Pest Management

For more information on Pest Management, visit:

Office of Pesticide Programs
OPP's mission is to protect public health and the environment from the risks posed by pesticides and to promote safer means of pest control.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for Schools
One of EPA's highest priorities is protecting children's health from unnecessary exposure to pesticides that are used in their schools to control pests. EPA is encouraging school officials to adopt Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices to reduce children's exposure to pesticides.

Featured Pest Management Resources:

Healthy School Environments Assessment Tool (HealthySEAT)
HealthySEAT is a new software tool from EPA designed to help school districts conduct voluntary, customized self-assessments of their school facilities for environmental, health, and safety hazards.
Source: EPA - Office of Air and Radiation - Indoor Environments Division
http://www.epa.gov/schools

National Integrated Pest Management in Schools Web Site
Contains Integrated Pest Management information specific to schools. See listing under Integrated Pest Management tools.
Source: EPA - University of Florida
http://schoolipm.ifas.ufl.edu/

Integrated Pest Management in Schools
The Integrated Pest Management Program in Schools program is encouraging school officials to adopt Integrated Pest Management (Integrated Pest Management) practices to reduce children's exposure to pesticides. The program targets school administrators, janitors, custodians, and food workers, as well as parents, teachers, and kids.
Source: EPA - Office of Pesticide Programs
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/ipm

Indoor Air Quality Design Tools for Schools
Indoor air quality is a critically important aspect of creating and maintaining healthy school facilities. IAQ Design Tools for Schools will help school districts find the information resources they need to design, construct and renovate school facilities that will support the schools core mission of educating children.
Source: EPA - Office of Air and Radiation - Indoor Environments Division
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schooldesign/

Rhode Island Rules and Regulations for School Health Programs
These regulations, issued by RI Department of Education and RI Deptartment of Health, address a number of environmental/health issues in schools, such as: mercury, pesticide application, asbestos, lead, radon, water supply, and chemical hygiene plans. The regulations prohibit the use of certain chemicals from schools (see Appendix A).
Source: RI Dept Education and RI Dept Health
http://www.rules.state.ri.us/rules/released/pdf/DOH/DOH_2722.pdf

Collaborative for High Performance Schools
The Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) aims to increase the energy efficiency of public schools in California by marketing information, service, and incentive programs directly to school districts and designers. The Collaborative's goal is to facilitate the design of high performance schools: environments that are not only energy efficient, but also healthy, comfortable, well lit, and contain the amenities needed for a quality education.
Source: Collaborative for High Performance Schools
http://www.chps.net/

National Compliance Assistance Clearinghouse
The National Compliance Assistance Clearinghouse is your guide to compliance information on the Internet. It provides quick access to compliance tools, contacts, and planned activities from across EPA as well as other compliance assistance providers.
Source: EPA - National Compliance Assistance Clearninghouse
http://cfpub1.epa.gov/clearinghouse/index.cfm?Tab=Home

IPM Standards for Schools
Web site contains information about Integrated Pest Management in schools, including administrative planning and policy guidance, and landscape and pest-specific information. The home page for the site contains a description of the Institute's certification program; a list of upcoming Integrated Pest Management events; and an extensive page of Integrated Pest Management links.
Source: IPM Institute of North America, Inc. -
http://www.ipminstitute.org/school.htm

Pennsylvania Green Building Operations and Maintenance Manual
This manual for environmentally preferable operation and maintenance of government buildings and associated grounds is designed to help carry out the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Executive Order 1998-1 to "incorporate environmentally sustainable practices into [Executive Agencies'] ... operations."
Source: Pennsylvania Department of General Services' Property Management
http://www.dgs.state.pa.us/dgs/cwp/view.asp?Q=118184&A=363

NCEF- Healthy School Environments Resource List
National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities resource list of links, books, and journal articles on environmentally safe and healthy school buildings.
Source: National Institute of Building Sciences - National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities
http://www.edfacilities.org/rl/healthy_schools.cfm

Reducing Pesticide Exposure at Schools
This September 2007 publication from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and health explains how exposures and potential health risks to children and school staff can be reduced by avoiding routine pesticide applications through an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program.
Source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2007-150/

Green Buildings Portal
Green or sustainable building is the practice of creating healthier and more resource-efficient models of construction, renovation, operation, maintenance, and demolition. EPA's Green Building web portal provides links to energy, waste, water, materials, and indoor environment resources.
Source: EPA-Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response - Office of Solid Waste
http://www.epa.gov/greenbuilding/

Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Improving Environmental Conditions in MA Schools
This website provides links to a variety of web resources that address how to improve the school environment. Topics such as facilities management (including a wide range of environmental, health and safety issues), hazardous waste site impacts on schools, transportation, and waste reduction and recycling are addressed.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
http://www.mass.gov/dep/service/schools.htm

