It is the position of the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) that to protect and promote the health of all children, robust environmental health protections must be in place, and the inequities that lead to environmental injustice must be eliminated. The environment is a powerful social determinant of health and a critical factor in our…

In the past century, the threats to children's health have shifted radically. Life-threatening infectious diseases--smallpox, polio, and cholera--have been largely conquered. But children are growing up in a world in which environmental toxins are ubiquitous. Measurable levels of hundreds of man-made chemicals are routinely found in the bodies of…

"Lessons Learned" is a series of publications that are a brief recounting of actual school emergencies and crises. This "Lessons Learned" issue focuses on a chemical spill that went unreported for approximately seven years, setting off a series of responses from the school district's Environmental Health and Safety Department (EHS) and the state…

This article discusses the need for physical protection and care of infants and young children and families. One of the most important preventable challenges to children's physical safety and protection is toxic substances in their environment. Many toxic substances that affect the central nervous system are in drinking water, soil, air, and areas…

A "healthy and high performance school" uses a holistic design process to promote the health and comfort of children and school employees, as well as conserve resources. Children may spend over eight hours a day at school with little, if any, legal protection from environmental hazards. Schools are generally not well-maintained; asthma is a…

Five days a week, more than 55 million children, teachers and employees spend the majority of their waking hours in the U.S. school buildings. Besides being exposed to science, history and math, children and teachers are exposed to hundreds if not thousands of potentially hazardous chemicals and pollutants. Because children spend so much time in…

Describes problems related to old underground storage tanks (USTs) that may leak toxic contents, focusing on relevance for American Indian reservations. Discusses design, installation, and upgrading of UST systems; federal definitions and regulations; leak detection; legal responsibility; and education for public awareness. Includes Environmental…

Children and adolescents, up to approximately age 20, are more susceptible than adults to potential health risks from chemicals and environmental hazards. Hazardous chemicals can interrupt or alter the normal development of a child's body, leading to lasting damage. Since children are smaller than adults, similar levels of exposure to toxic…

Children are at high risk of exposure to dangerous chemicals because of their low weight, incompletely developed body defenses, rapidly growing body tissues, and small passages susceptible to inflammations and spasms. Five areas of concern involving school maintenance include art supplies, lead-based compounds, hazardous cleaning substances,…

The US General Accounting Office (GAO) documented generally poor conditions of school facilities in the early 1990s. Previous papers examined, for time intervals ending before 2002, relationships between education facility indoor air and environmental quality (IEQ), including adequate ventilation, and occupant health and productivity. Research on…

Thirty-one critical questions about asbestos, its use in school buildings, and the risks it poses to health are answered in this booklet. Issued by the Safe Buildings Alliance, an incorporated association of manufacturers that once supplied asbestos-containing materials for building construction, the booklet's purpose is to provide information…

This document provides a brief overview of the environmental issues that affect Kansas public schools. Specific programs that address these problems are included, along with their contact information. This document contains information on the following issues and programs: (1) Department of Health and Environment; (2) air; (3) asbestos; (4)…

In this article the author discusses how inadequate ventilation, poor air quality, mold and other conditions can have a detrimental impact on the health of students and school staff. She states that, these unsafe environmental conditions can cause a negative effect on students' health as well as their achievement. Furthermore, she discusses…

Discusses why schools and universities must be diligent as they build new facilities to make sure construction sites are not contaminated with toxic chemicals and other hazardous materials. Addresses why schools often inadvertently choose these sites, the drive for national regulation, lessons from a situation in Los Angeles, tips for acquiring…

This article examines the issue on the quality of water in Seattle's school districts. Seattle's water woes became public when four little containers of rust-colored water from fountains in the city district's Wedgewood Elementary School, collected by concerned parents, were tested by a certified laboratory and found to exceed federal lead limits.…