New bill seeks to stamp out bad air in schools
Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica, has sponsored a bill that aims to raise awareness of problems caused by toxic chemicals and dirty air in California schools.
Photo by Robert S. Donovan
Joined by a coalition of environmental groups and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the bill would declare April 26 as Healthy School Day and encourage schools to use "green" products on a daily basis.
According to the Environmental Working Group, ordinary cleaning supplies used in schools can expose children to multiple chemicals linked to asthma, cancer, and other documented health problems and to hundreds of other air contaminants that have never been tested for safety. One of the most harmful effects of these hazardous ingredients is the increase of the prevalence of asthma.
Nearly one million children statewide have asthma, making it the leading cause of absenteeism from a chronic illness. Yet the attention to school indoor quality is sporadic at best.
The number of school districts using green products include San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Cruz, Elk Grove, Fresno, Oakland, Fairfield-Suisun, Hemet, Martinez and Caliente Union. But many others don't. Ken Cook, president of Environmental Working Group, hopes to change that reality. He said in an email:
This statement is important because it will raise schools' awareness of greener
