January 30, 2014


Burnaby teachers raising pipeline concerns

The Burnaby Teachers' Association is raising concerns that the new Kinder Morgan oil pipeline will run close to even more local schools.

The teachers' association is opposed to the pipeline expansion and has joined a growing number of applicants hoping to intervene in the National Energy Board's upcoming hearing for the project.

"The concern is if there is a pipeline rupture ­– and it's inevitable there will be, we just don't know how bad it's going to be – our members, as far as we know, haven't received any training on how to deal with a pipeline leak," said Patrick Parkes, the association's first vice-president. "A pipeline leak is pretty different from an earthquake or a fire. I don't know what you can do to adequately protect staff and students from airborne issues."

Read article: http://www.burnabynow.com/burnaby-teachers-raising-pipeline-concerns-1.806906

Resources:
The Smalley Foundation is committed to increasing safety and awareness for those who live, work and play near oil-and-gas equipment and pipelines. We do this by empowering the general public, training first responders and partnering with the industry. http://smalleyfnd.org/

Bring the Lessons of 1937 to Your School

  

Everyday Leadership
Drew Dudley explores the idea that we’ve all changed someone’s life. Watch this video for an inspiring (and funny) reminder that everyone is leader.
We have all changed someone’s life -- usually without even realizing it. In this funny talk, Drew Dudley calls on all of us to celebrate leadership as the everyday act of improving each other’s lives. (Filmed at TEDxToronto.)  Drew Dudley believes leadership is not a characteristic reserved for the extraordinary. He works to help people discover the leader within themselves. Full bio »

What It Takes to Be an Effective Leader
Much of community leadership is recognizing the big and small contributions of all people in making their city or town a better place. Perhaps the biggest challenge of community leadership is to understand what kind of leaders your town needs based on your unique local context.

 
http://www.communitymatters.org/blog/what-it-takes-be-effective-community-leader 

More: http://www.communitymatters.org/

January 25, 2014

 

National Healthy Schools Day is coordinated by Healthy Schools Network in partnership with US EPA
Find a media kit and register an activity at www.nationalhealthyschoolsday.org/.

Also register your activity as part of National Public Health Week April 7 - 13.


Healthy Schools Day reminds us to work together for healthy high performance schools and speak up to protect children from school conditions that threaten their health and education." -- Ellie Goldberg, M.Ed.

Find activity suggestions for every classroom:


January 17, 2014

Vinyl Plastic

Hazardous to Workers and Children

NYC CLC-NYCOSH - 2014 Safety & Health Series

 

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

256 West 38th St., 12th flr, New York, NY

 

Event Registration


Learn about the hazards of vinyl in schools and other buildings and also about safer, cost-effective alternatives to it.


Polyvinyl chloride (PVC or vinyl) is a commonly used plastic that releases chemicals like phthalates and dioxins that are hazardous to workers, women of child-bearing age and children. Chemicals released in the production, use and disposal of vinyl are linked with asthma, cancer, learning and developmental disabilities, and other chronic and increasingly prevalent diseases. Find out how you can help promote healthier and greener buildings for workers, children and other building occupants. 

Sponsored by the New York City Central Labor Council (NYC CLC) and the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH).


January 16, 2014

“Student Involvement in Improving the Culture of Safety in Academic Laboratories” Free Webinar  | Wednesday, 1/29/14

This webinar promises to help us learn how to build a student/postdoc-led safety organization within academia; understand drawbacks and advantages to having students/postdocs drive safety initiatives; and learn specific activities and initiatives that are effective in improving the culture of safety in academic laboratories. To learn more or  to register for this free event please do so through the BioRAFT Webinar Registration Page. 


Please share this email with your colleagues and friends, particularly with your favorite science educator. We thank you for helping us share our suggestions for improving laboratory safety, because we believe that having an understanding of inherent hazards and learning how to be safer and healthier should be an integral and important part of science education, work, and life!

Study finds 5,893 natural gas leaks in Washington, D.C. January 16, 2014  Phys.org 

January 15, 2014

Toxics Use Reduction Institute

Free Webinars 
Toxics Use Reduction Institute | UMass Lowell | Wannalancit Mills |  
600 Suffolk Street, Suite 501 | Lowell | MA | 01854

  • Our initial lineup for 2014 will be of interest to anyone involved with TUR and Resource Conservation, safer chemical alternatives, and sustainability.

  • Each webinar will include an expert presentation (slides available for download) along with time for a Q&A session.

  • There is NO Cost for this pilot series of three webinars described below and, however, registration for each webinar is required. 

