Environmental Hazards in Your School

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Environmental Hazards in Your School

• Explorers Guild
• Vicki Hanrahan Ainslie
• November 2004

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Common Environmental Hazards

• Asbestos
• Lead-based Paint
• Lead in water
• Mold
• Pesticides
• Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

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Asbestos

• Asbestos is a mineral found in certain types of
  rock formation.
• It was a popular product in building materials
  because it
• Is strong
• Will not burn
• Resists corrosion
• Insulates well
• Exposure to asbestos has been linked to serious
  health problems, usually in occupational
  settings.
• Scarring of the lung
• Cancer of the lung
• Cancer lining of the lung or abdomen (always
  fatal)

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Where could you find asbestos in your school?

• In older schools, asbestos-containing material
  (ACM) may be present in
• Ceiling tiles
• Vinyl floor tile
• Pipe insulation
• Wall ceiling insulation
• Roofing material

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Exposure to Asbestos

• Most exposures in schools experienced by
  maintenance and mechanical workers
• Newer schools may have ACM, it is not banned!
• Asphalt roofing products, cement pipes, mastics
• EPA requires the removal of most ACM before
  renovation/demolition of buildings.

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Lead

• Hazards of lead
• Health effects most devastating to children lt 6.
• Damages brain and nervous system leading to
• Reduced IQ
• Reduced attention span
• Behavioral problems
• Impaired hearing
• Routes of exposure
• Inhalation
• Ingestion
• Most children poisoned by lead in dust from
  deteriorating LBP

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Lead-Based Paint (LBP)

• Any surface painted before 1978 could be
  lead-based paint
• Intact paint is not a hazard
• Maintain painted surfaces intact
• Repair and repainted of LBP should be done by
  someone with proper training on lead-safe work
  practices

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Lead in Drinking Water

• Lead-containing materials used in older piping
  systems, drinking fountains.
• EPA has several restrictions on lead use in
  plumbing for drinking water.
• EPA recommends schools take action if samples
  from any drinking water source shows levels over
  20 parts per billion (ppb).

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Mold ANCIENT ENEMY or Fact of Life

• Existed for at least 400 million years
• (remediation is described in the BibleLeviticus
  Ch.14)
• 100,000 species identified 1,000 in U.S
• Minimal Growth Requirements
• Water (humidity/damp OK)
• Food (any organic substance)
• typically is cellulose found in wood, ceiling
  tiles, drywall or carpets.
• Appropriate Temp (40? and 100? Fahrenheit)
• Lack of ventilation

The word mold is derived from the old Old Norse
word for fuzzy.
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Health Effects of Mold

• Molds and other fungi may adversely affect human
  health through three processes
• allergy
• infection and
• toxicity.
• Most fungi generally are not pathogenic to
  healthy humans.
• Allergic responses are most commonly experienced
  as allergic asthma or hay fever.
• People with impaired immune function are at
  significant risk for more severe opportunistic
  fungal infection.  

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Pesticides

• EPA strongly encourages the use of Integrated
  Pest Management to reduce the amount and toxicity
  of pesticides used in homes and schools.
• Many pesticides may be more harmful to children,
  and at lower doses, than they are to adults.
• Ninety percent of American homes use pesticides.

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Pesticides

• There is a strong likelihood that low-level
  chronic exposure adversely affects children's
  nervous systems, resulting in
• lower cognitive function
• behavior disorders, and
• other subtle neurological problems.
• Two of the most popular classes of insecticides
  used in the U.S. are designed as neurotoxins,
  poisoning the nervous systems of unwanted
  insects.
• organophosphates and carbamates

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Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

• http//www.healthhouse.org/iaq/IAQTest.asp
• Indoor chemical sources
• Ventilation
• Carbon dioxide
• Temperature/humidity
• Microbial contamination
• Contaminated outside air
• Carbon monoxide
• Radon
• All previous environmental issues can contribute
  to poor IAQ in any building.

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IAQ

• What can be done to control IAQ?
• Reduce exposure from known sources
• Ensure adequate ventilation
• Air cleaning
• Establish protocols for special school sources
• Laboratories
• Duplicating rooms
• Industrial arts classes
• Other sources

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Environmental Hazard Exercise

• Lets go to the Green Squad website
• http//nrdc.org/greensquad/