools”: “The price for neglect is high, but the investment in maintenance need not be.” Although some indoor-environmental-quality issues may stem from problems requiring costly repairs, others can be resolved with cost-neutral measures, such as switching to environmentally preferable cleaning products and practices.

Our investment in our children’s health and academic performance is essential. There is ample evidence that buildings affect people. We need to ensure that school facilities–our children’s compulsory workplaces–are safe, healthful places. Until all schools are safe and healthful, we should include the impact school facilities are having on students in our discussions about absenteeism.

Virginia Mott

Lakeville, Maine

Related:

Press Release: New Data Shows Schools Ignore Children's Health: Groups Urge Action by EPA and States  National Association of School Nurses/Healthy Schools Network, January 11, 2011

Healthy Schools Network
National Healthy Schools Day

Let's Clear the Air

"Let's Clear the Air," by Scott LaFee, "California Schools Magazine, Spring 2009," California School Boards Association.

http://www.csba.org/NewsAndMedia/Publications/CASchoolsMagazine/2009/Spring/InThisIssue/IAQmain.aspx

The article is further referenced in the Editor's Notes for the magazine, and is accompanied by the resource list at

http://www.csba.org/NewsAndMedia/Publications/CASchoolsMagazine/2009/Spring/InThisIssue/IAQtoolkit.aspx

Questions from a Soccer Mom

Please Watch. Please forward.

Questions from a Soccer Mom, Tanya Murphy, Westport CT
http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=VcZkSf4jj8Y

Chemical Security is Community Security

The wealth of our community is the health of our children.

The November 22, 2006 Danvers, Massachusetts chemical plant explosion should motivate policy makers and citizens to assess community vulnerabilities statewide and take steps to reduce chemical hazards, especially in residential areas and schools. The activity would be an opportunity for communities to create a new appreciation for the positive role of government as the protector of public health, safety and the public's right to know and control what the chemical industry puts in our air, water, food, and bodies.

This disaster is also an opportunity for officials to educate the public about hazards to health and safety. If we have learned anything from the aftermath of 9/11, there is an urgent need to stop the false assurances that hazardous solvent vapors and fumes from burning buildings and toxic runoff are "safe."

Recommended Resources

"The Safe Hometowns Guide," How to do a Community Reassessment of Chemical Site Safety and Security after September 11, 2001.

PTA in Action Newsletter: What is your school's chemical IQ? The healthy school check up for national preparedness month. There is an urgent need for responsible leadership to improve school safety and security by eliminating the improper storage and use of hazardous chemicals in our schools.

Why do we need involved citizens?

Dry cleaning chemical detected in school Families of students attending Mildred Avenue Middle School in Mattapan were notified Friday that state officials found traces of tetrachloroethylene, a liquid used for dry cleaning, following an air quality test, according to a copy of a letter sent by the principal, Kris Taylor. Health officials determined that the levels found by officials from the state Department of Environmental Protection would not pose a health threat, the letter said. Authorities believed the trace levels were remnants from a dry cleaning plant once located on the site, the letter said. Recent changes made to state regulations concerning airborne substances in schools triggered the testing and subsequent findings.

WOBURN MA Railway firm found guilty in diesel oil spill

A jury in Massachusetts has convicted a New Hampshire railway company and three of its subsidiaries of failing to report a hazardous waste spill at a rail yard in Ayer. Pan Am Railways Inc. of Nashua was charged with violating state law. Prosecutors said a locomotive spilled hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel at the rail yard in August 2006. Pan Am Railways and its subsidiaries were accused of failing to report the leak to state officials and of attempting to cover it up. A Superior Court jury returned the verdict yesterday after a weeklong trial. Failure to report a spill is punishable by a $100,000 fine. (AP)

ASTHMA AT SCHOOL

You may want to read the AASA material http://www.aasa.org/focus/content.cfm?ItemNumber=1951

Powerful Practices: An Assessment Tool for School Districts Addressing the Needs of Students with Asthma (PDF, October 2005) This checklist, developed by AASA and its partner school districts, is intended for school administrators to use to help identify areas of asthma management the district is already doing well, as well as areas in which to focus more energy.

