Fwd: METRO (Boston): Asthma worries to grow if jobs go

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In a message dated 4/23/2010 8:37:27 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

MLMJ75@... writes:

METRO

(http://www.metro.us/us/article/2010/04/19/20/2557-72/index.xml?print=1#)

US – Friday, April 23

Asthma worries to grow if jobs go

No backsliding

The Trotter School in Dorchester has a 37 percent asthma rate.

“They're doing a pretty good job trying to rectify the situation on

cleanliness and things of that nature to prevent asthma attacks,†said Jean

Francoise, whose son, Jahnine, attends the Trotter. Jahnine has had two attacks

in school.

“It’s scary when I'm there so I can only imagine when I’m not there, " Jean

said. “I just want to get there. The same thing with his mother, she just

dropped everything to get there immediately.â€

Sarro is on the front line of Boston Public School’s asthma epidemic

— killing pests, cleaning mold and clearing clutter that trigger attacks.

“We clean a lot of dust,†Sarro, a custodian at West Roxbury High said

last month when BPS decided to lay off 80-plus custodians to help balance the

budget.

In last year’s annual environmental inspections, the top 21 schools with

the highest number of environmental problems had asthma rates of 13 to 48

percent — well over the state rate of 10.8 percent.

“Sending children with asthma into poorly maintained schools is like

sending canaries in the mines to forecast a hazard,†Tolle Graham, a member of

the Boston Urban Asthma Coalition testified at the March 24 budget hearing.

BPS has made tremendous headway fighting asthma the last few years.

“I don’t want to see us backpedal,†said Amy Burack, the community asthma

program manager for Children’s Hospital. “Kids need to be in a healthy and

safe school environment.â€

_http://www.metro.us/us/article/2010/04/19/20/2557-72/index.xml_

(http://www.metro.us/us/article/2010/04/19/20/2557-72/index.xml)