California -- Sustainable Schools
This website provides a diverse collection of sustainable building resources that will help schools create high performance educational facilities that will ensure the optimal health and productivity of students and faculty.
Source: California Division of the State Architect
http://www.sustainableschools.dgs.ca.gov/sustainableschools/

Environmental Compliance and Best Management Practices Guidance Manual
This comprehensive environmental manual is available on-line in both English and Spanish.
Source: EPA - Region 2
http://www.epa.gov/region02/children/k12/

Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools
EPA's Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools program provides schools with a range of resources to help them prevent and solve indoor air quality problems.
Source: EPA - Office of Air and Radiation
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schools

LEED for Schools
The LEED for Schools Rating System recognizes the unique nature of the design and construction of K-12 schools. Based on the LEED for New Construction rating system, it addresses issues such as classroom acoustics, master planning, mold prevention and environmental site assessment.
Source: U.S. Green Building Council
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1586

California Portable Classrooms Study
The Air Resources Board (ARB) and Department of Health Services (DHS) completed a comprehensive study of the environmental health conditions in portable (relocatable) classrooms. This study investigated classrooms in kindergarten through 12th grade public schools and included a large representative sample.
Source: California Air Resources Board
http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/indoor/pcs/pcs.htm

New Hampshire Healthy School Environments
This website provides links to resources to help schools assess and address health, safety and environmental issues in school buildings. Both a fact sheet on NH Department of Environmental Services (NH DES) efforts to customize EPA's HealthySEAT , as well as New Hampshire customization of the software may be downloaded from this site.
Source: New Hampshire Department of Envrionmental Services Air Resources Division - Air Resources Division
http://www.des.nh.gov/ARD/EHP/HSE

IPM Resource Center for Schools and Childcare Facilities
The purpose of the Center is to promote Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and provide technical support and IPM resources to schools and child care facilities throughout the US, but especially Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico
Source: Texas A&M University - Texas Cooperative Extension
http://schoolipm.tamu.edu/

Wisconsin - Green Schools Program
The Wisconsin Green Schools Program is a web based, voluntary program available to all K-12 schools across the state. The program encourages teachers, staff and students to work together to use the school, grounds, and community as learning tools to help teach sound environmental practices and promote environmental sustainability. A wide variety of environmental topics are addressed.
Source: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources - Green Schools Program
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/greenSchools

High Performance School Design Online Training
Interactive courses on this site are offered free of charge as a public benefit for design and engineering professionals specializing in sustainable design for K-12 schools. High performance school design integrates daylighting, indoor air quality, and energy efficiency to build a school that runs efficiently, saves money, protects natural resources, and provides superior visual, acoustical, and thermal comfort.
Source: New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
http://www.hpschooldesigntraining.com/nyserda/home.jsp

Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Walkthrough Video Assessment
This is a streaming-video module directed towards schools in city environments. The purpose is to help people identify potential indoor air quality problems and how to correct them. Based on EPA's Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Program.
Source: Rutgers University
http://urbantfs.digiscript.com/

Tox Town
An introduction to toxic chemicals and environmental health risks you might encounter in everyday life, in everyday places, including schools.
Source: National Institutes of Health - National Library of Medicine
http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/index.html

Illinois EPA Green Schools Checklist: Environmental Actions for Schools to Consider
This web site provides environmental improvement strategies for addressing: energy usage, solid waste generation, indoor air quality, pest management, mold growth, water consumption, laboratory waste, building renovation and purchasing in schools.
Source: Illinois Environmental Protection Agency - Office of Pollution Prevention
http://www.epa.state.il.us/green-illinois/green-schools/index.html

Massachusetts Environmental Health and Safety Issues in Massachusetts' Primary Schools
The interagency Healthy Schools Council was tasked with identifying a list of the most important issues for schools to address in terms of environmental health and safety. A multi-agency/multi-media checklist was developed addressing these issues.
Source: Massachusetts Healthy Schools Council - Massachusetts Department of Public Health
http://www.state.ma.us/dph/beha/iaq/schools/schools.htm

Maine School IPM Program
This web site has links to a variety of sources of information on integrated pest management.
Source: Maine Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources
http://www.state.me.us/agriculture/pesticides/schoolipm/

Massachusetts Children's Protection Act of 2000
The law "An Act to Protect Children and Families From Harmful Pesticides" is implemented by the MA Department of Food and Agriculture. This law requires schools, daycare center and school age child care programs to develop an IPM plan, requires parental notification re: pesticide application, and restricts pesticide applications both indoors and outdoors.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture
http://www.state.ma.us/dfa/cpa/index.htm

New York State Department of Education Office of Facilities Planning
Contains a wide range of resources on environmental and occupational safety and health issues affecting school facilities.
Source: New York State Education Department - Office of Facilities Planning
http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/facplan/HealthSafety.htm

