• The Problem Defined
• Government Standards
• Improving Indoor Air Quality
• Ventilation Problems In Closed Schools
• Ventilation Problems in Schools With Windows
• Temperature and Relative Humidity
• Copying Equipment
• Pesticides
• Vocational and Art Classes
• Science Rooms and Laboratories
• Air Quality During Renovation Work
• Coal-Fueled Boilers
• Pollution From Outside Sources
• Resolving Indoor Air Quality Problems

What should be done to protect students and teachers in art classes?

Be sure to use only non-toxic materials in elementary schools. They’re labeled with either the AP [approved product (non-toxic)] or CP [certified product (non-toxic)] seal or carry the statement “conforms to ASTM D-4236 or the equivalent.” All art materials that present hazards must carry a statement that such materials are inappropriate for children.

What about more advanced classes?

In junior and senior high schools, teachers should strive to substitute safe or less toxic materials for more hazardous ones whenever possible. This can be done, for example, by using water-based materials rather than solvent-based ones. When hazardous materials are used in the upper grades — even if the materials are less toxic than those previously employed — it is essential to follow appropriate safety precautions. These precautions, which vary with the type of materials used, may include the use of protective clothing (such as gloves and aprons) and safe work practices, which include safe storage and handling and proper clean-up of art materials. Special ventilation systems, such as a spray booth or hood, may also need to be installed to capture and exhaust pollutants to the outside before they contaminate the classroom air.

What should I do if I don’t know what safety procedures are required for materials used in my classroom?

Don’t use the materials until you find out. The basic safety procedures should be described on the product warning label. More detailed information, which often is necessary, can be obtained from the material safety data sheet (MSDS) that the manufacturer is required to provide with the product.
You can ask your principal or site safety officer for the MSDS; by law, the Department of Education is required to make it available to you. If the school does not have the information, the union&*8217s Health and Safety Committee can help you get it. You can contact the committee through your UFT chapter leader or district representative.

Can you describe some situations in which special safety precautions are required in art classrooms?

A spray booth should be used when spraying ceramic glazes or air brushing with paints. Aerosol spray fixatives should only be used outdoors or in an explosion-proof spray booth.

Dilution ventilation — such as a window exhaust fan — should be employed when using materials such as small amounts of rubber cement or permanent markers as used in commercial/graphic art processes to control solvent vapors.

SCIENCE ROOMS AND LABORATORIES

What about science rooms and laboratories?

To address air quality and other hazards in science classrooms, the UFT conducts annual health and safety training and prepares written materials on the training topics. The union also meets regularly with the Department of Education to address safety issues. Both the teacher and lab specialist contracts call for a Science Experiment Review Panel to consider disputes raised by staff members concerned about the safety and efficacy of scientific procedures and experiments in schools. As noted earlier, science laboratories in new buildings will have appropriately vented equipment as a result of UFT pressure on the DOE.

What has the UFT done to improve laboratory safety?

Under a grant from the New York State Department Of Labor (NYSDOL), the UFT inspected laboratory facilities in 75 schools between 1998 and 2000. The inspection findings were summarized by school, borough and citywide after which the union met with the DOE to discuss appropriate responses. As a result:

• The DOE ’s Division Of School Facilities (DSF) has been systematically correcting the lab facility deficiencies.

• The DOE ’s Office Of Occupational Safety And Health (OOSH) has been systematically addressing health and safety program deficiencies.

• The DOE ’s Bureau Of Supplies (BOS) has modified its chemical purchasing procedures so that it is possible to order smaller quantities of chemicals.

• The union also reviewed the DOE ’s blueprint specifications and made recommendations for additional fire extinguishers, flammable storage cabinets, corrosive chemical storage cabinets, chemical storerooms, safety showers, and ground-fault circuit interrupters.

• In addition, when the Department of Education failed to provide legally required right-to-know and lab standard training for laboratory specialists, the UFT set up its own training workshops.

• In 1995, the union also filed a complaint with the state labor department, which found the DOE in violation of the right-to-know and lab standard regulations.

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