Asthma Wellness: Keeping Children with Asthma in School and Learning (PDF, Spring 2003) The Spring 2003 issue of School Governance & Leadership covers asthma, indoor air quality, asthma management, policies and procedures in schools, and liability and litigation issues.

NEWTON'S HIDDEN WEALTH

Ellie Goldberg 617 965-9637, Erika Keller Rogoff, Francoise LaMonica, Andrew Martin, Rohna Shoul, Ilene Spiro, Janet Sterman, Maeve Ward

 

A version of Newton's Hidden Wealth was recorded for broadcast NewTV News:

Video 4min 

The Newton Parks Department's plan to use Trimec Plus on playing fields in Newton this April reveals that Newton's reputation as a "green" city committed to protecting its citizens or safeguarding the environment is undeserved.

Trimec Plus is a weed killer product containing a mixture of the toxic chemicals 2,4-D, Dicamba, and MCPP plus MSMA.* The evidence continues to grow that these chemicals cause serious health and developmental damage to everyone and especially to children.

'It was to avert these dangers that a group of dedicated Green Decade Coalition members proposed that the City adopt an enlightened policy to stop the practice of routinely using a variety of herbicides and insecticides on school playgrounds, public parks and buildings. We were heartened when Mayor Tom Concannon signed an executive order on September 11, 1997.  

The policy called for Integrated Pest Management (IPM). IPM is a proactive cost-saving approach to preventing and correcting conditions to prevent weeds and bugs. It is not simply a menu of toxic and less toxic "treatments."

If Newton had effectively implemented this policy, all city buildings and grounds would now be in great shape. We could rely on a pro-active coordinated system of operations, preventative maintenance and repair. All city employees, contractors and citizens would be committed to a culture of collaboration and sustainable cost-saving practices that prevent damage and deterioration and that would make it possible to avoid using pesticides.

We would have fixed the underlying site problems on our sports fields such as poor drainage. We would have corrected bad mowing and irrigation practices. Enlightened sports coaches, teams and recreational users and neighbors would gladly adjust to field conditions to avoid the overuse and abuse that dooms to failure any seeding, aerating or fertilizing – no matter how much or little we spend. We would all be proud of our well-maintained fields, schools and firehouses. We would be thriving with energy efficient buildings and "green" playing fields. Newton would truly be a model of Integrated Planning and Management.

However, despite annual proclamations of Alternatives to Pesticides Month, the City has never truly committed to making the policy work. An advisory committee was made up of city department representatives with limited knowledge and inconsistent and unreliable participation. The group has never lived up to the purpose or the promise of being an effective and educated advisory group for any kind of oversight or coordination. Thus Newton has yet to develop the values and scientific expertise necessary to correct its inefficient, wasteful and unsafe practices.

Just as the lack of maintenance has allowed all of the city buildings to deteriorate, the City administration has missed hundreds of opportunities to prevent problems and has wasted millions of dollars. Instead of having playing fields and buildings citizens can be proud of, we have dilapidated schools, deplorable fields, deteriorating firehouses, demoralized employees and disgruntled citizens -- and more pesticides. Thus, ever since 1997, the Parks Department has claimed that "organic fertilizers" fail to stop the weeds and then rationalizes its use of "less expensive" synthetics and pesticides.

The real problem is that the city has yet to adopt ecologically-wise long-range cost-effective practices, has yet to change the culture of city departments working at cross purposes, and has yet to adopt a standard for accountability.

Newton's management culture persists in tolerating poor performance and shoddy work. Contractors and suppliers can exploit Newton's ineffective piecemeal approach to contracts and disjointed decision-making. It is a system vulnerable to waste, fraud, abuse and escalating costs. And no lessons are learned -- these same contractors and suppliers seem to have the loyalty of Newton officials and a lock on Newton's contracts no matter how poor the results. Do we see evidence that there will be better design, maintenance and sanitation in our "new" buildings?

