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).

Who Is Your 2014 Healthy Schools Hero?

 

Please post. Please forward.

Attention:  Science educators, STEM advocates, professionals in public health, school health, environmental health, facilities management, IAQ, IPM, health and safety, lab safety, school security, emergency and risk management, asthma educators, first responders, school administrators, nurses, advocates, parents and students.

Do you know someone whose sense of responsibility, inspirational leadership, and exemplary persistence and courage protects children from school hazards and unhealthy school conditions?

Send your hero's story, name, and email/phone # by February 1, 2014 to healthykids@rcn.com

The annual Healthy Kids Healthy Schools Hero Award was created as an annual opportunity to tell the story of the 1937 Texas School Explosion and to inspire leadership to protect children from the chemical hazards and unhealthy conditions in today's schools.  (HEROES 2004 - 2013)

March 18, 2014 is the 77th anniversary of the 1937 Texas School Explosion -- the worst school disaster in American history. Just minutes before the end of the school day, a gas explosion killed more than 300 people, mostly students. In their new state-of-the-art public school no expense had been spared except when it came to safety.

Lessons Learned. Lives Saved. The disaster resulted in a law that required adding a warning odor to natural gas, thus saving millions of lives all over the world. However, the false economies and short-sighted decisions that led to the 1937 explosion are still common in too many schools today. 

The Unfinished Legacy: Leadership for Excellence Needed.  The story of the 1937 Texas School Explosion needs to be part of our national legacy. Let's make March 18 an annual day to prioritize the values and technical skills we need to live safely with 21st century chemicals and technology.

Send your hero's story, name, and email/phone # by February 1, 2014 to healthykids@rcn.com.

• "Set aside a special day each year as a memorial..."
• Leadership Needed
• Bring the Lessons of the 1937 TX School Explosion to Your School
• New London School Explosion Website

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*Photo (Ellie Goldberg, March 2005) 

The cenotaph, erected in 1939 is the memorial to victims of the 1937 school explosion. The sculptural block of Texas granite depicts twelve life-size figures, representing children coming to school, bringing gifts and handing in homework to two teachers. Around the inside of the base are the individual names of those who died.  The Egyptians defined a cenotaph as a symbolic tomb, honoring the dead but not containing the body. It is a sepulchral monument erected to commemorate a person or persons buried elsewhere.