Effective Policies to Eliminate Chemical Releases and Exposures in Schools 
 Healthy School News Fall 2011 Issue (PDF) (8 pp. 1.4MB)
 
To promote a national framework for the prevention of chemical incidents in schools, the ATSDR National Toxic Substance Incidents Program (NTSIP) has teamed up with Interstate Chemical Threats Workgroup (ICTW) to bring you this exciting fall webinar series. 

During the sessions we’ll explore policies and prevention efforts for three chemicals/chemical categories that lead the NTSIP incident list: elemental mercury, cleaning products, and pesticides. 

At the conclusion of the webinar series, the summary notes will guide the development of a white paper entitled, Best Practices and Policies for Eliminating Chemical Releases and Exposures in Schools. 

This paper will be distributed nationally and will serve as a basis of ATSDR’s outreach to those who can effect change. If you are not an ICTW member, but would like to attend please contact Lori Copan at lori.copan@cdph.ca.gov.

Save the dates:   All sessions will begin at 12:30pm EST/9:30am PST and run for 75 minutes.

October 13th  Mercury exposures and effective policies

November 10th  Green cleaning policies to eliminate exposures

December 15th  Pesticide exposures and effective policies

January 12th  Discussion on white paper development: “Best Practices and Policies for Eliminating Chemical Releases and Exposures in Schools”.

New:  Landowner's Guide to Pipelines

The Pipeline Safety Trust frequently hears from landowners who live near pipelines with questions about pipeline safety, the government processes for routing pipelines, easements and eminent domain, right of way maintenance and use limitations, property values and insurance, and many other topics related to living near a pipeline.  Last year we received a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration to produce a guide for landowners to provide answers to many of these questions. 

We are happy to announce the release of the Landowner's Guide to Pipelines, developed following input from landowners and those about to become pipeline neighbors who advised us what kinds of information landowners living with pipelines need to have. If you would like a printed copy (or more), please let us know. (Please phone or send an email with your mailing address to riley@pstrust.org - don't post it on the list). We'll be happy to mail them to you. For those of you who just can't wait for a copy in the mail, the Guide is also available as a pdf on our website at http://www.pstrust.org/library/docs/landownersguide.pdf

Thanks for your continued support.

The Pipeline Safety Trust
360-543-5686

New photos from the New London school disaster  Houston Chronicle
After the tragic events of that day, the Texas Legislature passed a law ... Search-and-recovery scene following New London school explosion, March 1937...

Large fire at chemical plant south of Dallas... including chemicals used to stimulate oil and gas wells and hyrdraulic fracturing. VIDEO: http://www.necn.com/10/03/11/Large-fire-at-chemical-plant-south-of-Da/landing_nation.html?blockID=571506&feedID=4207

October is Children's Health Month

Develop a "Safety Bill of Rights" for your school.  For example:

• Parents, educators, and health professionals owe it to children to teach safety and teach safely.

• Every child has a right to an environmentally safe and healthy home and school.

• Schools should be role models for environmental safety and environmentally responsible behavior.

• Everyone has a right to know about unsafe and unhealthy school conditions and to be involved in efforts to create and maintain safe conditions.

More: What Can I Do?

Neighbors uneasy as Kansas gas fields go uninspected, Wichita Eagle