Resources

• Toxic Schools in the News
  
• Childrens Environmental Protection Alliance List of Resources
• The Golden Apple List,  News  About Healthier Schools
  

• Scotts Manufacturing Company to Pay $148,388 Penalty for Hazardous Waste Issues at Fort Madison, Iowa, Facility(EPA) "Scotts has also agreed to spend at least $30,000 on a project to identify, remove and safely dispose of obsolete chemicals and hazardous wastes from selected schools in Fort Madison. This project will also facilitate the creation or enhancement of school policies and practices to prevent unnecessary accumulations of chemicals, and will educate faculty and staff on best practices, policies and procedures to incorporate into their chemical management program."

• 5/20/2010 New York Governor David Paterson signed a bill that will ban the use of pesticides on all school athletic fields and school playgrounds (WETM18)
  

• 3/3/2010 District to begin using hybrid buses (The Post and Courier) N.C. "The hybrid assigned to Charleston will serve Chicora School of Communications, Morningside Middle and North Charleston High. Education officials worked with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and considered environmental and air quality conditions when deciding where to place buses."

• 2/14/2010 Portsmouth schools eye plan to improve air quality (Seacoastonline.com) "PORTSMOUTH — It's not easy being green, but that's the goal of city schools as they aim to be part of the NH Healthy Schools Program, a grant program of the NH Partners for Healthy Schools."
• 2/4/2010  Columbia Awards USA TODAY Reporters Environmental Journalism Award (USAToday)  "An investigative piece into toxic air around America's schools has garnered a 2009 John B. Oakes Award for two USA TODAY reporters. . . "By yoking the locations of private and pubic schools around the country with an EPA model for tracking toxic chemicals, the reporters identified hundreds of schools where children seemed to be at risk," said the judges' citation. "As a result, the EPA and local environmental agencies began to do what they should have been doing for years: paying attention to the environment in which our children live and learn."

• 1/25/2010 Protecting children from harmful school bus diesel emissions (Washington Post) "Part of Jim Blubaugh's job as head of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Clean Diesel Campaign is to clear the air by reducing emissions from thousands of diesel-fueled school buses, and in the process protect children from the noxious exhaust fumes"
• 1/24/2010 A mother's view: All children deserve a healthy place to learn (DuluthNewsTribune) "This year, with a completely renovated school, better air and new water systems, my daughter no longer worries about getting to the nurse’s office in time to do her inhaler."
• 1/22/2010, EPA vows to do all it can for school's air (USAToday) "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pledged Thursday to "use all the tools at our disposal" to reduce high levels of a toxic chemical that continues to permeate the air outside an elementary school in Marietta, Ohio."
• 1/11/2010,  Gov. Corzine signs N.J. law requiring parental notification of contaminated school sites (NJ.com) "The law was inspired by an incident in Paramus in January 2007, when authorities learned that pesticides — in concentrations up to 39 times above a level considered safe — were detected in soil at West Brook Middle School. Parents and staff did not learn about the pollution until five months later, in a report by The Record."
• 1/11/2010, Teaching Green, Beyond Recycling (New York Times) "While plenty of city schools, from elementary to secondary, teach students about environmental issues like endangered species or global warming, places like the Green School put an overwhelming emphasis on civic involvement."
• 1/8/2010, EPA's smog regulations will force New Jersey to crack down on pollution from cars and trucks (NorthJersey.com) "New Jersey is retrofitting thousands of school buses to reduce fumes."
• 1/03/2010, Schodack High honored by EPA, The Record, "The Schodack Central School District will be honored at a Washington, D.C., symposium next month by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the high air quality inside the district’s schools."

• 12/15/2009, Bonham project gets state funding, Charleston Daily Mail, "Preston Superintendent Larry Parsons said mold and mildew are becoming a huge problem at the school, thanks to precipitation leaking into the building through three, open courtyards."
• 12/15/2009, GEMA re-approves Whitfield County Schools safety plans, The Daily Citizen, "By law, every public school in Georgia must develop and implement a wide-ranging safety plan that addresses acts of violence or terrorism, natural disasters, hazardous materials and radiological incidents."
• 12/11/2009, Senate approves bill requiring prompt notification of contaminated soil on school property, North Jersey.com, "The notification must include a description of the problem, the risks of exposure and a description and timetable of steps being taken to address the problem."
• 12/09/2009,  Ohio EPA awards grant to North Royalton and Strongsville school districts, Sun Star Courier, "A grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency will retrofit 53 school buses from the Strongsville City School District and North Royalton City Schools with equipment that will help eliminate pollutants from older models."
• 12/08/2009, EPA Plan for Improving Schools' Drinking Water Gets Chilly Reception at Senate Hearing, New York Times, "U.S. EPA unveiled plans today to improve the quality of drinking water in schools and small communities by targeting the most serious violations and assisting rural systems that struggle to meet federal standards."
• 12/06/2009, Richburg: Chester County withheld details on incinerator, heraldonline, "Harris said he and others in Richburg are concerned that the plant would be located near Lewisville elementary, middle and high schools and could pose a health threat for students."
• 12/04/2009, The Recod: Keep parents notified,  NewJersey.com, "The bill cleared the Assembly's Environment and Solid Waste Committee this week and the Senate's Environment Committee in June, Staff Writer John Reitmeyer reported. It would not only require quick notification, but would also order schools to explain to parents and employees how their exposure to the contamination will be limited, and the plans for remediation."
• 12/01/2009, Pollution notification bill OK'd by Assembly panel, NewJersey.com, "New Jersey school officials would be required to notify parents whenever pesticide pollution is detected on school grounds under a bill that cleared a state Assembly committee on Monday.11/30/2009, New Hickory Hills school's green features draw interest, This one is expected to draw visitors interested in seeing its environmentally friendly features. Educators are tweaking the school's curriculum, too.

• 11/30/2009, School district receives award for being green, The San Francisco Examiner, "The school district is one of seven organizations receiving a Green California Schools Leadership Award next week for its efforts to green its campuses."
• 11/27/2009, Schools receive air quality award, Westport News, "With millions of dollars spent on the cause and years in the making, Westport Public Schools was one of five districts in the country awarded the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 2009 Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools National Excellence Award."
• 01/23/2009, School district's emergency response systems get boost, Oregon News, "Using the Web-based software, each school's safety teams and local emergency responders have instant access to critical information on 300 site-specific data points, including tactical plans, site and floor plans, aerial and geospatial imagery, interior and exterior photos, staging areas, hazardous materials locations, utility shut-offs and evacuation routes."
• 11/20/2009 Old Chemicals Removed From Eugene School Science Lab, KEZI New.com, "EUGENE, Ore. -- Churchill High School got a little bit of help removing some unwanted chemicals Friday through a chemical clean-up project called Rehab the Lab."
• 11/18/2009, Mold prevention, cleanup close JT Lambert school all week; flu clinic still on, Pocono Record, "He said his company, which restores spaces after they have sustained major property damage, would clear out any water it could find and treat the area to staunch any mold."
• 10/24/2009 "EPA honors Alabama Environmental Agency ADEM for work in schools," The Birmingham News
• Alabama Governor Bob Riley signed a state proclamation on behalf of Healthy Schools Network, making April 27, 2009 National Healthy Schools Day in Alabama.