I wish the people who think Newton needs an override would imagine how much Newton would have saved if the City did basic maintenance and repair and was truly committed to quality control, systems efficiency, and protecting our buildings from rot. **

Newton's hidden wealth is the citizens who are unsatisfied with the status quo, who understand that Newton could be doing so much better and have not yet lost faith in the potential of the City of Newton. Now is the time to begin realizing that potential and getting value for every dollar.

A good place to start is to cancel the Parks Department's plan to use Trimec Plus and invest in a long-range system that sets a high standard for collaboration and makes quality and accountability a priority in all City departments. We would then be praising our city officials for their fidelity to principles of good government and financial stewardship.

That's where the money is!

- 0 -

*To learn about the dangers of these chemicals:

1. See GreenCAP's award winning video "Say No to Pesticides." Contact the Green Decade Coalition 617 965-1995, info@greendecade.org
2. See the documentary films "Playing it Safe" and "Our Children at Risk" from Grassroots Environmental Education. Contact Ellie Goldberg 617 965-9637, healthykids@rcn.com
3. See Contaminated Without Consent online at http://www.healthytomorrow.org/

**In December 1995 Ellie Goldberg sent a letter to Anne Larner and the school committee when she became concerned about the lack of knowledgeable professionals, lack of quality control and accountability, and the lack of a comprehensive coordinated system to address the air quality hazards and poor sanitation in Newton's schools.

That letter is available online at http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg73c5g2_76hr92rr.  
 Also see

• PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM PESTICIDES

Fulfilling our mission as advocates for children

Ellie Goldberg, VP Legislation, Massachusetts PTA
www.masspta.org www.healthy-kids.info

(Photos: Ellie Goldberg with Rep. Peter Koutoujian, House Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Health and Ellie with Maureen Ferris, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Legislative Children's Caucus.)

If you belong to PTA, I know you believe as I do that PTA members can and must participate in public policy making. We belong to PTA because it supports us in advocacy and lobbying efforts to mold local, state and national programs, policies, and priorities on behalf of children, schools, and communities.

What does the Massachusetts VP of Legislation do? What can PTA members do?

As VP of Legislation for Massachusetts PTA my role is to raise awareness of PTA issues and positions among PTA members, policy makers and the public. At times, I am a spokesperson on national and Massachusetts PTA priority issues, giving testimony at hearings and joining policy making committees on behalf of the PTA.

I keep informed on legislative activities at the state and national level, I attend national meetings and conferences, and I participate in national legislative and policy conference calls. Then I send out the e-newsletter Massachusetts PTA Takes Action to keep you informed about the news and resources you need to play a leadership role in making children a high priority in your community and at the state and national levels.

I also send out Action Alerts. These are usually urgent appeals for action at critical times in the legislation and budget-making process. I hope you will write letters or make phone calls to state and national legislators, legislative committees, and news editors. Usually I can provide a draft, template or script to make it easy for you. These Action Alerts are an important way to make the PTA voice count.

The real key to public advocacy is developing and maintaining relationships with policy makers throughout the year. I encourage you to build strong relationships with your policy makers at the local, state and federal level. Get to know your legislators and their staff. Write letters to the editor about PTA priority issues. Increase the visibility of the PTA and promote PTA's advocacy agenda among the public and policy makers.

Do you have a passion? I am most passionate about environmental health and safety, pollution prevention, health security, asthma and other chronic health conditions, and school indoor air quality issues.

There are many other health promotion, education, nutrition, community safety and parent involvement activities that need your attention and involvement. Consider serving as the PTA liaison to or as a member of public policy committees and groups organized to promote the issues you care about.

Most important, think of yourself as a resource to your local PTA, to your legislators, their staff people, and other community policy makers. You are their eyes and ears at the local level. Let them know your personal, school and community concerns, interests and needs.

Also seek out local community partners and organizations such as the League of Women Voters, your district's Parent Advisory Committee for Special Education, Stand for Children, and other groups working to promote the interests of children and to enhance pride in the schools and community.

