[CPEO-BIF] Sen. Clinton Calls for Federal Env. Guidelines for School Sit

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

For Immediate Release                   Contact: Press Release
May 16, 2002                            (202) 224-2243

Senator Clinton Calls for Federal Environmental Guidelines for School 
Sitings

Senator Cites Report Showing Hundreds of Thousands of Children Attending 
Schools Near Toxic Sites

***SENATOR CLINTON WILL HOST A CONFERENCE CALL ON THIS ISSUE AT 12:45PM. 
INTERESTED MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT JENNELL COFER AT (202) 224-2243***

Washington, DC - Continuing her efforts to ensure that all children 
attend schools that are free of environmental health hazards, Senator 
Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) called for uniform federal environmental 
guidelines for local communities to use when deciding where to site 
public schools.  Senator Clinton made her request in a letter to 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)Administrator Christie Todd Whitman 
and Health and Human Services (HHS)
Secretary Tommy Thompson.

In a recent report by the Childhood Proofing our Communities Campaign, 
almost 1,200 public schools in five states were found to be within a 
half-mile of a Superfund site or a site that appeared on a state 
hazardous waste site list.  In those five states, over 600,000 children 
attend classes in schools near these contaminated properties.

And according to news reports today, "The New York City Board of 
Education moved 100 children from classes in the basement of PS 65 in 
Ozone Park yesterday and began environmental tests after parents raised 
concerns about possible contamination at the school.  Katie Marshall, a 
spokeswoman for the board, said the issue arose after a community 
newspaper reported last week that the groundwater beneath a nearby 
factory was contaminated. Some parents said their
children were getting sick." (Newsday, 5/16/02) 

"In New York alone, 235 schools in 39 counties are reported to be within 
a half-mile of a contaminated site.  Statistics like this are sickening 
-- parents should not have to worry that sending their children to 
school is a health risk. Uniform guidelines would give local communities 
the information they need to locate schools in safe, clean places," 
Senator Clinton said.  "New guidelines should be one of the priorities 
of the President's Task Force on
Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children, which President 
Bush has extended until April 2003."

Childhood Proofing our Communities Campaign leader Lois Gibbs, Executive 
Director of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, said, "Even 
we were shocked by the number of schools and students potentially 
exposed to dangerous levels of toxins.  Obviously, kids who are sick 
can't be expected to learn as readily as if they were healthy.  The 
blame is so often put on educators when it comes to poor school 
performance, but environmental factors can clearly
contribute to the problem."

"Unfortunately, we did not know about the possible health threats posed 
by nearby Superfund sites when many of our nation's public schools were 
being built back in the 1960's or earlier - in fact, the Superfund law 
did not even exist," Senator Clinton wrote.  "Today, public school 
enrollment is growing and thousands of new schools need to be built to 
meet this growing demand for a public school education.  And today, 
while we do not have all of the answers with respect to the impacts of 
our environment on our children's health, we do know better and we can 
work to avoid potential risks."

Additionally, Senator Clinton has been pushing for federal funding for 
the Healthy and High Performance Schools program, which was included in 
the "No Child Left Behind Act" that President Bush signed into law in 
January. This program was based on legislation Senator Clinton 
introduced last year after  hearing from groups like the Healthy Schools 
Network in Albany and parents from  around New York about some of the 
health problems students encounter from school  buildings.

This program would authorize a study to explore the impact that sick and 
dilapidated public school buildings have on the health and cognitive 
abilities of children, as well as assist elementary and secondary 
schools gather important information and materials to develop healthy, 
high performance school buildings when districts are building or 
renovating their schools.

 [text of Whitman letter attached]

May 15, 2002

The Honorable Christine Todd Whitman
Administrator
Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C.  20460

Dear Administrator Whitman:

Knowing of your commitment to children's health and safety, I am writing 
to urge you to establish environmental guidelines for the siting of 
public schools.  I believe that establishing uniform guidelines would 
provide local communities with the tools they need to locate schools in 
places that will allow our children to learn, grow, and develop in a 
safe and healthy environment.  I am hopeful that the establishment of 
these new guidelines could be made one of the priorities of the 
President's Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to 
Children, which President Bush has extended until April 2003.

Because of their small size, the way in which they play and move around, 
and the fact that they are still developing, children are more 
susceptible to potential health impacts from environmental contaminants. 
 According to the EPAwebsite, "A child's nervous system, reproductive 
organs, and immune system grow and develop rapidly during the first 
months and years of life. As organ structures develop, vital connections 
between cells are established.  These delicate developmental processes 
in children may easily and irreversibly be disrupted by
 toxic environmental substances."  The health impacts of our environment 
on our children may manifest as asthma, cancer, development disorders, 
behavioral disorders, and learning disabilities.  For example:

 ·   Asthma:  An estimated 4.8 million children in the United States 
under 18 years of age have asthma.  Asthma is the leading chronic 
illness in children in the U.S., and the leading cause of school 
absenteeism due to chronic illness. Almost three hundred children die 
each year from asthma, and 150,000 are hospitalized.

 ·   Childhood Cancer:  In the United States, approximately 12,400 
children and adolescents younger than 20 years of age are diagnosed with 
cancer each year in the U.S.  Sadly, approximately 2,300 children and 
adolescents die of cancer each year, making cancer the most common cause 
of disease-related mortality for children 1-19 years of age.

 ·   Developmental Disabilities:  About 17 percent of U.S. children 
under 18 years of age have a developmental disability.  State and 
federal education departments spend about $36 billion each year on 
special education programs for individuals with developmental 
disabilities who are 3-21 years old. In a recent report by the Center 
for Health, Environment and Justice, over
1,100 public schools in five states (New York, California, Michigan, 
Massachusetts and New Jersey) were found to be located within a 
half-mile of a Superfund site or a site that appeared on a state 
hazardous waste site list.  In those five states, over 600,000 children 
attend classes in schools near these contaminated properties.  In New 
York alone, the report identifies 235 schools in 39 counties that are 
within a half-mile of a contaminated site.

Public school buildings in this country average about 42 years in age. 
Unfortunately, we did not know about the possible health threats posed 
by nearby Superfund sites when many of our nation's public schools were 
being built back in the 1960's or earlier - in fact, the Superfund law 
did not even exist. Today, public school enrollment is growing and 
thousands of new schools
need to be built to meet this growing demand for a public school 
education. Although today we do not have all of the answers with respect 
to the impact of our environment on our children's health, we do know 
much more than we did in the 1960's and we can work to avoid potential 
risks.

Environmental health, and children's environmental health in particular, 
is one of my top priorities.  I hope that working together, we can 
continue to move this issue forward by developing uniform environmental 
guidelines for the siting of public schools.

Thank you for your consideration and assistance in this matter.  I look 
forward to working with you to ensure that our children have a clean and 
healthy environment in which they can grow and thrive.  Please do not 
hesitate to call me or my staff on this matter.

 Sincerely yours,

 Hillary Rodham Clinton

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