Exposure
to toxic chemicals are part of our everyday life, but it doesn’t have to be
that way. Many chemicals contained in the most commonly used cleaning products
contaminate indoor air quality and can cause or exacerbate asthma and other
health problems for those exposed, including janitorial staff, teachers and
schoolchildren. Approximately 12.3 percent of children in Massachusetts
have been diagnosed as asthmatic, and asthma is the number one medical
condition being treated at Boston
public schools. According to a September 2007 Boston Globe article, a study
published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine that looked
at worker data from Massachusetts and three other states found that exposure to
cleaning products was associated with 12 percent of total asthma cases across
all jobs surveyed.
Safer
cleaning chemicals are available and on the market. The City of Boston and the town of Milton have already adopted green cleaning
for their schools, showing a tremendous commitment to public health. Green
cleaning—the use of alternatives to toxic cleaning products—will better protect
the health of the Commonwealth’s workers and schoolchildren. That’s why we’re
working to pass the Safer Cleaning Products bill.
The Safer
Cleaning Products bill would:
Require that all cleaning products used in schools, day care centers, public
buildings, and common areas of public housing must be included on the “Safer
Cleaning Products” list established by DPH.
Establish a training program to train cleaning personnel in the use of
healthy cleaning products.
Establish a fee on manufacturers of cleaning products to cover the costs of
this program.
