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November
2002
Mold at School:
Slimy
Nuisances and Big Headaches
PRESS
RELEASE:
(Nov 27, 2002) �
With schools in Illinois, Connecticut, New York State, Maine, Washington,
New Jersey and nearly every other state experiencing a rising number of
health problems and lawsuits related to molds growing inside schools,
organizations teamed up to promote a new guide, "Molds at School," issued
today by the Healthy Schools Network, Inc., and co-released by the
Illinois Healthy Schools Campaign, the Massachusetts Healthy Schools
Network and many other groups concerned about health and indoor
environmental quality.
Claire
Barnett, Executive Director of the Healthy Schools Network, Inc. said,
"Our callers, our Board, our Advisers, and our national partners are
deeply concerned by the known connections between damp, moldy indoor
environments and effects on human health. Since molds are preventable
contributors to the asthma epidemic, we want schools and their state and
federal funding sources to support the critical maintenance and repairs to
facilities that are so essential to healthy indoor environmental
conditions."
Stephen Ashkin of The Ashkin Group in Indiana, which specializes in 'green
cleaning, and who consulted on the guide, added, "Healthy cleaning and
maintenance of school buildings is crucial to student achievement. This is
one area every school can master and should invest in."
In
Connecticut, Joellen Lawson, and in New York State, Laura Hodlin, both
victims of moldy schools, spoke up about how molds growing indoors had
resulted in devastating and hard to track illnesses. Lawson, whose CANARI
group is seeking statewide legislation, said, "We need every school to
take this seriously the first time they see, smell, or hear about molds. I
have suffered and our colleagues and the children are suffering. Enough is
enough." Hodlin, whose teenager attends school in upstate Mechanicville,
New York added, "How in the world do they think our kids will keep up with
all the new tests when they are sick all the time?"
Illinois Healthy Schools Campaign Executive Director Rochelle Davis noted,
"This is much too common. No one is making a big enough commitment to
schools as children's workplaces."
From the
Oregon Environmental Council, Laura Weiss offered her perspective, "This
is something that our Healthy Schools Task Force hears about almost every
day; the issues are complicated and we see a real need for multi-agency
efforts on schools."
Speaking
for the Masschusetts PTA and the state Healthy Schools Network, Ellie
Goldberg said, "Schools are absolutely required to provide a safe school
environment and to accommodate children with health problems. It is
outrageous that any school would allow health threats to multiply, thus
denying an accessible education to so many."
Wendy Hord, a union health and safety expert with New York State United
Teachers added, "Failing indoor air quality and molds are serious health
issues for all of our members. This is preventable; we need fast clean-ups
and protections for the workers who are doing remediation."
From Maine, Virginia Mott, a schools consultant with the American Lung
Association reported, "Mold in schools is an issue in Maine. With our
state's high rate of asthma, preventing and dealing with mold is
especially important. This easy-to-read guide provides practical advice
for anyone who thinks they may have mold in any building."
"Having a healthy school environment is a back-to-basics issue for every
family", added Barnett, referring to the Bush Administration's educational
reforms. "Higher standards are important, but all the tests in the world
will not improve learning as quickly as fresh air and sunshine inside
school."
The
Bush Administration refused to renew a federal program that last year
allocated $1.2 billion to the states to address urgent school renovations,
and has thus far not looked to fund the "healthy and high performance
schools" provisions of his centerpiece on educational reform, the "Leave
No Child Behind Act of 2001." The act's "healthy schools" provisions,
sponsored in the Senate by Hillary Clinton (D-NY), include a required
priority study of the impacts of decayed schools on child health and
learning and grants to the states to jump-start 'green' design and
engineering for indoor air and energy efficiency in school renovations.
The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held its first
hearing on school environments on Oct. 1, 2002 which was intended to help
them learn how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the
federal departments of education and energy were implementing the newly
enacted legislation on "healthy and high performance schools." The packed
Hearing Room included parents from Maryland, Tennessee, New York City, and
Virginia, as well as national organizations such as the American Public
Health Association and the Children's Environmental Health Network, who
heard the EPA testify. The U.S. Department of Education was invited but
absent, and failed even to submit written testimony. Education's National
Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities, a solid source of information
for local schools struggling with facility conditions that will get worse
in the absence of federal assistance, is also in jeopardy.
Healthy Schools Network, Inc. is a not for profit environmental health
research, information, and advocacy organization, centered on child health
and dedicated to assuring children and employees environmentally safe and
healthy schools that are clean and in good repair. Working with scores of
local, state, and national groups in public health, education, and the
environment in the last two years participating in the national Coalition
for Healthier Schools, HSN has helped secure federal and state funds for
school repairs and supported the "healthy and high performance schools"
legislation.
Source: Healthy Schools Network
www.healthyschools.org
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