CONNECTICUT FOUNDATION FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFE SCHOOLS

Legislative Updates

Testimony of ConnFESS members

Raised Bill No. 6396 - An Act Concerning the Use of Cleaning Products in State and Municipal Buildings

Testimony of Diane L. Ethier
President, Connecticut Foundation for Environmentally Safe Schools (ConnFESS), National Education Association's representative to the School Asthma Education, Subcommittee of the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program
Before: Senator Finch, Representative Roy and other members of the Environment Committee:
Date of Testimony: February 21, 2007

My name is Diane Ethier and I represent the CT Foundation for Environmentally Safe Schools (ConnFESS), a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting policies, practices and resources that protect school occupants from environmental health hazards.

By advocating for healthy indoor environments in CT schools, ConnFESS has been working to improve the health of students and staff in order to improve attendance, performance and productivity. The use of Environmentally Preferable/Green Clean products and practices is a critical step to cleaning up indoor environments.

According to the CT Department of Administrative Services website, "Environmentally Preferable Products are products or services that have a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the environment when compared with competing products or services that serve the same purpose. By purchasing products with fewer toxic ingredients, we minimize the hazardous impacts of those products during manufacture and reduce the damage caused through accidental spills and when disposed. We also reduce the risk to workers handling the products, and the risks posed to building occupants." The US EPA's website lists the benefits of Environmentally Preferable Purchasing as 1)Improved ability to meet existing environmental goals, 2)Improved worker safety and health, 3)Reduced liabilities and 4)Reduced health and disposal costs.

CT school children and employees need to be guaranteed a safe school environment, free of preventable health hazards. Toxic chemicals in school cleaning products can not only cause rashes, headaches and dizziness, but can also lead to long-term health problems such as asthma, cancer and lung disease.

Industrial strength cleaning products used in many schools pose a particular risk to children of all ages, especially those with sensitive airways and other health issues. However, these toxic cleaning products also present a significant threat to custodial staff who handle them directly. One custodian uses an average 194 pounds of chemicals a year, 25% of which are hazardous substances. NIOSH reports that 12% of work related asthma is the result of exposure to cleaning products. Every year 6% of custodians are injured by a chemical exposure and 20% of these injuries are serious burns to the eyes or skin.

The primary purpose of reducing the use of toxic cleaning and maintenance products is to improve IAQ and protect the health and safety of all school occupants. Since July 2003, PA 03-220: An Act Concerning Indoor Air Quality in Schools has required boards of education to adopt and implement an indoor air quality program. In CT, exemplary IAQ programs in Ridgefield and Old Lyme have already begun the process of replacing toxic cleaning products with "environmentally preferable products" as part of their indoor air quality management plans.

By requiring school districts to use cleaning products that conform to purchasing guidelines set forth by the US EPA, HB 6396 ensures that selected products will be rated green by an independent, third party such as Green Seal. Many manufacturers and retailers are using terms such as "environmentally safe", "green" or "non-toxic" to boost sales. Some of these claims are true; most are not.

To ensure effective implementation of "Green Clean" legislation, ConnFESS recommends that:

• Reasonable deadlines by which time school officials must be in compliance should be established. We suggest a transition of at least 50% of all cleaning products used in public and private schools to environmentally sensitive at the end of the first year of implementation and 100% by the end of the second year.
• A state training program for school staff on green cleaning products and practices should be developed. This is essential to ensure that custodians know how to properly apply, mix, dilute and dispose of these new products. Training of state personnel in appropriate work practices is included in Governor Rell's Executive Order #14.
• School officials should be required to report on their progress in reducing the use of toxic cleaners and maintenance products both when they report to the state on actions taken to implement an IAQ program (Section One of PA 03-220) and when they conduct the 5 year inspections and evaluations for facilities that meet the criteria spelled out in Section Two of PA 03-220.

Governor M. Jodi Rell's April 16, 2006 press release on Executive Order #14 states "By using environmentally-safe cleaning products, we will take several steps forward: we can create and maintain sanitary conditions in state facilities, we can minimize the potential for harm to our state employees, and we can improve indoor air quality." It is time to afford the same protection to CT school occupants. Numerous studies show a school cannot offer its children a quality education if the building has poor IAQ. In a review of scientific literature on this topic, the United States Department of Education published a report in 2004 that stated there is strong evidence that student health, performance and attendance are adversely affected by indoor pollutants. A key factor in raising student achievement is the recruitment and retention of qualified teachers. Another 2004 study concluded that the quality of a school facility is an important predictor of whether teachers will leave their current position and/or the teaching profession.

ConnFESS is very encouraged to see that Raised Bill No. 6396 addresses one of the most significant ways to improve IAQ in schools. We thank the members of the Environment Committee for focusing in on this issue and for this opportunity to testify.