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…

As a means to involve the public in research, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) established the Partners in Research Program and solicited research grant applications from academic/scientific institutions and community organizations that proposed to forge partnerships: (a) to study methods and strategies to engage and inform the public…

Evaluating the potential health impacts of chemical, physical, and biological environmental factors represents a challenging task with profound medical, public health, and historical implications. The history of public health is replete with instances, ranging from tobacco to lead and asbestos, where the ability to obtain evidence on potential…

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…

"Towards Healthy Schools: Reducing Risks to Children" is the fourth in a series of triennial state of the states' reports from Healthy Schools Network and its partners in the Coalition for Healthier Schools, dating from 2006. Previous reports assessed state-by-state environmental health hazards at schools, offered compelling personal…

Air pollution is air pollution, indoors or out. Good indoor air quality (IAQ) contributes to a favorable learning environment for students, protects health, and supports the productivity of school personnel. In schools in poor repair, leaky roofs and crumbling walls have caused additional indoor air quality problems, including contamination with…

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…

Asbestos has been used in the construction of elementary, middle, and high school ceilings, floor tile adhesives, pipe and structural beam insulations, science laboratory benches, wire gauss on ring stands, fume hood panels, general insulation, and more during the 1950s through early 1970s. Why? Primarily asbestos was selected because of its…

The United States Government is concerned about asbestos-containing products in the home because sometimes asbestos fibers can be released from these produces. If asbestos fibers are inhaled, certain types of cancer may later develop. Asbestos in homes poses several problems. Household members have little or no protection from exposure to asbestos…

Information about asbestos in the schools is provided in this pamphlet. The document describes the nature and dangers of asbestos and the passage of the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act in 1986. The responsibilities of school boards and other school officials to protect students and employees from asbestos exposure are explained as well as…

The presence of asbestos health hazards in the schools is particulary serious since children exposed to asbestos are more likely to develop cancer than adults similarly exposed. Health risks of asbestos, scope of the problem, and asbestos testing are discussed. (DF)

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 package contains two types of asbestos training materials: (1) an instructor's guide for "Asbestos in the Home: A Homeowner's Course"; and (2) "Asbestos Abatement Certification: Small-Scale Worker Student Manual," a 16-hour course, with instructor's guide. The instructor's guide for the 6-hour homeowner's course contains…

Exposure to asbestos in the air poses serious health threats, particularly to children. The use of asbestos in schools after World War II may have exposed millions of persons before regulations controlling asbestos use began appearing in the 1970s. Federal efforts to reduce exposure to asbestos have included passage of the Asbestos School Hazard…

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires schools to appoint an asbestos management coordinator called the "AHERA (Asbestos Hazardous Emergency Response Act) designated person" (DP) who is responsible for a number of asbestos-related activities. This manual presents some recommendations designed to help those persons appointed…