Environmental Health
School Food Environment

Environmental Health in Schools

In the last few decades, there has been a dramatic change in the nature of childhood illness from simple infections to complex, chronic, handicapping conditions of multiple origins.

There is a growing body of scientific evidence that points to environmental chemical exposures as a significant cause of childhood disease and cancer.

Why Children Are Vulnerable

Children are more at risk of environmental exposures for four reasons:

• First, children's bodies are still growing, so their organs are more likely to be harmed. If children get sick, getting well may be harder for them than for us. Also, their immune systems, which fight illness, are still developing and may not develop completely if exposed to toxins early in life.
• Second, for their size, children eat more food, drink more water and breathe more air than adults. When they get lead in their bodies or breathe in harmful gases, for example, they get a bigger dose in comparison to their body weight than adults would.
• Third, children play and crawl on the ground. This means they are closer to things that might cause health problems, like dust, household chemicals and pesticide residues on foliage or floors. Furthermore, babies and young children put all sorts of things in their mouths, including objects that might have toxic residues on them.
• Fourth, children cannot identify or protect themselves from hazards. This is an important consideration in the school environment. (How many young children can say chemical odors trigger headaches? How many parents have ever heard (and discounted) the food/water tastes yucky?).

Irritants such as pesticides, toxic molds, asbestos, and cleaning products can have a negative impact on indoor air in schools. The effects of poor indoor air quality on health, learning and general well-being are wide ranging, and include allergies and asthma, increased rates of infectious diseases, chronic sinusitis, headaches, and a variety of respiratory diseases. Children are particularly vulnerable to the health effects of indoor air pollutants, since their bodies are still developing and they have relatively higher rates of breathing and metabolism.

The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) admits, "While laws compel children to attend school, some school buildings may be unsafe or even harmful to children's health." According to the GAO, 70% of schools in Illinois report at least one unsatisfactory environmental condition, and $9.2 billion is needed for infrastructure repairs.

In general, government regulations that set standards on acceptable levels of exposures or tolerances do not take into account children's special vulnerability.

There has been a growing awareness of the need to reevaluate acceptable levels of exposure. In 1996, Congress passed the Food Quality Protection Act which recognized the need to reevaluate the acceptable levels of pesticide residue on food to take into account children's vulnerability.

In Illinois, the state legislature passed the Integrated Pest Management in Schools Act which requires school districts to adopt safer pest management practices. However, the law allows school districts to be exempt from using IPM if they can demonstrate that implementing IPM will cost more than that currently being spent on pest control. Related legislation requires school districts to notify parents when pesticide spraying occurs.

A number of states have adopted legislation specifically aimed at improving indoor air quality in schools. The Environmental Law Institute released a report in early 2002 which discussions the various approaches states have taken in addressing this problem. This report provides detailed information on state policies that aim to prevent school indoor air problems by promoting better maintenance and management of existing facilities, as well as better design and construction practices in new and renovated schools. The report identifies many of the state laws and regulations that have been developed so far, describes their key components, and highlights current implementation efforts. The full report is available at www.eli.org.

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