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Health
Slideshow
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Health
Slideshow
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Health
Slideshow
When you send your child to school, naturally you’re concerned about which classes and teachers he or she will have. But have you considered how the school environment could affect your child’s health? The reality is that kids may be exposed to a variety of environmental hazards -- such as lead, asbestos, molds and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) -- as well as chemicals and pesticides at school. And unfortunately many of these exposures may be getting worse, not better, as the nation’s public schools age and continue to deteriorate. Meanwhile, no state or federal agency is required to protect children from these hazards.
As a result, the environmental health of schools is a long ignored issue, which is why it’s essential for parents to get involved. To find out what parents should be aware of, we talked to Claire Barnett, founder and executive director of the Healthy Schools Network Inc., the nation’s leading voice for children’s environmental health and safety in schools.
iVillage: Generally speaking, are parents aware of the extent of the environmental hazards in schools?
Claire Barnett: Over the Network’s 16 years, we have found that parents’ default assumption is that schools will be healthy havens where children can grow and develop. They should be -- but that’s not always the case. In 1995, the government’s General Accounting Office estimated that 13 million children attended school in buildings where the environmental conditions were sufficiently poor that their health was at risk due to poor ventilation, lead exposure, poor pest control and other hazards. And the American Society for Civil Engineers consistently flunks or rates schools with a D for the quality of their infrastructure. So we tell parents they shouldn’t take it for granted that the facility is healthy. We recommend that parents pay a visit to their child’s school and see if there are any renovation or construction processes that haven’t been completed or if the building looks or smells dirty or polluted. Remember: The smell of clean is no smell at all. If the school smells dank or moldy, or you can smell chemical odors like fresh paint, varnish or floor wax, that’s not good.
iVillage: What are some of the ways in which these environmental hazards can affect children’s health?
Claire Barnett: With poor indoor air quality, kids with preexisting learning or developmental problems can have trouble with attention, concentration or memory. Poor indoor air quality and regular application of pesticides in schools also can cause respiratory problems among kids, as well as headaches, nausea, vision problems, itchy eyes, rashes and difficulty concentrating. That’s certainly something every school wants, right? -- students who have trouble concentrating. That’s self-defeating!
iVillage: Have budget cuts in public school systems affected this issue?
Claire Barnett: Absolutely. Schools are under a lot of budgetary constraints these days, and we’re worried that they’ll cut back on non-mandatory staff like school nurses and custodians, which will mean there are fewer people making schools healthy places for kids. The problem is going to get worse -- that’s a given. Meanwhile, if schools try to save money by tightening up their heating and ventilation systems, they’re likely to worsen their indoor air quality. Buildings need ventilation: They don’t breathe on their own. They need fresh air going in and out because people bring indoor air quality problems inside the building with them -- from their exhalations, fragrances, pet dander, odors and other things.
iVillage: As kids start going back to school this fall, which environmental hazards should parents pay special attention to?
Claire Barnett: Parents should make sure schools don’t have a regular program of routine pesticide spraying indoors and out. It’s very easy to ask the building school principal or the district director -- and find out what the pest control process is. Another big issue is the topic of renovations: A lot of schools try to get the painting, refinishing and roofing done during the summer, but very often schools reopen and the building is still being worked on. You may have very hazardous chemicals being used around kids, with roofing work, sprayed insulation, gasoline-powered equipment being operated near a building, lots of construction dust and a whole lot of noise. Work can be rescheduled and schools can use low VOC paint to do the finishing work inside. Parents should make sure that whatever areas their child will be using in the school are cleaned up, free of dust and have no lingering odors.
Green cleaning is also a big issue right now: Certified green cleaning products clean effectively, they’re very low odor and they eliminate a lot of highly toxic chemicals inside the building. Plus, they often save money over conventional cleaning products. If these aren’t being used in your child’s school, parents should request them.
iVillage: Besides the issues you’ve mentioned, are there any emerging hazards parents should be concerned about inside the classroom?
Claire Barnett: A hot topic is the use of dry-erase markers with white boards. There are no green certifications for markers, and they contain volatile chemicals so it’s as if these kids are breathing nail polish remover all day. It’s even worse when kids use them on their laps or desks because then the markers are literally under their noses. It’s a tough issue because school systems across the country are experiencing budget cuts so teachers are always looking for the best deals; unfortunately, the cheapest markers generally emit the most chemicals and the most odors.
There are no studies to show they are safe for kids to use. In adults, research has linked dry-erase markers with headaches, dizziness, nausea and problems with fine motor coordination -- it’s really striking. If a marker has an industry label indicating it’s “nontoxic,” it turns out that means almost nothing for children’s safety.
iVillage: Whether the concern involves dry-erase markers or another hazard, how can parents handle these issues effectively?
Claire Barnett: If the school is being renovated and you’re concerned that it’s not ready for occupancy, make sure other parents are aware of this and visit the school principal together. Find out when it will be finished, how it will be finished and how student health will be protected in the meantime. Take photos of the hazards you see. Describe the smell of the building. Then ask what the plan is. You can ask for a public meeting to discuss what steps should be taken to protect students. I would assume that teachers are not too happy about the situation, either, but school employees can be reluctant to make waves for fear of job retaliation, which then puts a greater burden on parents to step up.
iVillage: In your opinion, what qualities make a school a healthy school?
Claire Barnett: A building that promotes health and learning will be clean, dry and quiet. It will have good control of dust and particulate matter. It will provide good ventilation and good air quality. This also assumes that there’s no lead in the pipes and no PCBs [polychlorinated biphenyls, a group of chemicals that may cause cancer] in the lighting. It shouldn’t be hard to have a building that meets these standards, but it is. It takes time and attention: People in charge of the building need to know what they’re doing because the building won’t fix itself. Usually the person with the greatest expertise is the school’s building facility director or manager or the head school custodian. Those are the people who really are the environmental guardians of the building, so try to enlist their help.
It’s very helpful to have parents and community members who are informed about these issues ask questions in a constructive way. Very often the people running the buildings are overwhelmed and if they’re not trained to think about these issues, they won’t be addressed until someone asks good questions. If your child is being affected by indoor air quality, don’t take “No” or “I don’t know” for an answer. Document how your child’s symptoms come and go, the hazards you see and the odors you detect in the school, and keep pursuing this until you get a response you’re satisfied with. Parents are school stakeholders -- and their voices can be very important in bringing about healthy changes in schools.
