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Green Cleaning in School Environments

June 2011. Green Cleaning in School Environments. Sandra Boggs Recycling and Market Development Specialist 841-5217. Two out of three cleaners have toxic ingredients . True False. You can reduce your exposure to flame retardants   . True False.

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Green Cleaning in School Environments

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  1. June 2011 Green Cleaning in School Environments Sandra Boggs Recycling and Market Development Specialist 841-5217

  2. Two out of three cleaners have toxic ingredients  • True • False

  3. You can reduce your exposure to flame retardants    • True • False

  4. Affordable can sometimes mean a higher initial cost • True • False

  5. Industry-created labels and third-party certification labels have the same meaning.  • True • False

  6. Why Green Cleaners? • Improved indoor air quality • Nearly 1 in 10 children have asthma; 1 in 12 adults! • Increased worker safety • Less exposure to caustic chemicals • Increased water quality • Fewer hazardous ingredients added to wastewater • Fewer hazardous chemicals to manage • Too many unknowns about the chemicals in use today

  7. Why Green Cleaners? Poison! • 1 in 3 cleaning products have toxic ingredients • Each year 6/100 janitors are injured by the chemicals they use • Burns eyes and skin • Breathing toxic fumes • Cleaners of high concern: • acid toilet bowl cleaner • floor finish stripper; • high strength degreasers; • sewer drain openers, and • oven cleaners Warning! Danger!

  8. Why Schools? • Indoor concentrations of pollutants are commonly 3 to 5 times higher than outdoor concentrations. • Custodians use an estimated 194 pounds of cleaning chemicals a year and 25% or 48.5 pounds are hazardous materials. Known consequences of poor indoor air quality are: • Asthma • Chronic respiratory illnesses • Sick Building Syndrome • Allergies and sensitivities caused by low levels of common chemicals including volatile organic compounds (VOCs) • Loss of productivity

  9. Why Schools? • Community centers; used by public • Children may spend 35 – 50 hours/week • Schools are aging • Poor ventilation, contaminated building materials • Already contribute to exposure • Throughcomputers, furnishings, and school classes such as art and laboratory (VOCs, PBDE, PCBs, lead and more)

  10. Higher risks for Children • Child health/safety concerns • Have different exposure circumstances: • Inhale more often than adults • Eat more of certain foods, and • Drink more H20 per pound of body weight than adults • Greater skin exposure per pound of body weight • Behavior, such as playing • Toxic Soup known to affect learning

  11. Childhood exposures to industrial chemicals in the environment are associated with: • Cancer • Damage to the developing brain • Autism • Attention deficit disorder (ADD) • Learning disabilities • Mental retardation

  12. Why Should You Bother?Our “body burden” of chemicals Studies have found: Lead exposure as children, Idaho • 20 years later they have higher infertility rates, less ability to concentrate, and poorer memory than control group U.S., Europe and Asia studied breast milk and newborn babies: • 350 pollutants, including Perchlorates PCBs in urine • NY study found PCBs in women eating fish, levels were “very low” • Their kids: 10 times higher levels of PCBs in their urine Toxic flame retardants (PBDEs) • Pacific NW study; 40 mothers’ breast milk tested and all tested positive • Study concluded exposure to PBDEs CANNOT be avoided

  13. Montana is not immune • Women’s Voices for the Earth tested hair for mercury during the 2007 legislative session. • 34 subjects • EVERY person tested positive • Results ranged from 0.053 to 1.580 ppm. • EPA/FDA recommends no more than 1.0 ppm. • 6 out of the 34 tested exceeded 1ppm.

  14. Purchases = Power • We can use our spending power to create a cleaner and healthier world. • Put $$$ to work • Demand healthier products • Demand wise use of resources • Demand value and quality

  15. Don’t Settle For: • contaminated drinking water • “cheap” and more hazardous products • With ingredients you can’t pronounce • being a guinea pig for unknown substances • 80,000 different synthetic compounds have been introduced since the 1940s • Relatively few have been tested for their potential health effects in humans.

  16. Important Caveats • A product must work well and be affordable to be considered environmentally preferable. • “Affordable” does not necessarily mean “less expensive.” • “Affordable” can sometimes mean a higher initial cost.

  17. It’s Easy to Buy Green • If you know what to look for…

  18. Third party certified • Audited and transparent labeling process • Widely accepted • Appropriate for product or service • For example, EMS and ISO certification • About ongoing improvement to the company’s environmental management processes; • No guarantee product has low impacts.

  19. Green Seal • transforming the marketplace by promoting the manufacture, purchase and use of environmentally responsible products and services. • Find GreenSeal products: www.greenseal.org

  20. Lots of Labels Exist

  21. Be wary of Greenwashing • Avoid industry created “labels” • Ask questions • Check ingredients • Demand transparency

  22. No distractions • Think about the impact of the product itself. • Recyclable package? Biodegradable ? Great! • But is that the main point? Ignore green pictures and unofficial logos.

  23. Full ingredients • Plain English • Lists all ingredients, not just the active ingredients required by law. Plain English is notably lacking in the ingredients labeling of many cleaners and personal care products.

  24. Specific and precise • Specific claims • Explanations • Evidence given For example, high percentages and guaranteed minimums of post-consumer recycled content.

  25. Helpful contact info • No robust evidence of the green claim? • On the package? • And no easy way to obtain it? Be suspicious • Don’t support a manufacturer that doesn’t want you to be able to find out more about them.

  26. Other Important Standards www.greenerchoices.org/eco-labels

  27. Resources • Have distributor demonstrate and train custodians when using new products • Greencleaning.ny.gov -- Online training modules with specific information on when/how to use green cleaners • Greeningschools.org • HealthySchoolsCampaign.org -Chicago, free CD-Rom • DEQ website: greenpurchasing.mt.gov • EPA website: epa.gov • The Green Cleaning Pollution Prevention Calculator http://www.fedcenter.gov/janitor/ Sustainability Exchange Yellowstone

  28. Followup: Two out of three cleaners have toxic ingredients  • True • False

  29. Followup: You can reduce your exposure to flame retardants    • True • False

  30. Followup: Affordable can sometimes mean a higher initial cost • True • False

  31. Followup: Industry-created labels and third-party certification labels have the same meaning.  • True • False

  32. Thank you Clean with your health in mind. Buy Green Buy Wisely! Sandra Boggs Recycling and Marketing Development Specialist sboggs@mt.gov 841-5217 

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