All News Releases By Date

Rochester Non-Profit Receives EPA Grants to Address Indoor Air Quality in City Schools

Release Date: 11/16/2000
Contact Information:

(#00210) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), through its Environmental Justice grant program, has selected the Rochester Council on Occupational Safety & Health (ROCOSH) for a grant of $10,084 to help it address the issue of indoor air quality in the Rochester city schools. ROCOSH will use EPA’s Indoor Air Quality Tools For Schools, a toolkit developed to help schools assess their air quality and make improvements where needed. ROCOSH will partner with the Board of Education Non-Teaching Employees-American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Rochester Teachers Association on this assessment project and will emphasize compliance with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act regulations to ensure that any pesticides or other chemicals used in the Rochester’s public schools are handled properly to avoid any potential health risks. Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race, color, national origin or income, in how the nation’s environmental laws are developed, complied with and enforced. In its 1992 report, Environmental Equity: Reducing Risk for All Communities, EPA found that minority and low-income populations may experience higher than average exposure to toxic pollutants than the general population. In response, EPA established the Office of Environmental Justice in 1992 to help these communities identify and assess sources of pollution in their midst, and to inform and train residents so they can be involved in making environmental improvements in their neighborhoods.