Parents expect schools to be safe places where children can focus on learning without concerns about air quality, pest issues, or cleaning products that might trigger asthma. However, as part of a research team examining these issues, I have discovered that many schools are unprepared to shield students from environmental hazards. In my role as a pest management specialist, I am collaborating with a diverse team to enhance adherence to environmental health standards. Our findings indicate that schools nationwide require updates to reach basic code requirements. The air and water quality, as well as the safety of cleaning and pest control chemicals, are critical to ensuring a safe learning environment. Environmental health standards assist school communities in identifying and addressing potential dangers.
What specific areas need attention? To start, we must focus on the air quality that students and teachers experience daily. By addressing and controlling common indoor pollutants, we can improve air quality and lower health risks. Even minor irritants like dust, dander, dead insects, and artificial scents aimed at masking odors like mold can provoke asthma and allergies. Enhancing ventilation, airflow, and filtration systems within schools can protect individuals from respiratory infections and support a healthier indoor atmosphere. Ventilation systems draw fresh outdoor air into rooms, filter and purify the inside air, and improve air circulation. Upgrading these systems in school buildings can enhance indoor air quality and minimize contaminants, including viral particles.
Ensuring food safety and drinking water quality should be standard practice, yet many schools face lead contamination risks. In 1991, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency introduced the lead and copper rule to reduce lead and copper levels in drinking water. Updated in 2021, this rule now emphasizes reducing lead exposure risks for children by targeting schools and child care facilities. Despite these measures, a 2022 report found persistent lead contamination in Massachusetts schools’ drinking water. Eliminating lead in water is crucial, as no safe level exists. To tackle this, the Food and Drug Administration revamped the Food Safety Modernization Act in 2016, aiming to shift from addressing foodborne illnesses to preventing them. This law empowers local health authorities to oversee food safety more effectively. Consequently, every school cafeteria now undergoes semi-annual inspections by a registered sanitarian to meet state and federal requirements. These inspections assess potential pest entry points, moisture-prone areas, and the cleanliness of storage rooms.
Even with clean air, water, and food, schools may still not meet all health standards. Many face insect infestations addressed with harsh chemicals when simpler solutions exist. Integrated pest management (IPM) offers an environmentally friendly approach. IPM uses practical methods like securing food storage and closing windows to prevent pest entry, and considers pests’ lifecycles and environment in choosing treatment options. Common school pests include ants, cockroaches, and bedbugs. Ants seek food, cockroaches hitch rides in backpacks or enter through small gaps, and mice can infiltrate kitchens or bathrooms through unsealed pipes. In fall, cockroaches thrive in custodial closets and kitchens, often using floor drains for movement. An IPM solution might involve ensuring drains have adequate water flow and removing potential food sources for cockroaches.
School leaders also decide which products to use for pest control and cleaning, aiming to protect building occupants and the environment. Some schools adopt “green cleaning” practices that use less harmful chemicals, as studies indicate that frequent indoor use of harsh chemicals can cause long-term health effects. Products with safer ingredients like hydrogen peroxide, citric acid, and isopropyl alcohol are preferable over those with chlorine or ammonia.
Even after dealing with infestations, schools need a long-term plan to manage pollutants, including cleaning chemicals and those used in science classes. Proper storage and disposal are crucial for maintaining air quality, though funding such efforts can strain budgets. Over the last decade, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has collaborated on the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child initiative, fostering evidence-based policies and practices. This initiative has inspired the formation of school health advisory councils in some states, working alongside state education and health departments to improve indoor environments and student health in local districts.