Creating Healthy Learning Environments
Human Impacts of School Environments
With the presence of potentially harmful substances in school buildings, is there any impact on students, staff, or teachers? To answer that question, highly respected medical and scientific organizations worldwide have begun tracking the impact of exposure to some of the toxic chemicals we have described. These organizations include medical organizations such as the U.S. National Institutes of Health, Harvard School for Public Health/Harvard Medical School, and the Asthma Regional Council of New England (ARC). It has also included organizations specifically focused on buildings and the environment such as the Healthy Building Network, the U.S. Green Buildings Council (USGBC), and the Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ). Even state legislatures in California, New York, and elsewhere have initiated investigations into human impacts from material exposures. These efforts have revealed a number of findings concerning health concerns among children that have been documented to be on the rise.
First of all, some studies have found that children are especially vulnerable to chemical toxins emitted from materials and substances in buildings. In particular, children consume more food, liquid, and air for their size and body weight than adults, making them more susceptible to the absorption of chemicals that can potentially harm their still developing immune systems, brain functions, metabolisms, endocrine systems, etc. Based on their highly tactile and oral nature (e.g., sitting on, playing with, touching, or even tasting objects or surfaces containing toxic substances), children are at greater risk of breathing in or ingesting toxic chemicals emitted by suspect building materials, maintenance products, and school supplies. Compounding this vulnerability is the fact that children are spending more time in school buildings than ever before. At 35 to 40 hours per week for 9 to 10 months per year, along with an increasing amount of time spent in school settings for after-school activities, daycare, meals, and community events, children are spending the equivalent of two to three years of their formative lives in school buildings with the potential for toxic exposure.
Photo courtesy of Forbo Flooring Systems
Unless carefully selected and understood, building products used in educational settings may contain ingredients and chemical compounds that are known to be harmful to both the environment and to human health.
Connections to Chemical Compounds
Different studies have shown a link between certain chemical compounds and specific diseases or disorders. Some of these are summarized as follows: (References to studies can be found on page 5.)
Photo courtesy of Forbo Flooring Systems
In educational settings, building materials that contain harmful chemical compounds have been linked to numerous adverse health conditions in students, teachers, and staff.
Autism. A 2009 study found a statistically significant link between polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and phthalates found in building materials and school/office supplies and the incidence of autism spectrum disorders, concluding that children continuously exposed to these toxins may be twice as likely to have autism. Cases of autism spectrum disorders have been documented to increase by 78 percent since 2002 and currently affect 1 in 88 children, a number still on the rise.
Asthma. A Healthy Building Network study identified a dozen chemicals commonly used in building products, foam insulation, paints, adhesives, floors, and carpets that can lead to the development of asthma in children, especially the presence of phthalates, which can impair the development of the lungs and immune system. The prevalence of asthma among children nearly doubled between 1980 and 1995 and currently affects 7 million children, or 1 in every 13. Considered the #1 chronic childhood illness, asthma is a leading cause of school absenteeism, with some 14.7 million school days missed each year due to this condition.
Learning disabilities. A recent South Korean study found that children with higher concentrations of two common phthalates in their urine had lower IQ scores than their peers. The number of children classified with learning disabilities increased by 191 percent between 1977 and 1994. Currently, as many as 1 in every 6 children is believed to have a learning or developmental disability of some kind.
Attention deficit. Exposure to phthalates has been linked to the rise in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which has increased six-fold between 1985 and 2000 and may affect as many as 1 in 6 children today.
Childhood cancers. Leukemia, brain cancer, and other childhood cancers have increased by more than 20 percent since 1975 and early puberty and other signs of endocrine-related disruption is now experienced by 1 in 10 girls, a condition which poses a risk factor for breast cancer later in life.
Obesity. Exposure to phthalates has also been linked to obesity, which currently affects 16 to 33 percent of U.S. children and teenagers.
Laurie Stillman of the Asthma Regional Council of New England has summed it up this way: “VOCs may contribute to any of a full range of health effects, including triggering an asthma attack in someone who already has asthma, gradually leading to the development of asthma in someone who doesn't have it, or contributing to health effects ranging from minor irritation to cancer.” To add insult to injury, a recent study found childhood health issues caused by environmental hazards such as air pollution and exposure to toxic chemicals cost the U.S. $76.6 billion in 2008 and have been on the rise.
