Portable Classrooms

For more information on Portable Classrooms, visit:

Collaborative for High Performance Schools
CHPS can help school districts and their design teams bring better performance into the classroom.

Featured Portable Classrooms 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

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

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/

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 New Building Design Process
The New Building Design Guidance is a series of strategic checklists with related resources for each step in the design process. The strategic checklist is a management tool that outlines the necessary steps for your team to achieve its goals. It will help you understand what and why certain actions should occur in order to reach the desired outcome.
Source: EPA - Energy Star Hotline
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=new_bldg_design.new_bldg_design

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

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

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

Managing Your Environmental Responsibilities: A Planning Guide for Construction and Development
EPA guidance manual that provides the construction industry comprehensive environmental information.
Source: EPA -- Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/publications/assistance/sectors/constructmyer/index.html

Mercury Assesment for Schools & Communities
This checklist is designed to assist in identifying and locating mercury-containing products and equipment in schools. These products are typically found in the following areas: Science Labs, Facilities, Medical Offices, Home Economics and Art Classrooms.

Source: The Northeast Waste Management Officials' Association (NEWMOA)
http://www.newmoa.org/Newmoa/htdocs/prevention/mercury/schools/checklist.cfm

Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings
This document presents guidelines for the remediation/cleanup of mold and moisture problems in schools and commercial buildings; these guidelines protect the health of building occupants and remediators.
Source: EPA - Office of Air and Radiation - Indoor Environments Division
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/molds/index.html

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

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/

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

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

NCEF Resource List: Portable/Modular Classrooms
NCEF offers an annotated list of links, books, and journal articles on the use of portable and modular structures on school grounds, also called relocatables, trailers, modular units, or demountables.
Source: National Institute of Building Sciences - National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities
http://www.edfacilities.org/rl/portable.cfm

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

California Advisory on Relocatable and Renovated Classrooms
This document summarizes the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) considerations regarding the purchase/lease of relocatable classrooms (or "portables") and the contracting for renovation of existing space. It is provided to advise school facility managers how to minimize potential health impacts from IEQ problems with cost-effective practices.
Source: California Interagency Working Group on Indoor Air Quality
http://www.cal-iaq.org/adv_4pg.htm