Schools' health reviewed

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Schools' health reviewed

Seattle Post Intelligencer*

By JESSICA BLANCHARD

P-I REPORTER

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/374274_health09.html

Mark remembers his frustration when he tried repeatedly to

sound the alarm about contaminated drinking water at his children's

elementary school in Northeast Seattle.

It just didn't look safe to drink, teachers had warned.

Sure enough, when turned on the tap in his daughter's

kindergarten classroom, orange-colored water trickled out. He and

another parent found elevated levels of lead and other contaminants

in samples.

But , a University of Washington associate professor of

biology, still couldn't get anyone to listen.

It wasn't until he hand-delivered bottles of the discolored water to

School Board members at a public meeting that the district took

action.

That was five years ago, and Seattle Public Schools has addressed

those problems and adopted tough water-quality standards since then.

But warns of similar environmental health and safety problems

in schools statewide – and that Washington's code is woefully

outdated.

With the state Board of Health on the cusp of revising its rule

governing environmental health and safety in schools – the first

major changes in nearly four decades – it's time for the public to

take note, said.

" If you don't pay attention, and don't get involved, it will be your

own backyard, your own child being affected, " he said.

The proposal under consideration would modernize the rule, adding

standards for indoor air and water quality and playground safety.

Among other regulations, school districts also would be required to

regularly test drinking water for contaminants, quickly address

water leaks and clean up mold, and promptly investigate complaints.

Local health departments would be required to annually inspect

school buildings, or develop self-inspection checklists for school

officials to use two out of every three years in lieu of health

department inspections.

Parent Mason began lobbying for a tougher rule 15 years ago,

after workers at her children's Bainbridge Island elementary school

used a toxic solvent to remove some floor tiles. Some students

quickly developed headaches, rashes and respiratory problems – and

Mason pulled her son and daughter out of the school.

She and other parents initially felt stonewalled by district

officials, and formed the Coalition for Environmentally Safe Schools

to press for change. The district has become much more responsive to

such concerns in recent years, Mason said, but her faith was shaken.

She liked the stronger language and better oversight in the rule

proposed three years ago by a state Board of Health advisory

committee. Now, she said, " they've taken the teeth out of it. "

The state's 35 local health departments are supposed to routinely

inspect schools now, but only nine do, according to state health

officials.

It's largely a money issue, said Bill Lawrence, the manager of the

environmental hazards department for Public Health – Seattle & King

County. His department has worked with schools to prevent or fix

obvious problems, he said, but it doesn't have the resources for

regular inspections, beyond checking school food service areas or

pools.

" We support this proposed change – but without the funding that

should accompany it, I'm not sure how we could accomplish it, " he

said.

It's a common refrain, said Craig McLaughlin, executive director for

the state Board of Health. It would cost an estimated $101 million

to implement the new rule – roughly $9,000 per school. Some sections

could be phased in over several years to spread out costs, but it

could still be a financial burden for school districts already

struggling to keep up with routine building maintenance and repairs.

In Seattle, the district's $485 million backlog of maintenance

projects is largely the result of past levy failures and budget

woes. Replacing water pipes is a priority, and more than 30 major

pipe replacements will be finished by next summer.

Still, they'll likely need another levy to fund remaining projects,

said Ron English, who oversees the district's drinking-water quality

program.

Environmental health hazards often require costly fixes, which

critics of the proposed rule fear would discourage school officials

statewide from looking for problems.

It's a major concern for Cle Elum parent Thelma Simon, who said her

school district downplayed concerns about poor indoor air quality

and mold exposure in schools in the mid-1990s.

Some students became " ghost children " – pale, lethargic, with

recurring headaches, rashes or coughs when they arrived home from

school, she said. Some teachers at the high school also reported

headaches, respiratory problems and stomachaches.

" But they kept telling us there was nothing wrong with the schools, "

Simon recalls.

Investigators later found mold growth, water leaks and ventilation

problems at the high school.

In 2003, the Tacoma contractor who had remodeled the buildings

settled a lawsuit brought by three teachers who said they were

severely sickened from spending time in the school.

Simon said she wants some sort of state-level oversight of school

districts. " Who's responsible? " she asks. " We need to have recourse

over this issue. "

But Bill White, deputy secretary for the state Department of Health,

said the focus shouldn't be on policing schools. The goal is for

local health officers to work together with school districts, he

said.

And he strongly doubts school districts would ignore potential

health or safety hazards for financial reasons. More likely, he

said, " there may be times we don't know something's going on, or we

don't recognize the risk until later. "

Critics counter that the problem isn't lack of detection but that

those experiencing them firsthand – usually teachers – are afraid to

speak up, fearing retaliation.

Four years ago, while teaching at Seattle's Hamilton Middle School,

Frisino developed respiratory problems and headaches her

doctors said were caused by exposure to health hazards in her

classroom. The district transferred her to Hale High School,

but the problems got worse there, she said. She finally took a leave

of absence in November 2004, after she became dizzy and started

coughing uncontrollably in class.

When Frisino followed her doctor's advice and later refused to

return to her classroom, she was fired. She believes it was because

she spoke with the P-I for a story about mold exposure at Hale in

December 2004.

" It broke my heart to leave my students, " she said.

Shortly after Frisino left, district workers surveyed the schools

for air quality and mold problems and started a cleanup, including

replacing more than a thousand ceiling tiles at Hale.

The state superintendent's office began offering districts small

grants two years ago to help cash-strapped districts fix leaky

roofs, install alarm systems and make other urgently needed repairs.

Last year, it was boosted to $4 million – but requests poured in

from 125 school districts, asking for a total of $10 million.

State legislators recently asked the Board of Health to hold off on

revising the rule until money could be set aside to ease the

financial burden on districts. It's unclear if the board will do so;

members could approve the rule revision at their Sept. 10 meeting.

At this point, it's just important to get the rule modernizations

approved, said teacher Jill Van Glubt, chairwoman of the state

teachers union's Indoor Environmental Quality Work Team.

The final proposal isn't perfect, she said, but it's a definite

improvement – and it calls for the state to regularly review and

update the rule.

That way, she said, " if changes need to be made, the door has not

been slammed shut as it has been for the last 40 years. "

CHANGING STANDARDS

The state Board of Health is considering major revisions to the

state's school environmental health and safety rule. A few

highlights:

Schools regularly sample drinking water for lead and copper (phased

in over four years)

Playground equipment installed according to national standards

Local health departments inspect schools annually by Sept. 2011

(schools could self-inspect two out of every three years)

Districts give annual health and safety reports to the public and

school boards

Moisture control and mold remediation required

Create written complaint procedures

ON THE WEB

Read the text of the proposal at

https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/policyreview/Documents/0815174schoorules1

02.pdf.

Public hearings are planned Aug. 27 in Spokane and Sept. 10 in

Olympia. For more information, visit sboh.wa.gov/rules/schooleh or

www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/ts/ school

P-I reporter Blanchard can be reached at 206-448-8322 or

jessicablanchard@.... Read her School Zone blog at

blog.seattlepi.com/schoolzone.