California - Los Angeles Unified School District Product Review Database
Searchable database of over 5,000 products evaluated by the LAUSD Office of Environmental Health and Safety to determine their suitability for use in and around Los Angeles schools.
Source: Los Angeles Unified School District - Office of Environmental Health & Safety
http://www.lausd-oehs.org/productreview.asp

Washington State School Health and Safety Program
The program provides consultation, technical assistance, and training to local health jurisdictions, schools, and parent groups on school health and safety issues.
Source: Washington State Department of Health - Office of Environmental Health & Safety
http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/ts/school.htm

Indiana - IDEM E-Newsletter for Indiana Educators
This newletter provides information on a range of environmental topics which schools must address.
Source: Indiana Department of Environmental Management
http://www.in.gov/idem/schoolnews

Integrated Pest Management for Schools: A How-to Manual
A How-to-Manual for implementing an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program in Schools. Manual is presented in PDF format and broken up by Chapter.
Source: EPA Region 9 - Pesticides Section
http://www.epa.gov/Region9/toxic/pest/school/

Massachusetts --A Case Study of Environmental, Health, and Safety Issues Involving the Burlington Massachusetts Public School System
This Web site provides a case study of Environmental, Health, and Safety issues in the Burlington, MA public school system.
Source: EPA Region 7 - Burlington Board of Health
http://www.epa.gov/Region7/education_resources/teachers/ehsstudy/index.htm

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Tools for Schools Kit
This Web site provides a description of the IAQ Tools for Schools Kit which shows schools how to carry out a practical plan of action to improve indoor air quality at little or no cost using common sense activities and in-house staff.
Source: EPA Region 6 - Tools for Schools Program
http://www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6pd/toolsforschools/tools4u.htm

EPA Region 5 - Pollution Prevention Toolbox
Contains tools for helping teachers integrate Pollution Prevention into the classroom.
Source: EPA Region 5 - Pesticides and Toxics Office
http://www.epa.gov/reg5rcra/wptdiv/p2pages/toolbox.htm

EPA Guide to Protecting Children's Health in Schools
Software tool developed by EPA Region 5 and Purdue University provides information on hazards found in schools, inlcuding a virtual tour of a school, the potential effects of those hazards on children's health, planning tools, case studies, and lnks to resources to help schools prevent and fix environmental problems.
Source: EPA Region 5 & Purdue University
http://www.epa.gov/seahome/child.html

Green Clean Schools
Healthy Schools Campaign has published the first-ever multimedia how-to guide to help schools adopt cleaning programs that encourage the use of green products, equipment and practices in schools.
Source: Healthy Schools Campaign
http://healthyschoolscampaign.org/campaign/green_clean_schools/

EPA New England's K-12 Schools Website
This site discusses efforts to improve coordination and integration amongst EPA's many schools related programs, and provides links to Regional topic specific web sites, such as: asbestos, diesel school buses, drinking water, environmental management systems, energy, indoor air quality, lead, mercury and teacher and student resources. Links to national websites are provided as well.
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/ne/schools

New York State Guidelines for Green Cleaning Products
Guidelines and specifications for the procurement and use of environmentally sensitive cleaning and maintenance products for all public and nonpublic elementary and secondary schools in New York State.
Source: New York State Office of General Services - Environmental Services Unit
http://www.ogs.state.ny.us/bldgadmin/environmental/default.html

NCEF Resource List: Classroom Design
NCEF offers an annotated list of links, books, and journal articles addressing indoor air quality issues in K-12 school buildings, including building materials, maintenance practices, renovation procedures and ventilation systems. This specific site highlights various resources on classroom design.
Source: National Institute of Building Sciences - National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities
http://www.edfacilities.org/rl/classroom_design.cfm

Florida -- Brevard County Public Schools Office of Plant Operations and Maintenance
The Office of Plant Operations and Maintenance for Brevard Public Schools in east-central Florida provides information to school administrators and facility managers on a wide range of environmental health and safety topics.
Source: Florida Brevard Public Schools - Environmental Health and Safety
http://plant-ops.brevard.k12.fl.us/

NCEF Resource List: Pesticides and Integrated Pest Management
NCEF offers an annotated list of links, books, and journal articles on the use of pesticides, integrated pest management guidelines, specifications, training, implementation and management in school buildings and grounds.
Source: National Institute of Building Sciences - National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities
http://www.edfacilities.org/rl/pests.cfm

Illinois -- Greening Schools
Greening Schools offers FREE technical assistance, workshops for teachers, administrators and facility managers, and on-line resources related to pollution prevention for all Illinois schools.
Source: Illinois Waste Management and Research Center
http://www.greeningschools.org

