Education and Schools

Occupational Health and Safety in Schools

Custodial & Chemical Use

• Protecting Workers Who Use Cleaning Chemicals
  http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2012-126/ (NIOSH)
  >  This INFOSHEET provides information to employers on practices to help keep workers safe when working with cleaning chemicals, including green cleaning products.

• MMWR Weekly: Hazardous Chemical Incidents in Schools - United States, 2002-2007
  http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5744a1.htm?s_cid=mm5744a1_e (CDC)
  >  The federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) conducts national public health surveillance of chemical incidents through its Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (HSEES) system. To identify school-related incidents and elucidate their causes and consequences to highlight the need for intervention, ATSDR conducted an analysis of HSEES data for 2002--2007.

• Schools Chemical Cleanout Campaign (SC3)
  http://www.epa.gov/sc3/ (EPA)
  >  The Schools Chemical Cleanout Campaign (SC3) aims to ensure that all schools are free from hazards associated with mismanaged chemicals. SC3 gives K-12 schools information and tools to responsibly manage chemicals.

• A Clean Sweep: Safe Work Practices for Custodians (PDF)
  http://www.worksafebc.com/publications/health_and_safety/by_topic/assets/pdf/clean_sweep.pdf (WorkSafe Online - Workers' Compensation Board of BC)
  >  The purpose of this guide, developed by British Columbia School Safety Association and WorkSafeBC, is to show ways of making custodial work safer and easier so that the risks of sprain and strain injuries are reduced

• Removing Graffiti Safely (PDF)
  http://www.lohp.org/docs/pubs/graffiti.pdf (LOHP)
  >  This is a 12-page booklet for workers who use chemicals to remove graffiti- painters, laborers, custodians, bus cleaners, phone booth cleaners, and others. The products used to remove graffiti, and the job conditions, can be hazardous.

General

• Healthy Schools Campaign
  http://www.healthyschoolscampaign.org/ (Healthy Schools Campaign)
  >  Healthy Schools Campaign advocates for policies and practices that allow all students, teachers and staff to learn and work in a healthy school environment.

• Updated Norovirus Outbreak Management and Disease Prevention Guidelines (March 4, 2011) (PDF)
  http://cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/rr/rr6003.pdf (CDC)
  >  This Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention addresses most current guidelines for norovirus outreach management.

• Programa de NIOSH para la verificación de la seguridad en las escuelas Listas para verificar la seguridad
  http://www.cdc.gov/spanish/niosh/docs/2004-101_sp/chap4sp.html (NIOSH)
  >  Los administradores, coordinadores y maestros saben que sus escuelas deben cumplir con las normas estatales o federales de la Administración de Seguridad y Salud Ocupacionales. Sin embargo, esta tarea puede parecer abrumadora.

• NIOSH Safety Checklist Program for Schools and Other Safety Databases
  http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2010-108c/ (NIOSH)
  >  The NIOSH Safety Checklist Program for Schools CD-ROM includes safety checklists and safety and health materials targeted to issues present in schools. Users can create a CD directly from this webpage.

• School District (K-12) Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist
  http://www.flu.gov/professional/school/schoolchecklist.html (DHHS)
  >  The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed the following checklist to assist LEAs in developing and/or improving plans to prepare for and respond to an influenza pandemic.

• Best Practices for Public Schools: Safety Works for You (PDF)
  https://www.ohiobwc.com/downloads/blankpdf/PublicSchools.pdf (State of Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation)
  >  This publication provides useful information regarding strategies and practices employed by Ohio school districts in achieving successful employee safety and health, and workers’ compensation management.

• Portland Public Schools Safety Toolbox
  http://www.pps.k12.or.us/depts-c/fam/tool_box/ (PPS)
  >  This toolbox includes safety manual modules, information for principals, and other district-wide school safety documents. Other school district personnel are encouraged to visit this site but are recommended to check with their own district-specific documents and guidelines as well.

• NIOSH Safety Checklist Program for Schools
  http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2004-101 (NIOSH)
  >  In one easy-to-read source, the Safety Checklist Program provides information needed by schools to maintain safe classrooms, shops, and labs for teachers and students in career-technical education. The key to preventing injury and illness of school employees and students, and protecting the environment, is to establish a safety and health and environmental safety program.