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Tools for Schools is an action kit developed by
EPA in the late '90s to provide information on
low and no-cost improvements that may be easily
implemented by the personnel of any educational
facility. This common sense, proactive guidance
to indoor air pollution abatement seeks to
educate school administrators and personnel about
a problem to which many are oblivious.
Since its introduction, EPA and several other
private and nonprofit organizations have provided
training to help school personnel use the Tools
for Schools program as a valuable diagnostic and
remediation tool to address the health and
comfort of staff and students.
U.S. EPA has provided grant money to their
regional offices, public health authorities and
several nonprofit groups to implement Tools for
Schools and get the word out about good indoor
air quality. IE Connections recently spoke with
some of the organizations about their efforts.
Robert Barrett,
Lawrence Township, N.J.: While unsure of the
exact amount of the EPA grant, he described his
efforts as "general outreach,"
including press releases and seminars, mostly
regarding radon testing. Outreach efforts also
include work with elderly at senior centers and
retirement homes.
Donna Reynolds,
Northern and Central Virginia: Reynolds works
in cooperation with the PTA and National Teachers
Association to provide education on low to no
cost improvements for indoor air in educational
facilities. Her audience is mostly parents and
personnel of schools. She is also chair of the
Virginia Indoor Air Coalition.
Evet Hexamer,
American Lung Association of Metropolitan
Chicago: Hexamer has used Tools for Schools
in outreach efforts for the last two years, but
now focusing efforts on curriculum development
for 7th & 8th grade science classes. Calling
the action kit "overbearing" and hard
to implement, outreach efforts for last two years
were aimed at suburban schools, but curriculum
initiative will be used for inner-city schools.
She mentioned that the urban schools have been
resistant to their efforts because there is a
perception that it will cause money problems as
well as "riling up the parents." Evet
estimated the EPA grant her office received was
worth somewhere between $4,000-$5,000.
Kerrie
Nessleroad, Kentucky Department of Health,
Frankfort: Nessleroad is planning four
statewide one-day workshops using the Tools for
Schools action kit. The first workshop is
scheduled for next month. Her target audiences
are school superintendents, administrators and
plant/facility managers. Topics that will be
covered include asthma, allergens, radon testing
and integrated pest management. The workshops
were made possible by a $5,000 grant from the
Kentucky Public Health Association and a $4,500
grant from NACCHO. Both grants were made to
Lexington-Fayette County. The workshops will
feature speakers, "success stories" and
a "walkthrough" at the host school.
Lisa Cauldwell,
Marion County, Ind.: Cauldwell provides
asthma education for school personnel. The area
she serves chronically lacks nursing staff, and
thus attempts to educate teachers, administrators
and janitors about IAQ issues with the EPA action
kit. She said they have conducted workshops for
janitors/facility managers on the low to no cost
measures that can be taken to improve the IAQ in
the schools. They have developed action plans for
children with asthma due to limited testing. One
novel approach they have taken to educate the
children is to bring a pig's lung into the
classroom to illustrate how the lungs work.
Phyllis Rowe,
Arizona Consumers Council Foundation: Rowe
received their grant from Consumer Federation of
America, who was responsible for distributing the
EPA funds. Rowe's outreach work is mostly with
PTAs from various school districts in Arizona.
She says the various school district
administrators "don't have the time"
and that she perceives the membership of the PTAs
being more "enthusiastic" regarding her
message. She says she does not have the funds or
energy for a true statewide initiative, but she
believes her efforts were yielding results.
Johanna
Goldberg, American Lung Association of Los
Angeles County: This is their third year
using Tools for Schools in partnership with EPA
and PTA, with a broad-based awareness program
aimed at faculty, kitchen, custodial staffs.
Goldberg said she does encounter resistance to
program from school administrators who already
have enough "headaches." She is
countering this resistance by setting up a
mentoring program in conjunction with American
Industrial Hygiene Association, Southern
California Chapter. This program matches a AIHA
member with participating schools,
"cheerleading" the program to the
school staff. Goldberg pointed out that the
county has 87 districts and more than 1,000
elementary schools. Current participation stands
at 7 schools.
Stephan
Ruckman, NEHA/Ohio Environmental Health
Association: Calling Tools for Schools a
"great program," Ruckman facilitates
seminars for public health sanitarians, who in
turn take the IAQ message of to the individual
educational facilities. His focus is mainly on
the school inspection process, specifically for
the identification of mold growth, ventilation
problems and HVAC systems. He is also the OEHA
rep for the IAQ Coalition of Ohio.
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