Common Health Hazards in Schools

Note: for information on hazardous/toxic cleaning and disinfecting products, visit our Green Cleaning and Healthy Products page.

What School Nurses Know: We Need New Laws to Clean Up Schools (survey), Healthy Schools Network and NYS Association of School Nurses, 2000

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

Air Just Air – Healthy Schools Network 2004 National Healthy Schools Day Conference Report, 2024

Indoor Air Quality – IAQ- Scientific Findings Resource Bank, IAQ-SFRB
Developed by the Indoor Environment Department of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory with funding support from the U.S. EPA.

WEBINAR Back to School: Energy Savings + Healthy Indoor Air, Healthy Schools Network, 2021
The US Department of Energy $500 million school retrofit program as of 2023 needs to commit in writing to insuring IAQ in its program when doing school retrofits. Addressing IAQ during retrofits is a best practice endorsed by ASHRAE and US EPA in 2011.

VIDEO: The Healthy Indoors Show, April 1, 2021
The Health of Our Schools with Claire Barnett and Mansel Nelson

Workplace/School Model Fragrance-Free Policy, Healthy Schools Network, 2017

Parent’s Guide to School Indoor Air Quality, Healthy Schools Network, © 1997, 2003, 2012,
6 pp, classic reference in the field of children’s environmental health at school, written by and for parents; contains the basics of school IAQ, simple steps, what to ask for/look for, and what to do if no one listens and your child is still sick.

Asthma

Asthma and Environment Fact Sheet for Parents and Schools, Healthy Schools Network, © 2003, 2012, 2014
Facts about eliminating asthma triggers and the side effects of asthma medications.

Asthmagens Database, Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics
Select “Display All Asthmagens” to view the complete list of substances reported as asthmagens by occupational asthma experts.

Lead

Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting
US Environmental Protection Agency, regulations and best practices to avoid lead exposures to children, pregnant women, and others in homes, schools, and childcare facilities

Parent Guide to Lead in School

How to Identify Lead Free Certification Marks for Drinking Water System & Plumbing Products

Green and Lead-Free PCs, Notebooks, and Tablets: Model Contract Language for Schools and Guidance for Parents and Families on Finding and Buying, 2018

Eliminating Lead Risks in Schools and Child Care Facilities, National Collaborative Workshop Report, 2018
Healthy Schools Network, Learning Disabilities Association of America, and Children’s Environmental Health Network

WEBINAR Lead in Drinking Water with pediatrician Jerome Paulson, MD, 2016

Lead Water Coolers Banned in 1988

Drinking Water

Drinking Water in Schools and Childcare Facilities, US Environmental Protection Agency

Molds

Mold and Indoor Air Quality in Schools, Environmental Protection Agency

Mold and Dampness in Schools, Healthy Schools Network, © 2019.
2 pp, outlines how to use the NIOSH Mold and Dampness Assessment Tool

Molds at School, Healthy Schools Network, © 2002, 2012
8 pp, outlines information on why schools are moldy, the impact mold has on health, basic prevention practices; urges swift cleanups over testing.

Dampness and Mold Assessment Tool in School Buildings, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 2018

NIOSH Alert: Preventing Occupational Respiratory Disease from Exposures Caused by Dampness in Office Buildings, Schools, and Other Nonindustrial Buildings, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Dry Erase Markers

Markers Guide, Healthy Schools Network, © 2011
3 pp guide on the use and hazards of dry erase markers in schools.

Pesticides

Pesticides, US Environmental Protection Agency

Disinfectants, US Environmental Protection Agency

Kick the Pesticide Habit: Children, Learning and Poisons Don’t Mix, Healthy Schools Network, 2011
4 pp, guide on pesticides, safer solutions, school application, IPM, and more.

PBDEs

PBDE: Toxic Flame Retardants, What Women, Children, and School Personnel Need to Know, Healthy Schools Network, © 2007, 2012
4 pp, includes the dangers of PBDEs, as well as associated health effects and ways to avoid the use of these toxins.

PBDEs: Information for Pediatric Health Professionals, Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units, 2010

PCBs

PCBs in Building Materials, US Environmental Protection Agency

Exposure Levels for Evaluating Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in Indoor School Air, US EPA, Oct 2023

WEBINAR Health Effects of PCBs in Schools & Indoor Air, Healthy Schools Network, October 2021
With David Carpenter, MD; moderated by Chip Halverson, ND.

US ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Flow Chart for Managing PCB Containing Materials in School Buildings

PFCs

Perfluorinated Compounds (PFCs) and Human Health Concerns, Healthy Building Network, 2009

PVC

The Perils of PVC Pipes, Beyond Plastics, 2023

EMFs

Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs), Collaborative on Health and the Environment,

EMF’s, Precaution and Schools: US Supreme Court Amicus curiae
Brief for US Supreme Court

Playgrounds and Synthetic Turf

Playgrounds & Toxic Threats, Healthy Schools Network, © 2010, 2012,
6pp, facts and information about chromate copper arsenate (CCA), lead, artificial turf risks, and playgrounds.
also see more information on turf in Promoting Green and Healthy Schools (link)

Fracking

Press Release: Child Health Groups Call for Robust Assessment of Hydrofracking Health Impacts, Healthy Schools Network New York State press release, 2011

Disinfecting Wipes

Disinfecting Wipes Guide, Healthy Schools Network, 2016

Food dyes

Smart Guide to Food Dyes, Agriculture and Trade Policy Institute, 2009