Integrating chemical management into a comprehensive emergency operations plan (EOP), including through the creation of a Toxic Materials Annex and a Hazardous Materials Annex, helps improve a school district's or individual school's preparedness for a chemical-related incident. To ensure the annexes remain relevant and useful, districts and…

Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. Exposure in schools may be harmful to schoolchildren and staff. However, states differ considerably in their approaches to mandating radon testing and mitigaiton in schools. In this study, 126 survey responses were received and analyzed from parents of K-12 children in Vermont, USA.…

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…

A suburban elementary school experiences an emergency evacuation. This evacuation event reveals trust and safety concerns. Some parents, staff members, and children express safety concerns, and a key school staff member questions the judgment of another staff member during the emergency event, exacerbating existing tensions between the two. The…

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard 29 CFR 1910.151(c) requires emergency showers and eyewash stations "where the eyes or body of any person may be exposed to injurious corrosive materials, suitable facilities for quick drenching or flushing of the eyes and body shall be provided within the work area for…

The International Labour Organization (1982) standards on occupational safety and health constitution introduced the standard that workers should be protected from sickness and injury emanating from their employment. The United States, Britain, and Botswana adopted the principle and designed rules for risk reduction at work. The British education…

The many negative effects that deficient building conditions have on educational quality have long been ignored. Until school systems can ensure all students have access to school buildings that are healthy, safe, comfortable, and dry, we cannot hope to adequately protect the well-being of students and staff, recruit and retain teachers, or…

Long before closures due to the coronavirus pandemic, many Pennsylvania schools faced a different health crisis: unsafe facilities. Crumbling buildings, asbestos, lead, and other school facility health and safety risks plague many schools across Pennsylvania, particularly in low-income districts and those that enroll a high percentage of Black and…

Children are uniquely vulnerable to environmental contaminants. Their bodies are still developing, they eat, drink, and breathe more per pound of body weight than adults, they have lungs that are still developing, and they may be more exposed to hazards and unaware of how to protect themselves. Lead exposure can cause serious damage to children's…

Each year countries suffer great tragedy when natural disasters destroy schools and disrupt children's education. In addition to causing immediate harm to children, there is mounting evidence that the direct impact of natural disasters can translate into a series of indirect long-term effects. For some time, multilateral and bilateral development…

School leaders across the United States face the challenge of creating safe and secure environments across their campuses in a way that helps promote the achievement of schools' educational objectives. To help them meet this challenge, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency asked the Homeland…

This article reports on a plea directed to schools in England that changed status to an "academy" and thus lost their Local Authority Radiation Protection Adviser (RPA) service. These schools have been encouraged to do all that they can to hang on to their sources (radioactive equipment used in classroom experiments to investigate…

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…

Many people assume that schools and childcare centers are environmentally safe places for children to learn. However, adverse health effects from pest allergy related illnesses or pesticide exposure incidents can demonstrate the need for safer and more effective pest management strategies. The goal of this research is to measure the efficacy of…

Green cleaning plays a significant and supportive role in helping education institutions meet their sustainability goals. However, identifying cleaning products, supplies and equipment that truly are environmentally preferable can be daunting. The marketplace is inundated with products and services purporting to be "green" or environmentally…