Update #30: Safeguard Against Chemicals in Your School
August 31, 2010
SEPA
Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Program
IN THIS ISSUE
News and Events
Safeguard Against Chemicals
in Your School: EPA's
Schools Chemical Cleanout
Campaign (SC3)
Checklist: Responsible
Chemical Management
EPA Visits 2009 National
Excellence Award Winner
and Faculty Program —
Baltimore County Public
Schools (BCPS)
Have Your Questions
Answered!
CHEMICAL MANAGEMENT
RESOURCES:
Schools Chemical Cleanout
Campaign (SC3)
SC3 Tool Kit
Environmentally Preferable
Purchasing (EPP)
IAQ Tools for Schools Action Kit
2011 IAQ TOOLS FOR
SCHOOLS NATIONAL
SYMPOSIUM
The 2011 IAQ Tools for Schools
National Symposium offers a
unique opportunity for participants
to attend technical breakout
sessions, including a session on
developing and sustaining a
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)
News and Events
• Become an IAQ Tools for Schools National Award winner! Start
your application today for EPA's competitive National Excellence,
National Model of Sustained Excellence and National IAQ Tools
for Schools Connector Awards. Apply by October 8, 2010, to be
considered.
• Encourage your students to participate in the National
Radon Poster Contest! The poster contest is a fun, creative
and educational way to raise radon awareness. The top national
winners will receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C.
Visit the Poster Contest website for more information.
• Interested in keeping your school safe and free from
hazardous chemicals? Participate in the Prevent Air Pollution at
the Source: Schools Chemical Cleanout webinar on Wednesday,
September 15, 2010. Learn effective methods to safely manage
chemicals that are used in schools every day. Register today for
this free webinar!
Safeguard Against Chemicals in Your School:
EPA's Schools Chemical Cleanout Campaign (SC3)
From school maintenance closets to high school chemistry labs to
vocational school classrooms, schools house a variety of chemicals.
These chemicals can have many useful applications: they help keep
school areas clean, demonstrate chemistry lessons and teach students
new mechanical skills. But when these chemicals are mismanaged,
they can put students and school staff at risk from spills, fires and other
accidental exposures — incidents that may result in lost school days and
require millions of dollars to mitigate.
The Schools Chemical Cleanout Campaign (SC3) gives K-12 schools
the guidance and tools they need to responsibly manage chemicals, thus
reducing the risks and hazards posed by mismanagement. The goals of
SC3 are to bring together administrators, teachers, maintenance staff
and others to:
• Remove inappropriate, outdated, unknown and unneeded
chemicals.
• Prevent potential chemical incidents in schools by promoting best
practices in training, curriculum and policy change.
• Raise awareness of chemical issues and promote sustainable
solutions.
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SC3 promotes the formation of school chemical management teams, but
if you have an IAQ management program in place using the IAQ Tools
for Schools Program, you probably already have the institutional buy-in,
structure and organization that you need to incorporate this important
element into your team's work. The IAQ Tools for Schools Program
offers technical solutions for systematically and aggressively managing
common IAQ issues faced by schools — including information on
establishing school chemical management and inventory plans.
Through their existing IAQ Tools for Schools Program, Ohio's Mayfield
City School District took the steps to responsibly manage their school
chemicals — they conducted a chemical inventory and cleanout to make
the school facilities healthier for students, teachers and staff.
Schools have an overwhelming number of responsibilities and often
do not have the time, expertise or resources to address all of their
issues, including chemical management. EPA's Schools Chemical
Cleanout Campaign (SC3) encourages school districts to look to their
local community for volunteers (e.g., private industries, colleges and
universities, and fire and emergency response personnel) to assist
them with their chemical management needs. Community volunteers
can provide their services (e.g., inventory assistance, teacher training,
chemical removal) to schools and give back to their communities in the
process — a win-win for everyone!
