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Tag: Environmental Issues

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Beatty & Shimshack, 2011

School buses contribute disproportionately to ambient air quality, pollute near schools and residential areas, and their emissions collect within passenger cabins. This paper examines the impact of school bus emissions reductions programs on health outcomes. A key contribution relative to the broader literature is that we examine localized pollution reduction programs at a fine level of aggregation. We find that school bus retrofits induced reductions in bronchitis, asthma, and pneumonia incidence for atrisk populations. Back of the envelope calculations suggest conservative benefit-cost ratios between 7:1 and16:1.

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Environmental Law Institute

According to the U.S. EPA, indoor radon exposure results in an estimated 21,000 lung cancer deaths in the United States each year. That makes indoor radon the second leading cause of lung cancer, the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers, and the seventh leading cause of cancer mortality overall.

Radon is a colorless, odorless gas that is produced from the decay of radium released from uranium ore that is present in most rock and soils. When radon enters a building through cracks or other openings in the foundation or slab, it becomes concentrated indoors. Inhaling radon over a period of years increases cancer risk; the higher the radon levels, the greater the risk.

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Fichman, 2015

More than 760,000 trucks pass through El Paso’s two entry points from Mexico each year; it is the highest-ranked city for carbon monoxide levels in Texas and rates eighth in the nation for particulate pollution. Traces of air pollution can be found in the school classroom, affecting minority students disproportionately.

Researchers from the University of Texas show that the overall GPA of fourth- and fifth-graders in public schools dropped 0.02–0.04 points for every one standard deviation increase in greater exposure to toxic substances in the air. Despite excessive truck traffic, non-road sources were shown to have the greatest effect, including pollution from an international airport, a bi-national freight station, and a military base.

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Building Green, 2013

As awareness about air quality in schools has reached unprecedented levels in the U.S., one major indoor pollutant remains widely unaddressed: radon.

It might not be the most trendy topic for building interiors, but soil chemistry hasn’t changed since scientists first discovered high radon concentrations in buildings in the 1980s—nor has the fact that radon is considered the second leading cause of lung cancer deaths in the U.S. (tobacco smoke is number one).

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World Health Organization, 2009.

Diseases related to inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene are a huge burden in developing countries. It is estimated that 88% of diarrhoeal disease is caused by unsafe water supply, and inadequate sanitation and hygiene (WHO, 2004c). Many schools serve communities that have a high prevalence of diseases related to inadequate water supply, sanitation and hygiene, and where child malnutrition and other underlying health problems are common.
Schools, particularly those in rural areas, often completely lack drinking-water and sanitation and handwashing facilities; alternatively, where such facilities do exist they are often inadequate in both quality and quantity. Schools with poor water, sanitation and hygiene conditions, and intense levels of person-to-person contact, are high-risk environments for children and staff, and exacerbate children’s particular susceptibility to environmental health hazards.
Children’s ability to learn may be affected by inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene conditions in several ways. These include helminth infections (which affect hundreds of millions of school-age children), long-term exposure to chemical contaminants in water (e.g. lead and arsenic), diarrhoeal diseases and malaria infections, all of which force many schoolchildren to be absent from school. Poor environmental conditions in the classroom can also make both teaching and learning very difficult.

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Ithaca Journal, 2016.

Ithaca pediatrician Marguerite Uphoff remembers a time when leaded gasoline burned inside cars, lead-based paint covered bedroom walls, and school districts installed pipes with lead solder to deliver drinking water for children.

“There’s no question that lead is a neurotoxin, and even at low blood-lead levels, it has the potential to affect development, behavior and learning ability,” she said.

In 2016, motors run on unleaded gas, and the lead-based paint can be easily detected and removed. Lead pipes and lead solder, however, are more expensive to replace and often harder to find. While some regulations exist to protect people from lead in drinking water, recent tests at local schools reveal a gap in the rules designed to protect children.

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California Department of Education.

Chapter 558 of the Statutes of 2010 (Senate Bill 1413, Leno) establishes California Education Code (EC) Section 38086, which requires school districts to provide access to free, fresh drinking water during meal times.

Making Free, Fresh Drinking Water Available to Students During Meal Times
Complying with California Senate Bill 1413 (Leno)

Chapter 558 of the Statutes of 2010 (Senate Bill [SB] 1413, Leno) establishes California Education Code (EC) Section 38086, which requires school districts to provide access to free, fresh drinking water during meal times in school food service areas by July 1, 2011, unless the governing board of a school district adopts a resolution stating it is unable to comply with this requirement due to fiscal constraints or health and safety concerns.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; US Dept. of Health and Human Services, 2014.
Drinking water can contribute to good health, and schools are in a unique position to promote healthy, dietary behaviors, including drinking water. More than 95% of children and adolescents are enrolled in schools, and students typically spend at least 6 hours at school each day.
Ensuring that students have access to safe, free drinking water throughout the school environment gives them a healthy alternative to sugar-sweetened beverages before, during, and after school. Access to safe, free drinking water helps to increase students’ overall water consumption, maintain hydration, and reduce energy intake, if substituted for sugar-sweetened beverages.

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What's Currently Required?

An array of federal, state, and local policies and regulations govern water availability in schools.  Recent legislation created a federal requirement that free drinking water be available to students during school meals.  Some states might also have their own policies.  In September 2010, California passed legislation, SB 1413 (Leno), to require that free, fresh drinking water be available where meals are served or eaten.  Massachusetts has enacted similar legislation and other cities and localities might have similar requirements.

Other local and state policies can also broadly influence access to water in school buildings, but these are generally not specific to availability during meals or in the areas where meals are served or eaten.  In addition, state and local policies can govern water safety and water testing.

Because policies to require water availability with school meals are relatively recent, many schools are probably not currently in compliance.  Some schools might have existing local policies or rules, perhaps stemming from local school wellness policies, that require water to be available during meals.  For more on wellness policies, click here.

What follows is a summary of the current policies related to water access and availability in schools.

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Foster, Dent, Bryant, Tencza, Adams, & Dutton, 2015

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) estimates approximately 21,000 lung cancer deaths are attributable to radon exposure (U.S. EPA, 2003). This number is approximately seven times greater than the number of lung cancer deaths due to secondhand smoke exposure and about twice as many deaths caused by drunk drivers (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015; Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, 2013; National Cancer Institute, 2012). Despite these startling statistics, very few programs are in place to monitor or evaluate indoor radon levels in homes and public buildings in the U.S.

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