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IPM Part of Indoor Air Quality Guidelines - October 2001
University Park, PA - The Pennsylvania Department of Health (PDH) recommends that Integrated Pest Management be part of indoor air quality (IAQ) guidelines for Pennsylvania schools.
Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, aims to control pests -- such as insects, diseases, weeds and animals -- by combining physical, biological and chemical tactics that are safe and environmentally compatible.
According to Jim Logue, director of the Division of Environmental Health Assessment, PDH, most people don't realize indoor air pollution can have significant health effects. "EPA studies of human exposure to air pollutants indicate that indoor levels of pollutants may be 2 to 5 times higher than outdoor levels," says Logue.
Children especially may be susceptible to air pollution, since children breathe a greater volume of air relative to their body weight than adults. In addition, there are many unique aspects of schools. "The occupants are close together, with the typical school having about four times as many occupants as office buildings for the same amount of floor space. Also, a variety of potential pollutant sources exists in schools, including art and science materials, industrial and vocational arts the use of pesticides and housekeeping supplies," Logue explains.
One specific contaminant addressed by the Environmental Protection Agency's report, Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools, are pesticides. According to the EPA, pesticides are chemicals that are used to kill or control pests and are inherently toxic. Chronic exposure to some pesticides can result in damage to the liver, kidneys and nervous system.
Both the EPA and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture recommend IPM in schools, an approach that minimizes the use of chemical pesticides. IPM programs in schools rely heavily on prevention, sanitation, maintenance, monitoring and record keeping, reducing the reliance on pesticides. "Pesticides are used on an as-needed basis as determined by monitoring. When a pesticide is needed the least toxic product is chosen. Also, it is applied on a spot-treated basis whenever possible and targeted to the specific pest," says Lyn Garling, Education Specialist for the Pennsylvania IPM Program.
In addition, the least toxic, shortest duration effective material is used. Pesticides are not applied when student teacher or staff are present in the affected area to assure the safety of the school learning environment.
School officials are encouraged to develop and implement their own IAQ Management Plan in order to address, prevent, and resolve IAQ problems in their specific schools. EPA's report, Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools, provides a set of flexible and specific activities that should be useful to school officials in developing such a plan.
For more information or to obtain a copy of the EPA's report, contact the EPA's IAQ Information Clearinghouse at 1-800-438-4318, or visit their web site at http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/.
For more information on School IPM, see the Pennsylvania IPM Program's web site at http://paipm.cas.psu.edu. Under the "Schools" link find out more about the School IPM effort in Pennsylvania and links to educational material from across the country. You can also download a new publication, IPM for Pennsylvania Schools, A How-To Manual. In addition, there is an interactive database on the web site to assist teachers with IPM background information, lesson plans and support materials throughout the U.S.