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Environmental Hazards in Your School

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Title: Environmental Hazards in Your School


1
Environmental Hazards in Your School
  • Explorers Guild
  • Vicki Hanrahan Ainslie
  • November 2004

2
Common Environmental Hazards
  • Asbestos
  • Lead-based Paint
  • Lead in water
  • Mold
  • Pesticides
  • Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

3
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)

4
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

5
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7
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.

8
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

9
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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11
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).

12
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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15
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.  

16
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.

17
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

18
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.

19
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

20
Environmental Hazard Exercise
  • Lets go to the Green Squad website
  • http//nrdc.org/greensquad/
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