ABSTRACT
Children spend many hours each week in and around school buildings. Their
short-and long-term health outcomes and ability to learn are affected by numerous
environmental factors related to the school buildings, the school grounds, the
school transportation system, and the use of various products and materials in
and around the school. Many school buildings are old; these schools, and even
newer buildings, can contain multiple environmental health hazards. While some
districts report that they have environmental health policies in place, no inde-
pendent verification of these policies or their quality exists. Teachers and other
staff, but not children-who are more vulnerable to hazards than adults-are
afforded some protections from hazards by Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) regulations, by their employment contracts, or through
adult occupational health services. Major environmental problems include:
indoor air quality, lighting, pests and pesticides, heavy metals and chemical man-
agement issues, renovation of occupied buildings, noise, and cleaning processes
and products. No agency at the federal or state levels is charged with ensuring
children’s health and safety in and around school buildings. No systematic
means exists for collecting data about exposures that occur in the school setting.
Recommendations are made for dealing with issues of data collection, federal
actions, and state and local actions, and for building the capacity of the Pediatric
Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSUs) designated and funded by
the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention in responding to and evaluating risks to children’s environmental
health in schools.
