Find an exhaust vent. (Look for grillwork on ceilings,
closet doors, in closets, or behind bookcases.) Hold a sheet of
paper up to the grill. If the paper doesn't stick it isn't venting
the air.
c. 1990,
Ellie Goldberg, MEd. Originally
published in The American Journal of Asthma & Allergy for
Pediatricians, Vol. 4, No. 1, October, 1990. v.
1/2003
...Every September on the first day of school we are greeted - with the heavy smell of fresh paint, cleaning solutions, etc. While I applaud the maintenance efforts certainly painting could be scheduled so the school would air out before school opens. These smells permeate the building along with the usual heavy, humid and stale air associated with the summer. During my daughter's second grade year she attended the first couple of days of school and missed the next two and a half weeks due to asthma -- the smell of paint was particularly strong that year.... D.B., Massachusetts
Common childhood illnesses and
allergies can cause a stuffy nose, headaches, eye irritation,
restlessness, stomachaches or drowsiness.
Those same symptoms can also be caused by an unhealthy school environment.
Air
quality problems at school can range from the mildly irritating to
seriously debilitating. While a few sensitive people may be the first
to get sick from mold, paint fumes or strong smelling cleaning
solutions, everyone is affected by health hazards such as solvents,
cigarette smoke, and high levels of carbon dioxide...teachers and
students alike.
Parents of students with asthma and allergies that worsen at school can alert school officials to a variety of potential environmental health hazards. Like canaries in a mine, when these children react to odors or poor air quality, it flags problems that, if corrected, can protect others from illness and disability.
In one Connecticut town, a
child's medically controlled seasonal allergies and mild asthma
developed into severe asthma immediately after starting second grade.
The child was subjected to extensive medical testing and required
medication that exceeded $200 per month. Doctor bills for the period
from September to June added up to more than $1000. The child missed
twenty days of school. His frequent and prolonged illness required his
parents to change jobs (and lose income) so that one parent could be at
home at all times to monitor his condition, transport him to school,
and administer medication. His health improved during the summer but
deteriorated immediately in September when he returned to school.
The district paid to transport the ill child to a school across town rather than clean up the classroom mold problem. Eventually, when other children became ill, their parents got involved and demanded the school address the problem. (Teachers had unaddressed grievances about the odor in the classroom going back six years.) Now, an advisory group is working to set up a procedure to ensure that other complaints about school safety and health hazards are properly investigated and corrected.
In Massachusetts, parents
prompted an inspection in one elementary school where a comparatively
high number of students had chronic respiratory problems. The
inspector found high levels of carbon dioxide and pointed out that the
exhaust and air circulation systems had not been properly installed
twenty years earlier. The exhaust vents were in closets. The
inspector noted that the situation was "not unusual."
Many
schools do not comply with fire, building or safety codes, especially
where previously unused space in damp moldy basements or dusty storage
areas are turned into classroom space. Other hazards are created by
poor maintenance or the misuse and poor monitoring of debris and
chemicals during pest control, lawn care, or renovation. When budgets
are tight, towns may be lax about routine inspections and delay repairs
on ventilation, cooling and heating systems.
True,
inspections and correcting problems may cost money. But the solutions
are not always expensive. In fact, it could be as inexpensive as moving
a bookcase that blocks a vent, adjusting a thermostat, or relocating
the bus waiting area away from the air intake vents.
On
the other hand, when a school district fails to promptly acknowledge
and correct a problem, it can end up losing more than money. In one
Massachusetts town, an eighteen-month delay in reporting the detection
of toxic vapors from underground chemical contamination led to
widespread distrust and controversy. Even though the state's
Department of Environmental Protection labeled the risk "not serious,"
so many teachers and students requested transfers that the school was
closed.
Now, in anticipation of reopening,
an advisory group of parents, teachers, and school officials is
designing a system to monitor air quality. In addition, students will
be monitored for headaches, abdominal pain, malaise and other signs of
poor ventilation and toxic exposure. The school has also overhauled
its ventilating system to control carbon dioxide levels blamed for
causing headaches.
What can you do if you have concerns about health hazards in your school?
Start conversations. Involve parents, students and teachers
in a school safety and injury prevention checkup during national and
local campaigns for school safety, public health, asthma awareness,
child health, occupational health, and injury prevention.
Use safety checklists
from the fire department, National Safety Council, the National Parent
Teacher Association and local, state, and federal health agencies.
Order a copy of the School Safety Handbook from The Association of
School Business Officials International in Reston, Virginia.
Ask questions. Don't
be surprised if it requires some research to find out who is
responsible for maintaining standards for specific areas of school
safety or health. A variety of city offices may have similar roles.
Ask for school guidelines
for the purchase and use of art, science and cleaning supplies. Do
they protect students from hazardous products especially in areas where
food is stored, prepared or served?
Be suspicious of strange odors.
What is the air quality standard? How is it monitored? Room air
exchange rate test results should be stated in cubic feet of outdoor
air per minute per occupant. Inspection reports should be available to
parents, staff and other interested citizens on request.
Submit concerns or inspection requests in writing
to school administrators and certifying agencies of the city or state
health department whose employees have an "affirmative obligation" to
maintain standards that protect public health and safety.
Speak up.
Concerned parents should support each other and school staff. Write
letters and appear at school board and town meetings to let
administrators and officials know that you care about safe schools.
Keep the issue alive until the situation is remedied. Your kids will
thank you for it.
Let me know how it goes.
The world endures solely by virtue of the breath of school
children. (Talmud)
