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Protect Yourself: Cleaning Chemicals and Your Health
This poster on cleaning chemicals provides guidance to workers and supervisors and is intended to be posted in the workplace. Download the poster.
Participate in the US EPA's Flag Program
Air pollution is a trigger for asthma and youth are especially sensitive to the harmful effects of air pollution! The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the School Flag Program, an easy and inexpensive way to help your school know the air quality conditions each day. Schools in the Flag Program raise a brightly colored flag each day that corresponds to the air quality forecast. Based on the color of the flag, teachers and coaches can modify outdoor activities when the air quality is unhealthy. Get your program started.
Educate Parents About Asthma and Pests
Asthma is a growing problem among children, accounting for 12.8 million missed school days annually. Common asthma triggers include cockroaches, dust mites, rodents and some pesticides all which are manageable using Integrative Pest Management (IPM). Reducing your Child's Asthma using IPM: A Practical Home Guide for Parents is a free resource for nurses and parents that highlights effective ways to reduce asthma, like storing food in sealed containers and fixing water leaks.
Learn more about IPM.
Download the free guide.
Subscribe to a monthly newsletter.
Browse additional resources.
Integrated Pest Management
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a proven approach that focuses on prevention of pest problems using methods that have minimal impact on human health and the environment. IPM practices include sound preventive maintenance, high sanitation standards and staff education, along with pest monitoring, accurate pest identification and recordkeeping.
Learn more.
Safe School Siting Toolkit (2009)
From the Center for Health, Environment & Justice. Shared with permission from CHEJ.
Safe school siting will allow schools to concentrate on teaching instead of mitigating environmental hazards. This toolkit has sample presentations, sample policies, fact sheets, and information to bring people together and motivate policy makers to ensure that all schools are in safe locations.
You Can Make a Difference to a Child by Reducing Risk of Lyme Disease. NASN School Nurse, May 2010; vol. 25, 3: pp. 110-113
Center for Environmental Health & Justice
Helps individuals and communities facing an environmental health risk. From leaking landfills and polluted drinking water to incinerators and hazardous waste sites, they can help take action towards a healthier future.
Consumer Reports green cleaning buying guide
A growing number of less-toxic commercial cleaning products are now available in stores and online. However, because manufacturers are not required to list all of their ingredients, unless they are active disinfectants or known to be potentially hazardous, it can be a challenge to find the least-toxic formulations.
Strategies for Addressing Asthma Within a Coordinated School Health Program
From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Want to Fight Childhood Asthma?
This is a site for parents to learn more about asthma triggers in their home. Attack Asthma. Learn More.
Green Cleaning and School Nurses – what do you need to know?
Download this poster as a guide
Health Care Provider Initiative
From the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF)
Publications, resources, and the following initiatives are aimed at incorporating environmental health into health professionals' education and practice.
Children's Environmental Health Faculty Champions Initiative
Train-the-trainer curricula and additional resources
Pediatric Asthma Initiative
Environmental Management of Pediatric Asthma: Guidelines for Health Care Providers
and additional resources
Pediatric Environmental History Initiative
National Strategies For Health Care Providers: Pesticides Initiative
National Environmental Education Foundation. (2008). Position statement: Health professionals and environmental health education.
Healthy Schools Network, Inc.
A not-for-profit national environmental health organization that does research, information, education, coalition-building, and advocacy to ensure that every child has a healthy learning environment that is clean and in good repair.
Healthy Schools Campaign
An independent not-for-profit organization, is a leading authority on healthy school environments and a voice for people who care about our environment, our children, and education.
Behavior problems associated with exposure to phthalates before birth
Pregnant women who had higher levels of these chemicals in their urine during their third trimester of pregnancy were more likely to have a child who scored below average on behavior and executive functioning tests at 4-9 years of age. The test scores are known to be correlated with clinical diagnoses of behavior or conduct problems and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders.
Environmental Health Perspectives
http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.0901470
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/prebirth-phthalate-exposure-associated-with-childs-behavior-problems/
The Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE) is an online presence for all nurses interested in environmental health. ANHE believes nurses are one of the most trusted sources of information by the public and must be in a position to both respond to questions about the environment and its relationship to health with credible, evidence-based information, as well as provide leadership in making the necessary changes in our policies and practices. To that end, ANHE strives to prepare nurses to be a cut above the average citizen with regard to their knowledge of environmental health issues.
School Nurses and the Environment blog sponsored by the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE) on e-commons! This blog is dedicated to the specialty of school nursing. Please feel free to post comments and questions. School nurses and any interested parties are invited to see how their colleagues are involved in the area of environmental concerns.
Managing Asthma Triggers
A live continuing education (CE) program directed under the development of NASN
View the live (CE) program page for more information on this and other live programs available through NASN
Children’s Exposure to Pollutants
Highlights of the Child-Specific Exposure Factors Handbook
Children have different exposure circumstances than do adults. Understanding these differences is key for evaluating potential for environmental hazards from pollutants. They consume more of certain foods and water and have higher inhalation rates per unit of body weight than adults. Young children play close to the ground and come into contact with contaminated soil outdoors and with contaminated dust on surfaces and carpets indoors. Ingestion of human milk is another potential pathway of exposure for infants and young children. The handbook focuses on presenting the best available, scientifically sound information on children’s exposure factors. The aim of this handbook is to improve the characterization of the potential environmental health risks to children by accounting for life stage differences in exposure. The handbook contains summaries of selected studies published through July 2008.
School Indoor Air Quality: State Policy Strategies for Maintaining Healthy Learning Environments
This report discusses how state policy can ensure that all K-12 schools address basic IAQ issues as part of their ongoing operations and maintenance activities. The report examines leading state policy models and identifies key considerations for developing an effective policy.
National Strategies For Health Care Providers: Pesticides Initiative
Improve your recognition, management and prevention of health effects from pesticide poisonings and exposures. The National Strategies for Health Care Providers: Pesticides Initiative takes a strategic approach for incorporating environmental health information into the education and practice of health care providers, using pesticides as a model.
Radon Tool Kit for Health Care Professionals
From the Children's Environmental Health Network
Fact Sheet, FAQ and more
Managing Indoor Asthma Triggers: Realistic Approaches for Health Care Providers
From the American College of Preventative Medicine
Web cast offering free CME/MOC credits
Overview: Features the lead author of the Environmental Management of Pediatric Asthma Guidelines referenced above.
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Tools for Schools Program
From the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
A comprehensive resource to help schools maintain a healthy environment in school buildings by identifying, correcting, and preventing IAQ problems.
Children's Environmental Health (CEH): Online Resources for Health Care Providers
From the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Free resources derived from U.S. Government sources, North American Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU) Network sources, and other non-governmental organization sources partnering with the U.S. Government on CEH issues.
Drinking Water in Schools & Child Care Facilities
From the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Guidance and tools for schools and child care centers to assist in efforts to improve water quality.
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