There is always plenty of room for new ideas! We are most powerful and effective when we work together. Please contact me at vplegislation@masspta.org.

I look forward to hearing from you.

*******

CREATING A CULTURE OF SENTINEL LIONS

The Legacy of Rachel Carson 
b. May 27, 1907 – d. April 14, 1964

Ellie Goldberg, M.Ed., Newton, Massachusetts www.healthy-kids.info

Rachel Carson's Centennial Year (2007) is a golden opportunity to introduce Rachel Carson and her book, Silent Spring, to a new generation of students, citizens, journalists, opinion leaders, and policy makers. A national awareness of Rachel Carson's life and legacy can stimulate broader public engagement in efforts to stop the damage caused by the unbridled chemical industry and to integrate and align public policy with Rachel Carson's values.

In 1962, Silent Spring was a call for sanity, common sense, public integrity, health security and human rights from a scientist who catalyzed a wave of such political urgency that it generated a powerful "environmental movement."

It was Rachel Carson's reverence for life and sense of responsibility that motivated her to write Silent Spring (1962). Al Gore wrote in his introduction to the 40th anniversary printing, "…without this book, the environmental movement might have been long delayed or never have developed at all…"

As a master storyteller, Carson exposed the extensive harm caused by the reckless use of modern chemicals and eloquently explained the intimate connection between our health and the quality of our environment. To a public dazzled by chemical industry marketing and government complicity, Silent Spring detailed the assault on the essential elements that sustain life: clean air, clean water, and safe food.

Within a few years of its publication, in spite of an orchestrated chemical industry campaign to discredit her work, an enlightened public and their elected leaders led to the creation of the US EPA, the ban on DDT, and environment regulations such as the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act, laws being systematically undermined today.

Silent Spring is as relevant today as in 1962.

Rachel Carson Was Right: Prevention is the Imperative

While all of Carson's books and other writings stand the test of time, Silent Spring deserves special focus because it is a Call to Action. As the evidence of harm continues to grow, Rachel Carson tells a story that gives citizens a clear rubric of values for evaluating public policies and institutional practices in communities now suffering from environmentally induced epidemics of asthma, autism, cancer, and the long list of acute and chronic illnesses and development disorders.

"What Would Rachel Say?" sets a standard for legislators, institutions, corporations, public agencies and citizens.

The National Resource Defense Council calls Silent Spring one of the landmark books of the 20th century and points out how Rachel Carson faced overwhelming difficulties, illness and adversity, and in spite of an orchestrated chemical industry campaign to discredit her work, "rose like a gladiator…motivated by her unabashed love of nature and sense of responsibility."

Like a "Sentinel Lion," Rachel Carson had the courage, the confidence, the reverence for life, and the sense of responsibility to speak out during a period of widespread pesticide abuse and environmental degradation. Silent Spring still has the transformational power to be the touchstone for a new wave of social consciousness and political urgency. 

Rachel Carson inspires us to think of ourselves, not as whistleblowers, troublemakers, or canaries in the mine, but as guardians, steadfast sentries, and defenders of our community against the decisions that allow pollution to contaminate our air, water and food. We can picture ourselves as the sentinel or guardian lion, the universal symbol of protection, alone or in pairs, at the entrances of cities, buildings, gates, bridges, museums -- guarding the treasures of our community. We are the sentries, gladiators, the "guardian at the gate," the sentinel lions working to inform and engage citizens in the work of aligning local practices with the Precautionary Principle and sustainability standards.

The image of the "Sentinel Lion" will help reframe (and reclaim) the goal of environmental advocacy from simple consumer activities, often limited to changing light bulbs, buying "green," and recycling, to greater citizen engagement at all levels working for government and corporate transparency and accountability.[1] The goal is to foster a culture of Sentinel Lions who, like Rachel Carson, are motivated to take responsibility for the health of their communities and to work for sustained political and cultural change that prioritizes public health.

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[1] Confronting Consumption, Edited by Thomas Princen, Michael Maniates, KenConca, MIT Press, 2002.