Indoor Environmental Quality

For more information on Indoor Environmental Quality, visit:

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)
Most people are aware that outdoor air pollution can damage their health, but may not know that indoor air pollution can also have significant effects.

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.

Featured Indoor Environmental Quality Resources:

Asbestos In Schools
EPA's new Asbestos in Schools web page provides users with basic information such as asbestos and health information, factsheets/Qs and As, guidance manuals and links to additional EPA and non-EPA asbestos pages.
Source: EPA - Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics
http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/asbestos_in_schools.html

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

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

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/

Energy Star for Schools
Through the Energy Star program, EPA partners with K-12 school districts, colleges, and universities across the country, providing technical support, guidance on financing options, and recognition for schools wanting to use energy more efficiently. Energy Star has coordinated with EPA's Indoor Air Quality program to address the overlap between energy efficiency upgrades and indoor environmental quality, and it has launched an energy performance rating tool in schools.
Source: EPA - Energy Star
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=k12_schools.bus_schoolsk12

Energy Star Assesment of Building Performance
The assesment of a school's building peformance is a rating system that is used by EPA's national energy performance rating system to see if a school (K-12) may be eligible for ENERGY STAR.
Source: EPA - Energy Star
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=evaluate_performance.bus_portfoliomanager

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/

Environmental Health and Safety in the Arts
This environmental health and safety manual covers art education and production. This manual is available on-line in both English and Spanish.
Source: EPA - Region 2
http://www.epa.gov/region02/children/k12/artpdf.htm

Green Cleaning Pollution Prevention Calculator
This calculator quantifies the projected environmental benefits of purchasing and using "green" janitorial services and products. It is designed to forecast the environmental benefits of reducing chemical use by doing some or all pollution prevention measures typically involved in the routine interior cleaning of an office building. This tool also enables users to identify which green cleaning measures will have the greatest impact in reducing their use of hazardous chemicals and in preventing pollution.
Source: EPA - Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics
http://www.ofee.gov/janitor/index.asp

Greening America's Schools: Costs and Benefits
This report is intended to answer this fundamental question: how much more do green schools cost, and is greening schools cost effective?
Source: Capital E
http://www.cap-e.com/ewebeditpro/items/O59F9819.pdf

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/

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

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

Portables Tool Kit: A toolkit for parents and school administrators for successful use of portable classrooms.
The Modular Building Institute (MBI) has created its own toolkit of materials that are available to any school district purchaser or facility administrator to help them secure and maintain facilities that provide an optimum learning environment.
Source: Modular Building Institute
http://mbinet.org/htmlPage.aspx?name=news22

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/

Safe Lab: School Chemistry Laboratory Safety Guide
The document provides teachers, and ultimately their students, with information so that they can take the appropriate precautionary actions in order to prevent or minimize hazards, harmful exposures, and injuries in the laboratory.
Source: Consumer Product Safety Commission & NIOSH
http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/NIOSH2007107.pdf

Washington -- Rehab The Lab Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County, Washington
Rehab The Lab is a free service to King County Schools to help them manage their hazardous chemicals. A site user can download fully scripted lesson plans for least-toxic chemistry labs, information on ways to reduce chemical stockpiles in biology labs, and a list of chemicals whose risks outweigh their educational utility. The program's long-term objectives include improving schools' chemical storage practices, reducing their hazardous waste generation rates and helping them incorporate practices and lesson plans that will reduce their chemical liabilities.
Source: Washington - King County Department of Natural Resources - Local Hazardous Waste Management
http://www.govlink.org/hazwaste/schoolyouth/rehab

Whole Building Design Guide
The WBDG provides government and industry practitioners with one-stop access up-to-date information on a wide range of building-related guidance, criteria and technology from a whole buildings' perspective.
Source: National Institute of Building Sciences -- Whole Building Design Guide
http://www.wbdg.org/index.php

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

Connecticut Mercury Education and Reduction - School Lab Cleanout Program
This website provides access to information about mercury reduction and education efforts in the state of Connecticut. Posted is a report detailing CT DEP's 2002-2003 School Lab Cleanout Program, which assisted 37 schools, at a cost of $160,000.
Source: Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection - Bureau of Waste Management
http://www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/mercury/gen_info/mcleanout.pdf

Connecticut Healthy Environments in Connecticut Schools
This website provides information about indoor air quality in schools, and includes a map of which CT school districts are implementing Tools for Schools.
Source: Connecticut Department of Public Health CT DPH
http://www.dph.state.ct.us/BRS/EOHA/iaqcm.htm

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/

NCEF Resource List: Cleaning and Maintenance Practices
NCEF's resource list of links, books, and journal articles on custodial standards and procedures, equipment, safety, and product directories for the cleaning and maintenance of schools and colleges.
Source: National Institute of Building Sciences - National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities
http://www.edfacilities.org/rl/cleaning.cfm

Connecticut Pollution Prevention in Institutions - Schools, Hospitals, Universities
This web site provides information about CT DEP's mercury reduction and chemical clean-out work with schools. There is also a link to available pollution prevention presentations for schools.
Source: Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection - Pollution Prevention Program - Office of Pollution Prevention
http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2708&q=323984&depNow_GID=1763&depNow

Florida Department of Education (DoEd) Safety and Environment Information
Florida DoEd's Bureau of Educational Facilities provides basic technical support for facilities on the responsibilities and concerns of public school boards and community colleges throughout Florida. This website includes links to expert staff personnel and a variety of schools-oriented publications, codes, guidelines and resources.
Source: Florida Department of Education - Office of Chief Financial Officer/Division of Support Services/Bureau of Educational Facilities
http://www.firn.edu/doe/edfacil/safenvir.htm

Kentucky Green and Healthy Schools
The Kentucky Green and Healthy Schools (KGHS) Program is a new, voluntary effort to empower students and staff with the tools needed to take action and make their school operate at peak efficiency.
Source: Kentucky Green and Healthy Schools
http://greenschools.ky.gov/

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

New England Resources for Schools
This website provides links to the Regional schools topics page, hazardous waste fact sheets, examples of the types of environmental issues found in schools, and other links of interest to the schools community.
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/ne/assistance/schools/index.html

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

Kansas Asbestos Programs
This web site provides a brief discussion of the various regulations directed towards educational and public facilities.
Source: Kansas Department of Health and Environment - Asbestos Control Section
http://www.ksde.org/leaf/reports_and_publications/environmental_programs/environmental_info.pdf