The Toxic Schoolhouse is a collection of articles on chemical hazards endangering students, teachers, and staff in the education system of the United States and Canada. Some of the articles were originally published in a special issue of New Solutions: A Journal of Occupational and Environmental Policy, but all have been updated and several new articles have been added. The book is organized in three sections. The first describes problems ranging from the failures of coordination, monitoring, and siting of school buildings to the hazards of exposure to toxic substances, including lead and PCBs. The second section captures the voices of activists seeking change and describes community and union organizing efforts to improve school conditions. The third section covers policy "solutions." The authors include academics, union staff and rank-and-file activists, parent organization leaders, and public health professionals.
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
PART I ~ The Problem
Chapter 1. Who’s in Charge of Children’s Environmental Health at School?
Jerome Paulson and Claire Barnett
Chapter 2. Who’s Sick at School: Linking Poor School Conditions and Health Disparities for Boston’s Children
Tolle Graham, Jean Zotter, and Marlene Camacho
June 2012 Update on Who’s Sick at School Report
Tolle Graham, Jean Zotter, and Marlene Camacho
Chapter 3. Failing Our Children: Lead in U.S. School Drinking Water
Yanna Lambrinidou, Simoni Triantafyllidou, and Marc Edwards
Chapter 4. PCBs in School—Persistent Chemicals, Persistent Problems
Robert F. Herrick
Update on PCBs in School
Robert F. Herrick
Chapter 5. Healthy School Siting and Planning Policies: Linking Public Health, Education, and the Environment
Alison K. Cohen
PART II ~ Organizing for Change
Chapter 6. “Serving Two Masters”—An Interview with School Teacher and Union Organizer
Debra Askwith
Madeleine Kangsen Scammell and Ema Rodrigues
Chapter 7. “We Can’t Give Up, It’s Too Important”—Health and Safety Stories from Canadian and U.S. Schools
Dorothy Wigmore
Chapter 8. New Jersey’s Union-Centered Healthy Schools Work
Eileen Senn
Chapter 9. Negotiating Indoor Air—Case Report on Negotiation of Teachers’ Union, School Board on Air Contaminants
Sarah Gibson and Charles Levenstein
Chapter 10. School Custodians and Green Cleaners:Labor-Environment Coalitions and Toxics Reduction
Laura Senier, Brian Mayer, Phil Brown, and Rachel Morello-Frosch
PART III ~ Advances in Policy
Chapter 11. Integrated Pest Management Policies in America’s Schools: Is Federal Legislation Needed?
Andrea Kidd Taylor, Kyle Esdaille, and Jennifer Ames
Chapter 12. Reducing Asthma Triggers in Schools: Recommendations for Effective Policies, Regulations, and Legislation
Joan N. Parker
Chapter 13. Building the New Schoolhouse: The Massachusetts School Building Authority
Jennifer Ames and Charles Levenstein
Contributors
Index
Biography
Scammell, Madeleine Kangsen; Levenstein, Charles