  • For Toxics Use Reduction Planners, 1 TUR Continuing Education credit is available for each webinar. Individual registration and active participation are required for TUR credit.
Thursday, January 30, 2014, 11:00 AM-Noon EST  
European Union Directive: REACH (Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals) Learn about the current and future effects of this Directive on U.S. manufacturers from Dr. Chris Robertson of ERA Technologies. Dr. Robertson spoke on both REACH and RoHS at TURI workshops in September. This webinar will provide fresh and updated content on REACH. 

Thursday, February 27, 2014, 11:00 AM-Noon EST
Beyond the MSDS: Resources for Researching Safer Chemical Alternatives
Find out about databases and other resources for gathering hard-to-find chemical safety information from TURI's Research and Reference Specialist, Mary Butow. Ms. Butow will show you how to access extensive knowledge bases to make better choices for safer chemical alternatives.

Thursday, March 27, 2014, 11:00-Noon AM EST
Safer Alternatives for Janitorial Cleaning
Join Heidi Wilcox, TURI's Laboratory and Field Technical Specialist, and Rex Morrison, from Process Cleaning for Healthy Schools, to learn about safer and less costly processes for janitorial cleaning. This webinar will include practical techniques and products to get you quickly prepared to maintain a safer and healthier environment. 

Registration information is available at www.turi.org.

For more information, contact Mark Myles, Mark.Myles@turi.org, 978-934-3298
Mold and Moisture Control in Schools: Potential Health Effects and Safe Clean-Up Practices
Webinar: (November 19, 2013)  http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/webconferences.html

This webinar provided information about how to successfully manage an in-house or outside contractor mold remediation. Steven Caulfield with Turner Building Science and Design, and President of the Maine Indoor Air Quality Council, Harrison, Maine addressed strategies for communicating a school’s efforts to the community, with the goal of alleviating any need for crisis communication tactics. Peggy Caruso with Katy Independent Schools District in Texas shared her experience with tackling a potential mold crisis, which resulted in the implementation of long-term mold and moisture prevention policies and procedures.

January 11, 2014


Fire Department investigators have cited Beacon High School in Manhattan for eight violations, finding that dangerous chemicals were being stored unsafely and that safety equipment and practices were lacking in at least three rooms. One was the makeshift lab where two students were engulfed in flames last week when a chemistry demonstration went horribly awry.

The department gave the school, which is on the Upper West Side, 10 days to correct some of the violations of fire and building codes, and 30 days for others. But it did not issue a “cease and desist” order, which could have closed the teaching labs, James Long, a Fire Department spokesman, said on Wednesday.

More
...Science safety experts say that the deficiencies found at Beacon are widespread in American schools, and that accidents that have maimed teachers and students keep happening because of systemic shortcomings.

January 04, 2014

School Experiment That Burned Boy Was Focus of Federal Warning

January 02, 2014

What is a Healthy Schools Hero?

HEROES understand that when it comes to making decisions that impact children, "no risk is acceptable if it is avoidable."  

HEROES are committed to building schools for occupancy by children recognizing that standards, building codes, and guidelines that are based on the average adult male or workplace regulations are not safe for children because children are not little adults.
 
HEROES serve as a resource and mentor to the school community, setting up in-house systems for community participation, health surveillance, and ongoing hazard identification and control.
 
HEROES support the rights of parents to be involved in the decisions that affect their children, acknowledging that without informed parents, there will never be enough experts or inspectors to ensure schools are the healthy places and safe havens they are supposed to be.

HEROES educate community members, preparing them to exercise their special rights as parents, employees, patients, students and citizens.  

HEROES advocate for precautionary standards and protective measures as active members of building committees, school health advisory councils, site-based management boards, and environmental quality teams that set child safety standards and guidelines for school design, renovation, operations and maintenance, pest-proofing, lab safety, and all activities in and around the school.
Yes, it is painful to threaten the illusion of safety in a school or community and to talk about death and loss. The New London School Explosion survivors did not talk about their painful experiences for more than forty years. Their stories clearly teach us that it is even more painful to live with a tragedy when opportunities to prevent loss were unseen or overlooked.


Food in the Classroom
From The PNW Pest Press newsletter: Jennifer Snyder of Oregon State University's School IPM Program gives suggestions for teachers, students, and staff on ways to help prevent pest problems associated with food and food debris in classrooms.  
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a prevention-based, highly effective approach proven to reduce pest complaints and pesticide use by up to 90% in schools and other public buildings.  IPM practices such as sanitation and exclusion also improve food safety, fire safety and energy conservation.  Our newsletter highlights real-life examples of IPM in practice and can help you start an IPM program in your school district.  For more information, visit www.schoolipm2015.com

Additional tip: clean behind and under all school vending machines frequently. (EG)