A friend of mine told me her daughter was spraying Lysol at school for a classroom job and my jaw dropped. Yes there is hand sanitzer all over the place and yes schools still have to disenfect and santize but should the children really be spraying a toxic substance that says, “Keep out of the reach of children” and instructs people to use in well venilated areas and then wash hands? Classrooms are having children share crayons, scissors, pencils to promote community but then spraying the community items with chemicals. Wouldn’t it make more sense to not share these items, wash our own hands and not spray the stuff unecessarily? Can’t we teach sharing without having to go down this road and then wonder why so many children are missing school because of ashthma problems. With 6.2 million childrenhaving asthma and it being the leading cause of children missing school – one would think we raise an eyebrow and start to connect the dots.
The EPA is monitoring toxins in schools and indoor air pollution while the CDC is partnering with the makers of Lysol. Lysol holds a summit for school officials to help them learn about ways to use their disenfectant to keep schools safe from the flu this season. I wonder if the EPA attended this conference and talked about asthma, indoor air pollution, venelation and toxicity. Maybe they need to do some connecting of the dots and school officials need to recognize who’s holding the summit and what the sponsor has to gain – it isn’t out of the goodness of their hearts – there’s a bottom line.
Research has lead me to realize how far the greening schools movment has come and how far it has to go. People are reluctant to change but big companies Lysol are hard to beat when summits and big dollars are being spent. This is why a grass roots effort and campaigns like Healthy Schoolsand Cleaning for Healthy Schools needs to be promoted so there is more awarness and education.
As a past teacher who used bleach and Lysol I can safely tell you – I did not know. Now I do and I feel horrible but also recognize the need for a clean classroom. When I spoke with a custodian he asked me if he cleaned the desk why does he have to santize or disenfect it; it is clean. G-E-R-M-S!!!! We are all scared of this four letter word, germ.
Read more from Sommer P. at her blog, Green and Clean Mom, where she writes about how going green is sexy, sassy and fun. Sommer is a social networking and marketing consultant and passionate mother and teacher. Find her on twitter as @greenmom