To learn more about effective chemical cleanup and get a real-world
perspective on responsible chemical management in schools, visit the
SC3 website for tools and resources schools can use to responsibly
manage their chemicals. Learn from other schools who have taken steps
to keep students and staff safe from chemical risks. And check out these
success stories of successful efforts. Use the checklist below to get
ideas for starting or continuing your IAQ program's efforts in responsible
chemical management. Bring responsible chemical management to
your school.
Checklist: Responsible Chemical Management
Do you want to clean out your school and prevent chemical accidents? Chemical management should
be a top priority. Don't wait — make changes in your school today.
This checklist can help you organize your IAQ management team and reduce the quantities and toxicity of
the chemicals contained in your school. Knowing how the chemicals are entering your school environment
and who is using them — from maintenance staff to science teachers — are great starting points for
responsible chemical management. By managing and purchasing chemicals responsibly, you will contribute
to the health and safety of your school environment — ultimately affecting student learning and attendance.
• Establish a chemical management plan as one part of your comprehensive IAQ management program.
• Plan and budget for chemical purchases, management and disposal.
• Conduct periodic chemical inventories.
• Establish environmentally preferable purchasing practices.
• Encourage school staff to use the smallest amount of the least hazardous chemicals.
successful chemical management
plan. Register for the Symposium
today!
ACCESS PAST E-MAIL
UPDATES ONLINE
Can't find a past IAQ Tools for
Schools Update in your e-mail
inbox? No problem! Wish you
could read past editions? You can!
Visit the Update archive to access
printable versions (PDF) of all
past editions on the IAQ Tools for
Schools website.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION
The IAQ Tools for Schools
Connector e-mail discussion
forum makes it easy to connect
directly with your peers to share
information and communicate
online. Join today by sending a
blank e-mail message to schools_
iaq_connector-subscribe@lists.
epa.gov. Then, check your e-mail
inbox for your confirmation and
membership details.
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• Utilize the IAQ Tools for Schools Building and Grounds Maintenance checklist to ensure safe use of
maintenance supplies.
• Ensure your school regularly inspects ventilation and air flow by using the IAQ Tools for Schools
Ventilation checklist.
• Offer chemical management safety training and review potential chemical hazards with school staff.
Visit the Schools Chemical Cleanout Campaign (SC3) website to gain more information on steps each team
member can take (e.g., administrators, teachers, nurses, etc.) to create a unique chemical management
program to meet your school's needs.
EPA Visits 2009 National Excellence Award Winner and Faculty Program —
Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS)
To witness firsthand how school districts are successfully and proactively protecting student and staff
health, EPA's IAQ Tools for Schools Program visited Baltimore County Public Schools in July. EPA toured
two schools and heard from school nurses, custodians, principals, teachers and other staff on the actions
they take every day to ensure that their schools are healthy. BCPS is dedicated to sustaining a quality and
inclusive IAQ management program that is
designed to address the needs of a diverse
student population.
The heart of BCPS's IAQ management
program is the IAQ Tools for Schools Action
Kit, which has been tailored to help provide
their schools with safe and conducive learning
environments. After gaining experience in IAQ
management and winning the IAQ Tools for
Schools National Excellence Award, BCPS is
actively mentoring other schools by providing
information and resources to assist them
in developing proactive IAQ management
programs.
Have Your Questions Answered!
Is there a topic you want to see covered in an IAQ Tools for Schools Update? Need more information
or have a quick question? Do you have suggestions for a webinar, an Update feature, or are you simply
curious about an IAQ topic and would like more information? If so, send us an e-mail at IAQTfSConnector(?
cadmusgroup.com.
Share YOUR news and events! Send us information to share with the school IAQ community. It could be
featured in the next Update. E-mail your news to IAQTfSConnector@cadmusgroup.com.
The IAQ Tools for Schools Program is a comprehensive resource to help schools maintain a healthy
environment in school buildings by identifying, correcting and preventing IAQ problems. Learn more about
the IAQ Tools for Schools Program at http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schools.
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)
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