Paulson J, Barnett C.
New Solut. 2010;20(1):3-23.
Abstract
Children spend many hours each week in and around school buildings. Their
short- and long-term health outcomes and ability to learn are affected by
numerous environmental factors related to the school buildings, the school
grounds, the school transportation system, and the use of various products
and materials in and around the school. Many school buildings are old, and
they-and even newer buildings-can contain multiple environmental health
hazards. While some districts self-report they have environmental health
policies in place, no independent verification of these policies or their
quality exists. Teachers and other staff, but not children who are more
vulnerable to hazards than adults, are afforded some protections from
hazards by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations,
by their employment contracts, or through adult occupational health
services. Major environmental problems include: indoor air quality,
lighting, pests and pesticides, heavy metals and chemical management issues,
renovation of occupied buildings, noise, and cleaning processes and
products. No agency at the federal or state levels is charged with ensuring
children's health and safety in and around school buildings. No systematic
means exists for collecting data about exposures which occur in the school
setting. Recommendations are made for dealing with issues of data
collection, federal actions, state and local actions, and for building the
capacity of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention-designated and funded Pediatric Environmental Health
Specialty Units (PEHSU) in responding to and evaluating risks to children's
environmental health in schools.
PMID: 20359989 [PubMed - in process]
