For MASSPTALegislative and Advocacy News and Updates |
and Recognition of Our 9th Year of Advocacy & Hope by members of the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention and communities & regions across the Commonwealth who are taking leadership to prevent suicide
Monday, September 10, 2007 3:00 - 5:00 pm
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation
Conference Rooms 1038/1039 , 1st Floor,
93 Worcester Street, Wellesley, MA 02481
Sparky the Fire Dog?? has a plan to help you stay safe from the dangers of home fires. What kind of plan? A home fire escape plan! In this section you'll find everything you need to develop and practice your escape plan.
See Sparky's "Key Points for Kids" for information on escape planning and other hot topics.The lack of maintenance and repairs is a major source of indoor air quality problems in many schools but paint-up and fix-up projects can also cause poor indoor air quality.
A parent writes to Healthy Kids ( www.healthy-kids.info) "...Every September on the first day of school we are greeted with the heavy smell of fresh paint, cleaning solutions, etc. While I applaud the maintenance efforts certainly painting could be scheduled so the school would air out before school opens. These smells permeate the building?? along with the usual heavy, humid and stale air associated with the summer. During my daughter's second grade year she attended the first couple of days of school and missed the next two and a half weeks due to asthma -- the smell of paint was particularly strong that year.... D.B. Massachusetts
What can you do if you see health hazards and unsafe conditions in your school?
Involve others. September is International School Safety Month and National Preparedness Month. It is a good time to involve parents, students and teachers in a school safety and injury prevention checkup.
Use safety checklists from the Healthy Schools Network, the fire department, National Safety Council, the National Parent-Teacher Association and local, state, and federal health agencies.
Ask questions . Don't be surprised if it requires some research to find out who is responsible for maintaining specific areas of your school.
Ask for school purchasing guidelines for art, science, cleaning and pest control supplies. Do they protect students from hazardous products especially in areas where food is stored, prepared or served?
Do a sniff test. Be suspicious of strange odors. Ask for information about air quality standards and programs such as the US EPA IAQ Tools for Schools Program. How is air quality monitored? Many state laws now require regular audits of school conditions. These inspection reports should be available to parents, staff and other interested citizens on request.Submit concerns or inspection requests in writing to school administrators and the city or state health department whose role is to maintain standards that protect occupant health and safety.
Speak up. Write letters and appear at school board and town meetings to let school administrators and town officials know that you care about healthykids and safe schools. Keep the issue alive until the situation is remedied. Your kids will thank you for it.
QUICK TIP: Good indoor air quality depends on both a fresh air supply and an exhaust vent. Find an exhaust vent. Look for grillwork on ceilings, closet doors, in closets, or behind bookcases.) Hold a sheet of paper up to the grill. If the paper doesn't stick it isn't venting the air.
Resources:
healthyschools.org
healthy-kids.info
edfacilities.org
pollutionfreeschools.org
pta.org
ready.gov
nsc.org
1
Add Link
View comments (0)
Add comment