Your School Environment An Ounce of Prevention

1
Your School Environment An Ounce of Prevention

• Maryann Suero Ph.D.
• US Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5
• Regional Team Manager, Childrens Health
• April 6, 2002

2
What is your school environment?
3
(No Transcript)
4
(No Transcript)
5
(No Transcript)
6
(No Transcript)
7
(No Transcript)
8
(No Transcript)
9
(No Transcript)
10
(No Transcript)
11
(No Transcript)
12
(No Transcript)
13
(No Transcript)
14
(No Transcript)
15
(No Transcript)
16
(No Transcript)
17
(No Transcript)
18
(No Transcript)
19
(No Transcript)
20
(No Transcript)
21
(No Transcript)
22
A Healthy School Environment is

• NECESSARY
• POSSIBLE

23
School EMS The Ounce of Prevention Approach

• What is a School EMS?
• What are the benefits of a school EMS?
• What would an EMS for my school look like?
• How can my school adopt an EMS?

24
What is a School Environmental Management System?

• A way to assess and continually improve the
  environment
• Not a SCARY Process
• Work in a stepwise fashion to address a school
  environment in an integrated and comprehensive way

25
Basic EMS Approach to Continual Improvement
PLAN
DO
ACT
CHECK
26
Some Benefits of a School EMS

• Reduce HAZARDS to students, teachers, staff,
  visitors in schools
• Reduce Liability (reduce insurance costs???)
• Increase Environmental Stewardship
• Improve Communications
• Improve Relationships
• Parents / Administration
• Teachers / Administration

27
What Might a School EMS Look Like?NOT ALL AT ONCE

• Develop an environmental policy
• Self-audit
• Use a pollution prevention approach
• Training / awareness / competence
• On-going evaluation / improvement
• Improve communications
• One step at a time!!!!!

28
Some Elements to Consider in the Self-Audit

• Indoor Air Quality
• Use of Pesticides (inside outside)
• Presence of Hazardous Chemicals
• In classrooms
• In janitors closets, boiler rooms, garages
• Fire prevention
• Food safety
• Radon
• Spills / Emergency Response plans
• Diesel bus idling policy
• Pollution Prevention / Waste Management

29
Helpful Hints for Building a School EMS

• Use Team Approach
• Pace Yourself
• Dont Re-Invent the Wheel
• Make use of existing resources
• IAQ Tools for Schools Program
• School IPM Program
• Food Safety Program
• Waste Wise Program
• Go with your strengths

30
How Can My School Adopt an EMS?

• Identify people who sense the need
• Educate yourselves (great resources available)
• Figure out who else needs to be involved
• Convince, cajole, coerce them to join
• Just Do It !

31
Resources for Schools

• Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schoolswww.epa.gov/i
  aq/schools
• Integrated Pest Managementwww.epa.gov/pesticides/
  ipm
• Mercury www.mercury-k12.org/
• Resources for Schools (handout)

32
EPA Resources on CEH

• www.epa.gov/children
• Tips to Protect Children from Environmental
  Threats (www.epa.gov/children/whatwe/tips.htm)
• Engage Youth in Children's Environmental Health
  Protection (www.epa.gov/children/whatwe/engage.pdf
  )

33
A Healthy School A Healthy You
Just Do It!
34
Please feel free to contact me for more
information, or to suggest ways we may be able to
partner in activities that will have a positive
impact on childrens health

• Maryann Suero
• Regional Team Manager, Childrens Health
• US Environmental Protection Agency
• Region 5
• 77 W. Jackson Blvd, T-13J
• Chicago, IL 60604
• [phone]
• suero.maryann_at_epa.gov