Comments on: Back to School – Keeping our Children Safe and Healthy http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2009/09/back-to-school-safe-and-healthy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=back-to-school-safe-and-healthy EPA's Blog About Our World Fri, 17 May 2013 15:29:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Sandra http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2009/09/back-to-school-safe-and-healthy/comment-page-1/#comment-23293 Sandra Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:52:54 +0000 http://blog.epa.gov/blog/?p=1086#comment-23293 All schools should under go rigours tests. The cleaners have background checks and the school inspections should be frequent. I run a cleaning company in bradford and although we have no school on our books right now, we are hoping to do so.

]]> By: Jennifer Lemon, EPA http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2009/09/back-to-school-safe-and-healthy/comment-page-1/#comment-21082 Jennifer Lemon, EPA Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:27:59 +0000 http://blog.epa.gov/blog/?p=1086#comment-21082 I would recommend that you contact your grandaughter’s school health and safety department/coordinator. They would know what is currently on the district’s list of appropriate cleaners. Whereas, it is always difficult to manage environmental health issues for sensitive populations, your grandaughter may not be the only student who has these sensitivties to the scented products and bleach used in the room. All school staff and personel want what’s best for the students and occupants of the building. It will be helpful to make the health and safety coordinator aware of your grandaughter’s allergies so they can work with the school staff to make those environmental adjustments and changes to daily cleaning routines.

]]> By: Jennifer Lemon, EPA http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2009/09/back-to-school-safe-and-healthy/comment-page-1/#comment-21081 Jennifer Lemon, EPA Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:11:15 +0000 http://blog.epa.gov/blog/?p=1086#comment-21081 We have guidance for remediating mold in commercial buildings which you can order free of charge. Please visit http://www.epa.gov/mold/ to review this information and place an order for materials.

]]> By: Jennifer Lemon, EPA http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2009/09/back-to-school-safe-and-healthy/comment-page-1/#comment-21080 Jennifer Lemon, EPA Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:07:55 +0000 http://blog.epa.gov/blog/?p=1086#comment-21080 The answer depends on several factors, including the air-conditioning system, the type of filtration system and how it is installed, and the pollutant of concern. Many air-conditioning systems have outdoor air intakes, but some do not (like those in most homes). Most air-conditioning systems that have outdoor intakes include some form of filtration. However many such filtration systems are designed to protect the air-conditioning equipment and not the health of building occupants. One way to evaluate the efficiency of a filter is to look for the MERV rating of the filter. Higher MERV ratings filter larger percentage of the pollutants from the air. How a filter is installed also effects its performance. If a filter is installed such that air bypasses the filter, its effectiveness will go down substantially. Finally, the pollutants of concern are an important consideration since no filter can remove all pollutants. For example, most filters are designed to remove small particles, or particulate matter (PM) from the air. This accounts for many pollutants of concern, but it does not remove gaseous air pollutants such as ozone or carbon monoxide (CO). A special kind of air cleaning device is required to remove gas-phase pollutants.
More information about air-cleaning can be found at:
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/aircleaners/index.html

]]> By: Charles http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2009/09/back-to-school-safe-and-healthy/comment-page-1/#comment-20160 Charles Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:56:17 +0000 http://blog.epa.gov/blog/?p=1086#comment-20160 Oh, tell me about it… there’s a woman where I work who likes to spray some sort of air freshner stuff around her cube wall, it drifs around the office. People just don’t think, exept about their selves.

]]> By: Cheryl Drown http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2009/09/back-to-school-safe-and-healthy/comment-page-1/#comment-20151 Cheryl Drown Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:54:14 +0000 http://blog.epa.gov/blog/?p=1086#comment-20151 My grandaughter is affected by the chemical cleaners used by grocery stores, schools etc. She is especially sensitive to anything used to ‘scent’ a room and to bleach. Guess what they clean desks with every Friday afternoon. Bleach wipes. Even though we send her to school with green cleaners she is exposed to the smell from the other kids. Also, they have to bring in their own wipes so the school won’t have to supply them. It adds insult to injury. Why aren’t chemical cleaners on the lists for irritants?

]]> By: Wen-Tsorng LAY http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2009/09/back-to-school-safe-and-healthy/comment-page-1/#comment-19284 Wen-Tsorng LAY Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:52:51 +0000 http://blog.epa.gov/blog/?p=1086#comment-19284 Drink good water for health.

Have fun.

]]> By: dexter http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2009/09/back-to-school-safe-and-healthy/comment-page-1/#comment-19235 dexter Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:58:35 +0000 http://blog.epa.gov/blog/?p=1086#comment-19235 i think usa doesn’t really care about health because of the massive fast-food adiction.

]]> By: Johnny R. http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2009/09/back-to-school-safe-and-healthy/comment-page-1/#comment-19234 Johnny R. Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:44:15 +0000 http://blog.epa.gov/blog/?p=1086#comment-19234 To what extent do air condtioning systems filter outside air for indoor breathing? If a school is near an industrial park can an ordinary a.c. system filter out any pollutants? I ask because, as the population grows, more industrial manufacturing producing more pollution is inevitable.

]]> By: Carla http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2009/09/back-to-school-safe-and-healthy/comment-page-1/#comment-19189 Carla Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:44:11 +0000 http://blog.epa.gov/blog/?p=1086#comment-19189 Where can I obtain information for buildings that may be infested with mold that are not school affiliated, but more so a public assistance (TANF, FoodStamps, and Mediacaid) type building.

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