Monona Rossol, is the founder of Arts, Crafts and Theater Safety, a not-for-profit corporation providing a variety of health and safety services. She is a chemist, artist, author, industrial hygienist and an international consultant on safety and risk reduction for schools, individuals, organizations and institutions. She travels the world promoting safety in a wide range of school activities and for a wide range of students including the youngest and most vulnerable.
Monona Rossol was a 2005 Healthy Schools Hero for her inspiring commitment to teaching safety and teaching safely. (Lessons of the 1937 TX School Explosion 2005 Hero Monona Rossol) Rossol's book The Artist's Complete Health and Safety Guide (Allworth Press) provides the basic concepts and vocabulary necessary for understanding the acute and chronic health hazards posed by a variety of chemicals and environmental pollutants. She also describes the practical steps necessary to control them. Written for artists and teachers in the arts, the book is useful reading for anyone interested in healthier schools.
The chapter "Classroom Hazards" discusses teacher qualifications, emergency planning, sanitation, cleanup, choosing safe materials and activities, and the importance of obtaining information on students' special needs. There is a table on products and materials to avoid and safer options.
Her latest book is Pick Your Poison: How Our Mad Dash to Chemical Utopia is Making Lab Rats of Us All.
ACTS FACTS is the monthly 4-page newsletter that provides information about occupational health hazards and safety research, regulations and standards affecting people in the arts, especially teachers, students, and those with allergies and other sensitivities. It is in its 18th year of uninterrupted publication. Its articles are frequently republished without cost in dozens of other art and theater publications monthly. $30/year. Info: ACTS, Monona Rossol, Editor, 181 Thompson St., #23, NY, NY 10012. www.artscraftstheatersafety.org
