March 6, 2008
Editor, Sharon Herald
South Dock Street
Sharon, PA 16146
Dear Editor,
During the past several weeks there have been many articles in the Sharon Herald about schools in Mercer County that will be undergoing renovations. This is an exciting time for students, teachers, and parents alike, but renovating old buildings or new building construction has the potential for exposing the entire school population to long term health issues, major medical traumas, and a reduced quality of life. How do I know this? I “lived” through a school renovation and am paying the health related consequences.
Parents, teachers, and staff must know that construction workers are protected under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards. Children and teachers, who will be exposed to the same toxic debris, polluted air, and mold, are not.
The occupants of the renovated buildings will be spending 30 to 50 hours a week in an environment that will be filled with construction dust containing major carcinogens, mold spores, and asthma inducing pollutants. The workers will be masked to protect their lungs during the process, our teachers and students will not.
“National Healthy Schools Day” is April 28, 2008. It comes during “School Building Week,” April 28 - May 2, 2008. We must insist that our “School Buildings,” which house our most precious commodity, our children, grandchildren, and our teachers, are healthy and clean, and not “sick.”
The “Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007” was passed and signed into law on December 19, 2007. This law “establishes a new federal office of green buildings . . . and directs the US EPA to promote healthy school environments by working with state agencies, by creating federal guidelines for the siting of schools, and by developing model guidelines for children’s environmental health in schools.”
According to the Coalition for Healthier Schools which is coordinated by the Healthy Schools Network, “school design standards are coming under No Child Left Behind (Sec. 5581, Healthy High Performance Schools), mandating the Department of Education to conduct a “Study of National Significance” (Sec. 5414) on the impacts of decayed schools on children and report the finding to the US Congress.”
All of us need to assure that our children are learning in an environment that provides clean indoor air quality and a healthy living standard. I have formed a group called the “Green Grannies and Friends for Clean Air and Healthy Kids.” One of our goals to provide information about indoor air quality and the effects it has on building occupants. We are working to promote a safe, healthy environment for our children and their teachers.
Parents need to ask their administrators and contractors some tough questions prior to renovations. For information on questions to ask, how to clean up and green up our schools, or to learn more about “National Healthy Schools Day” and what YOU can do to protect your child, check out: http://greengrannies.blogspot.com
Sincerely, Rhonda Paglia
Retired teacher, 26 years
Coordinator, Green Grannies and Friends for Clean Air & Healthy Kids
greengrannies@gmail.com
Editor, Sharon Herald
South Dock Street
Sharon, PA 16146
Dear Editor,
During the past several weeks there have been many articles in the Sharon Herald about schools in Mercer County that will be undergoing renovations. This is an exciting time for students, teachers, and parents alike, but renovating old buildings or new building construction has the potential for exposing the entire school population to long term health issues, major medical traumas, and a reduced quality of life. How do I know this? I “lived” through a school renovation and am paying the health related consequences.
Parents, teachers, and staff must know that construction workers are protected under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards. Children and teachers, who will be exposed to the same toxic debris, polluted air, and mold, are not.
The occupants of the renovated buildings will be spending 30 to 50 hours a week in an environment that will be filled with construction dust containing major carcinogens, mold spores, and asthma inducing pollutants. The workers will be masked to protect their lungs during the process, our teachers and students will not.
“National Healthy Schools Day” is April 28, 2008. It comes during “School Building Week,” April 28 - May 2, 2008. We must insist that our “School Buildings,” which house our most precious commodity, our children, grandchildren, and our teachers, are healthy and clean, and not “sick.”
The “Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007” was passed and signed into law on December 19, 2007. This law “establishes a new federal office of green buildings . . . and directs the US EPA to promote healthy school environments by working with state agencies, by creating federal guidelines for the siting of schools, and by developing model guidelines for children’s environmental health in schools.”
According to the Coalition for Healthier Schools which is coordinated by the Healthy Schools Network, “school design standards are coming under No Child Left Behind (Sec. 5581, Healthy High Performance Schools), mandating the Department of Education to conduct a “Study of National Significance” (Sec. 5414) on the impacts of decayed schools on children and report the finding to the US Congress.”
All of us need to assure that our children are learning in an environment that provides clean indoor air quality and a healthy living standard. I have formed a group called the “Green Grannies and Friends for Clean Air and Healthy Kids.” One of our goals to provide information about indoor air quality and the effects it has on building occupants. We are working to promote a safe, healthy environment for our children and their teachers.
Parents need to ask their administrators and contractors some tough questions prior to renovations. For information on questions to ask, how to clean up and green up our schools, or to learn more about “National Healthy Schools Day” and what YOU can do to protect your child, check out: http://greengrannies.blogspot.com
Sincerely, Rhonda Paglia
Retired teacher, 26 years
Coordinator, Green Grannies and Friends for Clean Air & Healthy Kids
greengrannies@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment