Thirty-one critical questions about asbestos, its use in school buildings, and the risks it poses to health are answered in this booklet. Issued by the Safe Buildings Alliance, an incorporated association of manufacturers that once supplied asbestos-containing materials for building construction, the booklet's purpose is to provide information…

The document maintains that the world is filled with health hazards and the best a person can do is to assess the danger of individual products, learn the risks, weigh the risks against the benefits, and decide whether or not to personally take these risks or to subject family members to them. This perspective begins in the home. This book…

Every day, school-aged children encounter a wide variety of hazards that occur both outside and inside schools. This document presents findings of a report that examined the scientific data on the risks for student injury and illness in the school environment. The information is designed to help administrators set priorities for reducing risks to…

Efforts in the profession to define the physical environment are described, and an outline is presented of four curriculum modules to integrate environmental hazards content into the foundation preparation of social workers. (Author/MH)

This document is comprised of two reports: (1) "Science-Based Recommendations to Prevent or Reduce Potential Exposures to Biological, Chemical, and Physical Agents in Schools" by Derek G. Shendell, Claire Barnett, and Stephen Boese (supported by grants from the Rockefeller Foundation, the National Institutes of Environmental Health…

Background: As society continues to focus on the importance of academic achievement, the physical environment of schools should be addressed as 1 of the critical factors that influence academic outcomes. The School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) 2006 provides, for the first time, a comprehensive look at the extent to which schools have…

Health problems related to school buildings can be categorized in five major areas: sick-building syndrome; health-threatening building materials; environmental hazards such as radon gas and asbestos; lead poisoning; and poor indoor air quality due to smoke, chemicals, and other pollutants. This paper provides an overview of these areas,…

Presents research findings regarding the susceptibility of young children to various indoor environmental pollutants including cigarette smoke, heating and cooking equipment, art supplies, lead, and asbestos. Discusses assessment, management, and prevention of environmental hazards to provide guidelines for achieving a safe child care environment.…