Healthy Schools:Indoor Air Quality and Environmental Health

Al Vega, Tolle Graham: MassCOSHLaurita Kaigler-Crawlle, Dir. MAAPMary White: HRiA Parent Asthma Leader

What makes a school healthy?

1. Infrastructure & Supportive Policies

4. Healthy School

Environment

2. Health & Mental Health

Services

3. Asthma Education

6. Family & Community Involvement

5. Physical Education & Activity

The EPA Framework for Effective Environmental Health Action

The Framework for Effective School IAQ Management: Six Technical Solutions

• HVAC • Moisture/Mold • IPM • Cleaning & Maintenance • Materials Selection • Strong policies and procedureshttp://www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/

Next Steps:

• Form Environmental Health Committees • Review resource materials from training• Conduct surveys• Do a walkthrough• ABCD Head Start incorporates lessons learned,

strengthens policies and develops new policies for environmental health!

Environmentally Friendly checklist

Small group activity:

•What environmentally friendly actions are you taking now?

•What questions do you have about any of these actions?

Effectiveness of a School Walkthrough:

• Helps monitor school conditions• Brings new problems to light• Checks that promised improvements

have been made

Collective action improves working conditions and health!

Tips for conducting a walkthrough

Use Your Five Senses!• Listen to people and equipment• Look for hazards or signs of hazards• Smell for odors• Feel for dampness and drafts• Taste the sweet taste of success!

Collect and Prioritize the DATA from the Walkthrough:

• Prioritize by most hazardous or most concerned about ,

• most people/ children exposed…• to the least hazardous and least amount

of people affected.• Prioritize short and long term solutions

Keep it moving: Organize a Pacing Event

• Encourages participants to enroll in bold goals.• Develops relationships.• Synthesizes ideas – what works.• Accelerates progress – big boosts in energy, activity.• Features best practices – what works.• Generates commitments.• All speak, all heard.• All teach, all learn.• All leave in action.

Pacing events are KEY to success:

OFFERS

ASSERTIONS

EFFECTIVE QUESTIONS

CALL TO ACTION

Environmental Health

TRIVIAGAME &PRIZES!

Question # 1

What is the definition of IPM?

Environmental Health

TRIVIAGAME &PRIZES!

Question #2

Name 3 potential environmental asthma triggers in a classroom.

Question #3What is the difference between cleaning and disinfecting?

Question # 4What are the ways children can be exposed to tobacco?

Question # 5

How can you determine the chemical ingredients in a cleaning product?