Pacific Southwest, Region 9
Serving: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Pacific Islands, Tribal Nations
Schools and Child Care Centers
EPA National Links
There are many actions that schools, child care providers, parents, and others can take to protect children’s environmental health in school and child care settings. The EPA’s Healthy Child Care website provides a wealth of information to help child care providers and parents identify potential environmental health hazards in child care settings and steps that can be taken to reduce or eliminate those hazards. Furthermore, EPA’s healthy school programs and additional information available on the EPA’s Schools website can help schools, school districts, and others create and maintain clean, green, and healthy school environments.
Please see the table below for a list of the healthy school environment topics and their respective EPA Region 9 contacts.
Don't know who to contact? If you have any questions or concerns related to children's environmental health, including school and child care environments, please contact the EPA Pacific Southwest Children's Health Program:
Kathleen Stewart
(stewart.kathleen@epa.gov)
Children's Environmental Health Coordinator
(415) 947-4119
Jorine Campopiano (campopiano.jorine@epa.gov)
Schools Coordinator
(213) 244-1808
| School Topics | Description | Region 9 Contact(s) |
|---|---|---|
Asbestos in Schools |
Region 9 performs school inspections to ensure compliance with the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA). Region 9 also provides local education agencies, parents, and teachers with information about the AHERA asbestos-in-schools requirements through mailings and other outreach. More information is available at Asbestos In Schools. |
Ron Tsuchiya |
Clean School Bus Program |
To reduce children's exposure to diesel exhaust and air pollution, EPA provides Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) grants to assist school districts with retrofitting, repowering, and/or replacing diesel school buses. More information is available at Clean School Bus. |
John Mikulin |
Compliance with Environmental Regulations |
Schools may be subject to several different EPA regulations under all statutes, including the:
The Regional Enforcement Coordination Program coordinates compliance and enforcement activities, as well as outreach to schools, including schools under the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) and non-BIE schools that serve tribal communities. More information is available at Protecting Health and the Environment at K-12 Schools, Including Art Programs. |
Angela Baranco |
Drinking Water in Schools and Child Care Facilities |
Schools and child care facilities that have their own drinking water supply (i.e., have their own wells and are not served by a public water system) are subject to requirements under the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Lead and Copper Rule. EPA recommends that schools (especially pre- and elementary schools) and child care centers implement the 3T (Training, Testing and Telling) Program to manage the risks of student lead poisoning from drinking water sources. More information is available at Lead in Drinking Water and Drinking Water in Schools & Child Care Facilities. |
Jason Gambatese |
ENGERY STAR for Schools |
School districts have saved millions of dollars utilizing the energy efficiency resources and principles available under the ENERGY STAR program. More information is available at ENERGY STAR for K-12 School Districts. |
Kathy Diehl |
Environmental Education (EE) |
The EE sub-grants program supports environmental education projects that enhance the public's awareness, knowledge, and skills to make informed environmental decisions and take responsible actions towards the environment. More information is available at EPA's national Environmental Education and EPA Region 9's Environmental Education. |
Sharon Jang |
Green Power Partnerships |
This voluntary program supports the organizational procurement of green power by offering expert advice, technical support, tools and resources. More information is available at Green Power Partnership. |
Jorine Campopiano |
HealthySEAT/Climate Check |
The Healthy School Environments Assessment Tool (HealthySEAT) is a free, completely customizable software tool to help school districts establish and manage comprehensive school facility self-assessment programs. Climate-Check is a free tool to help estimate a school’s greenhouse gas emissions and conceptualize ways to mitigate a school’s climate impact. More information is available at HealthySEAT and What You Can Do At School. |
Jorine Campopiano |
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Tools for Schools |
IAQ Tools for Schools is a comprehensive resource to help schools maintain a healthy environment in school buildings by identifying, correcting, and preventing IAQ problems. More information is available at EPA Region 9's Find an IAQ Champion. |
Barbara Spark |
Lead Safety in Schools (lead-based paint) |
EPA requires that firms performing renovation, repair, and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in pre-1978 homes, child care facilities and schools be certified by EPA and that they use certified renovators who are trained by EPA-approved training providers to follow lead-safe work practices. More information is available at Renovation, Repair and Painting Program. |
David Tomsovic Marjorie Xavier |
Managing Mercury in Schools |
EPA recommends schools to remove all mercury compounds and mercury containing equipment, and to provide outreach designed to prevent students from bringing mercury into schools. More information is available at Schools and Mercury. |
Jorine Campopiano (campopiano.jorine@epa.gov) |
Pesticide Safety in Schools |
EPA recommends that schools use integrated pest management (IPM) to reduce pesticide risk and exposure to children. More information is available at EPA's national Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in Schools and EPA Region 9's Pesticide sites. |
Fabiola Estrada |
Pollution Prevention |
K-12 schools are eligible applicants for the Source Reduction grant program designed to encourage reducing the use of chemicals, energy, water, and/or minimizing production of solid and hazardous waste. More information is available at Grants and Funding. |
Wendy Shafir |
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in Schools |
The Region 9 PCB program regulates the processing, distribution, use, cleanup, storage and disposal of PCBs under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and Pacific Island Territories, and also provides support for TSCA compliance. More information is available at Fact Sheets for Schools and Teachers. |
Carmen Santos Christopher Rollins |
Radon |
EPA has guidance on proper design/construction of school buildings, which is the most cost effective way to prevent student exposure to radon. More information is available at Radon. |
Shelly Rosenblum |
Resource Efficiency |
Promote energy and water resource efficiency, and solar power at schools through school district maintenance administrators. More information is available at Water & Energy Efficiency by Sectors. |
Eric Byous |
School Chemical Cleanout Campaign (SC3) |
EPA’s SC3 program aims to free schools from chemical mismanagement hazards (inhalation, spills, fires, etc.) through tools and other resources. More information is available at Safe Chemical Management in Schools. |
Wendy Shafir Jorine Campopiano |
School Siting Guidelines |
The voluntary School Siting Guidelines can help schools, school districts, community members, and others identify and consider potential environmental health threats when selecting locations for new schools. |
Jorine Campopiano |
Smart Growth and Schools |
The Smart Growth and Schools program encourages schools to apply principles of smart growth to educational facility planning. Region 9 focused information is available at Clean Energy & Climate Change — Smart Growth and Planning. |
Carol Mulvihill |
SunWise |
The SunWise Program has school-based environmental and health education components that aim to prevent overexposure to the sun. |
Marie Broadwell |
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