Wyoming Healthy Schools

Events, Opportunities, & Resources

Resource: Share this great resource with the teachers in your life: School Supply List Guidance for Healthy Schools, Washington State Department of Health,  https://doh.wa.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/Documents/Pubs/333-233.pdf

Upcoming event: White House Summit for Sustainable and Healthy K-12 School Buildings & Grounds, 4/26/24, 11:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. MDT

View live at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-m1pC1rWUE

More info at https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USNIHNIEHS/bulletins/39703c7

Opportunity: 2024 Renew America’s Schools Prize to help fund energy upgrades that will decrease energy costs, improve indoor air quality, and foster healthier learning environments, https://www.energy.gov/scep/renew-americas-schools

Diving Deeper: How cleaning gone wrong can make kids sick at school, and what you can do about it

While cleaning can make a space look nicer, in schools it’s all about health. Cleaning lowers the risk of getting sick from a surface by removing germs and the conditions they need to thrive. This can be done with plain old soap and water or commercial cleaning products. Disinfecting lowers the risk of infection from a surface, too, but it works differently. Disinfecting uses chemicals, usually hazardous ones, to kill germs.^{13, 14} You can’t disinfect a dirty surface, so you need to clean first.

How can cleaning go wrong?

The number one way cleaning can go wrong is by having students use cleaning and disinfecting products. These products often contain hazardous chemicals that can be absorbed through skin and inhaled. As mentioned in the last newsletter, those chemicals pose a greater risk to kids–even older kids–than adults. Health effects can include cancer, asthma, skin and eye irritation, fertility problems, birth defects, and interference with hormones. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states, “Cleaning and disinfection products should not be used by or near students.”¹¹ This includes disinfecting wipes. Students can clean up after themselves with soap and water, which also removes germs. Avoid antibacterial soaps because of the potentially harmful chemicals they contain, and avoid scented soaps, which can trigger asthma, allergies, and headaches.^{12, 13}

Another problem is when users don’t follow product directions. For example, disinfectants are only effective when the directions on their labels are followed carefully, including pre-cleaning and keeping the surface wet with the disinfectant for the specified amount of time (often 4-10 minutes, depending on the product and the germs you’re trying to kill). Disinfectants, including disinfecting wipes, are a type of pesticide. Their labels are literally the law about how they must be used. Not following disinfectant label directions, including allowing kids to use them, violates federal law and can be prosecuted. Also, some popular disinfectants and wipes require surfaces to be rinsed with water after use if the surface might come in contact with food. That’s because the products leave a chemical residue. This includes needing to rinse classroom desks and tables where students may eat snacks or treats. Disinfecting wipes are not allowed to be used in child care facilities in Wyoming.¹⁷

Overuse of cleaning and disinfecting products can make students (and staff) sick. This is because of the hazardous chemicals in many products. Even when only adults use the products, students still come in contact with the chemicals on surfaces where they’ve been used. Some of the chemicals end up in the air, too, contributing to indoor air pollution. This is especially dangerous when the products are overused. In general, cleaners are less toxic than disinfectants, so in the classroom routine cleaning should be the focus rather than disinfecting. (High risk areas of the school, such as restrooms, should be disinfected, and disinfection is necessary for cleaning up body fluids in any area of the school.) During the COVID-19 pandemic the CDC found there’s low risk of infection from touching surfaces.¹⁵ CDC’s current guidance is, “Cleaning alone removes most types of harmful germs (like viruses, bacteria, parasites, or fungi) from surfaces … In most situations, cleaning regularly is enough to prevent the spread of germs.”¹⁶

What you can do about it

• Ensure only staff uses cleaning and disinfecting products, never students. Find out your school practices and policies about cleaning and disinfecting. If students are using these products, talk to teachers and school officials. Share this information with them, and ask them to only allow adults to handle these products. Remember, cleaning can be done safely and effectively with ordinary, fragrance-free soap and water.

• Ask school staff to store cleaning and disinfecting products out of sight and reach of students (not on countertops or in lower cabinets).¹¹ This helps keep students safe and prevents liability problems for the school. Disinfectants should be stored in a secure area outside of the classroom because of the extra hazard they pose.

• Encourage cleaning in classrooms, rather than routine disinfecting.

• Encourage your school/district to use safer, less-toxic, fragrance-free cleaning and disinfecting products. Many can be found through the Safer Choice Program https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice/products , Green Seal https://certified.greenseal.org/directory and the Design for the Environment Program https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-labels/dfe-certified-disinfectants

References can be viewed at  https://wyominghealthyschools.org/families-and-community-members/ near the bottom of the page.