Minnesota -- IPM in Minnesota Schools
Contains a variety of resources on pest management in K-12 schools.
Source: Minnesota Department of Agriculture
http://www.mda.state.mn.us/ipm/IPMinSchools.html

Inventory of Federal School Environmental Health Activities
This inventory was prepared by the Schools Workgroup of the President's Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children and includes descriptions of major school related programs and activities of EPA and other Federal departments and Agencies.
Source: EPA -- President's Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children
http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/Inventory.htm/$file/Inventory.pdf

Massachusetts School IPM Website
This website provides information about integrated pest management (IPM) in schools.
Source: University of Massachusetts Extension School
http://www.umass.edu/umext/schoolipm

Maine Department of Education Facilities Management Template
Includes a draft ME School Facilities Maintenance Plan including checklists for Maintenance, Operations, Grounds, Custodial, and Vehicle Services
Source: Maine Department of Education
http://www.maine.gov/education/const/fmt.htm

Massachusetts Healthy Schools Web site
The Massachusetts Healthy Schools Web site is a resource for promoting healthy indoor air environments and environmentally sustainable school buildings in Massachusetts.
Source: Massachusetts Public Health Association - Massachusetts Healthy Schools Network
http://www.mphaweb.org/pol_schools.html

Washington Integrated Pest Management in Schools Project
This Focus Sheet promotes awareness and use of Integrated Pest Management practices in schools.
Source: Washington State Department of Ecology - Environmental Assessment
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/961253hwtr.html

Vermont Why P2 In Your School?
This Web site contains a list of Pollution Prevention strategies that can help your school prevent health hazards, create less environmental pollution, and save money.
Source: Vermont Agency of Natural Resources - Pollution Prevention
http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/ead/ppap/index.htm

Florida School Plant Management Association (FSPMA)
A state-based organization established in 1960 to promote the development of non-instructional services required for education and to develop working relationships between school administrators, managers, non-instructional, and instructional personnel. This website includes specifications for paint, carpet, and chemicals for use by Florida school systems.
Source: Florida School Plant Management Association
http://www.fspma.org/

Integrated Pest Management Program Web Site
Web site hosts school-specific Integrated Pest Management information, including newsletters, case studies, reports, an Integrated Pest Management resources database, and information on pest control tactics.
Source: The Pennsylvania State University -
http://paipm.cas.psu.edu/index.html

Michigan Schools and Asthma
Parents, students, and school staff will find important information about how asthma can be controlled at school and at home.
Source: Michigan Asthma Communication Network - American Lung Association of Michigan
http://getasthmahelp.com/intro_schools.asp

Children's Environmental Health Legislation Database
The Children's Environmental Health Legislation database includes state legislation on topics such as asthma, mercury, lead poisoning, pesticides and indoor air quality.
Source: National Conference of State Legislatures - Washington Office
http://www.ncsl.org/programs/environ/envHealth/cehdb.htm

12 Steps Toward a Healthier School
Children spend an enormous amount of their waking hours in the school environment. Children are a vulnerable population due to their small size and special physiology, and therefore it is important that schools be as environmentally safe as possible. Listed here are twelve areas of special concern.
Source: Environment & Human Health, Inc. -
http://www.ehhi.org/reports/12schools/

School IPM
Provides links to additional information on pesticides in schools, school IPM, and resources for schools and parents.
Source: Safer Pest Control Project
http://www.spcpweb.org/schools/

National Community and School IPM
Contains numerous national and local Integrated Pest Management resources for schools developed by EPA and various organizations.
Source: The University of Minnesota Extension Service
http://www.extension.umn.edu/pesticides/IPM/ipmhome.htm

EPA Region 2 Schools, Colleges, Universities Pollution Prevention Resources
Resources to assist schools, colleges and universities in gathering the information necessary to achieve, maintain, and go beyond compliance with environmental regulations. The site includes guidance, relevant documents, presentations delivered at several conferences, and a number of links related to environmental auditing, self-disclosure, regulations, pollution prevention, and a wide array of topics geared toward those involved in all aspects of environmental protection at academic institutions.
Source: EPA - Region 2
http://www.epa.gov/region02/p2/p2res.htm

IPM Standards for Schools: A Program for Reducing Pest and Pesticide Risks in Schools and Other Sensitive Environments
Background resources and evaluation tools for schools to consider IPM options and obtain certification by the IPM Institute.
Source: The IPM Institute of North America -
http://www.ipminstitute.org/school_standards.htm

Environmental Education
EPA's Office of Environmental Education builds partnerships in order to achieve the following goals: link environmental education (EE) to reform efforts, build the capacity of EE provider organizations, and catalyze research that examines EE's effectiveness in achieving environmental protection and education goals.
Source: EPA - Office of Environmental Education
http://www.epa.gov/enviroed