CASE STUDY: EDINBORO UNIVERSITY, EDINBORO, PENNSYLVANIA
Owner: Edinboro University
Architect for Earp and Dearborn Dormitories: Weber Murphy Fox
Architect for Cooper Hall: Astorino
Flooring Contractor: Erie Contract Interiors
College facility managers learn that knowledge is power when it comes to beautiful floors.
The university's challenges:
• Maintaining attractive floors amidst the exceptional wear and tear of a busy college campus
• Keeping floors attractive in an atmosphere of smaller staffs and tighter budgets
• Coping with unique spills or damage to a facility's flooring
• Creating an environmentally friendly atmosphere that minimizes pathogens and allergens
The solutions used:
• Linoleum tile, sheet, and adhesive backed by maintenance knowledge in the manufacturer's Cleaning and Care Certification Program
• Flooring cleans without the need for floor stripping and floor finishes
• A network of technical service specialists, available for phone support, technical training, or on-site assistance
• Antimicrobial, allergy-neutral, and 100 percent bio-based materials
The students who walk the halls of Edinboro University are in pursuit of knowledge. The same is true for the professionals who clean the floors in Edinboro's hallways, and who credit their superior education in floor care for the school's attractive interiors and low maintenance costs.
The 8,000 students enrolled at Edinboro are too absorbed in their books to notice that their dorm and classroom floors have a like-new appearance, even though some were installed more than a decade ago. According to the custodial team at the Pennsylvania state liberal arts university, the education they receive in proper care of their floors is a major reason that their flooring has weathered the rough and tumble of college life so successfully. “When we go into a building now, we feel more confident,” said Linda Hinkle, custodial supervisor in the facilities office at the university, located just outside of Erie. This confidence came after Hinkle and other members of custodial staff participated in the manufacturer's Cleaning and Care Certification Program, a maintenance seminar series. “With this in-depth training, we now know the right techniques to deal with whatever comes up...and in a college dorm almost anything can happen,” Hinkle added.
Easy care is a natural concern. All this emphasis on training isn't meant to imply that linoleum floors are harder to maintain. In fact, the opposite is true, which is a key to the flooring's appeal for the staff at Edinboro. “The cleaning and care is so much easier,” said Hinkle, whose custodial team maintains floor covering in six campus buildings. Hinkle's team also maintains standard vinyl composition tile (VCT) flooring as well. “With a new VCT floor, you have to take off the manufacturer's seal, strip it, add three coats of wax, wait 72 hours, then burnish it before it's good to go. None of that has to be done with linoleum,” she noted. Everyday cleaning is equally easy, thanks to the fact that linoleum doesn't require the periodic stripping and refinishing of VCT. Basic dust mopping, neutral clean auto scrubbing, and an occasional red pad spray buffing is all that is needed to keep its like-new look. “The less chemical we use, the more we like it,” Hinkle added. She also likes the antimicrobial, allergy-neutral, and earth-friendly character of her facility's linoleum flooring, noting that college students commonly interact with a floor in a way that office dwellers do not. “A lot of students will sit on the floor while they wait for their next class,” said Hinkle, “so creating a healthy environment on the floors naturally matters more to me than it might to the average custodial person.”
Custodians coping with cuts. She also noted that the low maintenance attributes of linoleum saves her staff critical work time, a precious commodity when staffing is short and government budgets are stretched nearly to their breaking point. “We can cover a lot more square footage than we could before,” said Hinkle, “and we're able to get in and out of classrooms much faster. That means we have more time for the extra tasks we weren't able to get to before. When you walk through the buildings, you can see how well they are maintained, even though we are understaffed. It's beautiful.” There is always plenty of extra work on a college campus, particularly in dorm areas where the range of possibilities for stains and floor damage is practically infinite.
The Edinboro commitment to flooring education extends beyond the custodians to include the people who install the floors. At the college's insistence, four of the workers at local flooring contractor have taken the training to become Certified Master Mechanics. Earning that status requires that installers complete seven full days of classroom instruction, pass a written exam and a hands-on installation test. “This isn't just a pass/fail thing,” said Craig Wells, the company's president. “They closely evaluate your knowledge, your skills, and your attitude as well. It isn't easy,” he said, “which is part of what makes it worth doing.”
Photos courtesy of Forbo Flooring Systems
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