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Guide to Protecting Children's Health in Schools
Mercury spills such as this one are all too common in schools, and present serious risks to students, teachers, and custodial staff. Mercury tends to roll around in globules on the floor, but microscopic droplets enter pores in most surfaces, while vapors enter the air and are extremely toxic. Special procedures and specialized equipment are neeeded to pick it up.
This guide will introduce you, as a decision-maker in your school system, to potential hazards and aid you in protecting the environment and the health of those who use your school. The guide will discuss what those hazards might be, how to test for them, and how to remedy problems found. The program includes:
- Information about hazards to children's health in the schools, at home and in daily life;
- Why children are at increased risk
- The nature of the risks children face from various contaminants in the
air and water and in living spaces of schools and homes:
- Lead
- Asbestos
- Mercury
- Pesticides
- Molds
- Planning tools
- Checklists
- Environmental management
- Emergency planning
- Pesticide assessment
- Take a virtual tour of a school to identify hazards
- Room-by-room inspecion of a school
- Identification of potential issues
- Strategies to address issues
- Case studies
- Actual school air quality issues and the ways they were addressed
- Schools where integrated pest management has been successfully imnplemented
- Resources and contacts
(Created 2002 by Susan Childress, Matt Subler, Kathy Williams, Amy Childress, Gynis Zywicki)
Audiences:
- school administrators
- teachers
- students
- parents
- community planners
- environmental professionals
- architects
- health professionals
- small communities
Download and install the program
- All you need to view the program is a Web browser
- Download the program. Note: Guide
to Protecting Children's Health in Schools is available in two
versions:
- the full version which includes
a video on mercury hazards
Download the full version of Guide to Protecting Children's Health in Schools (childhg.zip) (self-extracting zipfile 29MB, unzips to 38MB) 2002 - a smaller file size version (optimized for online
viewing and
for those without a broadband connection) which does not include the
mercury hazards video
Download the smaller version of Guide to Protecting Children's Health in Schools (child.zip) (self-extracting zipfile 5.4MB, unzips to 6.4MB) 2002
- the full version which includes
a video on mercury hazards
- Double-click the file to uncompress and install the program. We suggest saving it to C:\Program Files\seahome\childhg\ or C:\Program Files\seahome\child\
- Start your browser and choose File > Open > C:\Program Files\seahome\childhg\src\child.htm or File > Open > C:\Program Files\seahome\child\src\child.htm
View the program online
The material you are about to view is a product of Purdue University.
This environmental software program was produced by Purdue University under a cooperative agreement with the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Although this material was prepared in collaboration with EPA, Purdue University is the author, holds the exclusive copyright, and is solely responsible for its content subject to the terms of the cooperative agreemeent. Limitations under the copyright, which allows for free reproduction and distribution of the software, can be found on the program's title page.
EPA continues to work with Purdue University in developing new environmental software and updating older material, and we appreciate being notified of any errors or other issues.
View Guide to Protecting Children's Health in Schools on Purdue's Web site 