Rhode Island

Featured Rhode Island Resources:

Rhode Island Rules and Regulations for School Health Programs
These regulations, issued by RI Department of Education and RI Deptartment of Health, address a number of environmental/health issues in schools, such as: mercury, pesticide application, asbestos, lead, radon, water supply, and chemical hygiene plans. The regulations prohibit the use of certain chemicals from schools (see Appendix A).
Source: RI Dept Education and RI Dept Health
http://www.rules.state.ri.us/rules/released/pdf/DOH/DOH_2722.pdf

EPA Region 1: Drinking Water Security
This website provides information regarding how to do vulnerability assessments for small drinking water systems, including schools that provide their own well water.
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/ne/eco/drinkwater/dw-security.html

EPA Region 1: Schools and Drinking Water
The EPA Region 1 Schools and Drinking Water website contains a brochure that addresses safe drinking water in schools, as well as a poster and bookmark on source water protection for schools that operate their own well water system.
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/ne/eco/drinkwater/schoolsnh2o.html

Mercury Assesment for Schools & Communities
This checklist is designed to assist in identifying and locating mercury-containing products and equipment in schools. These products are typically found in the following areas: Science Labs, Facilities, Medical Offices, Home Economics and Art Classrooms.

Source: The Northeast Waste Management Officials' Association (NEWMOA)
http://www.newmoa.org/Newmoa/htdocs/prevention/mercury/schools/checklist.cfm

Diesel Exhaust and School Bus Idling--EPA Region 1
This Region 1 web page includes a fact sheet which describes steps that can be taken to reduce diesel emissions, as well as the health effects associated with diesel exhaust.
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/ne/eco/diesel/

New England Asthma Regional Council Toolkit for Reducing Diesel Emissions
NE Asthma Regional Council created this toolkit to help school communities, environmental officials, and others make informed decisions about ways to reduce harmful diesel emissions from school buses. Both materials created by ARC and generated by others are included in the toolkit, including a variety of fact sheets.
Source: New England Asthma Regional Council
http://www.asthmaregionalcouncil.org/about/BusToolkit.htm

Water Conservation Tips for Schools
This EPA New England website link provides information about conserving water in school environments.
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/region01/eco/drinkwater/water_conservation_schools.html

Northeast Waste Management Officials Organization, Mercury in Schools and Communities
From January to June 2001, January to June 2002, and March to June 2003, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs funded NEWMOA to assist in identifying and removing elemental mercury and products containing mercury from schools and from homes. Technical materials developed to support this effort are referenced on this web site.
Source: Northeast Waste Management Officials Organization
http://www.newmoa.org/newmoa/htdocs/prevention/mercury/schools

EPA New England Teacher Resource Center
A compilation of environmental education curricula may be found at this site.
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/ne/students/teacher/index.html

EPA New England Tools for Schools
Curriculum, case studies, and a map of Tools for Schools distribution and implementation may be found at this web link.
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/ne/eco/iaq/index.html

EPA New England Asbestos Enforcement Program
This web site provides basic information about the various environmental regulations governing asbestos in schools (AHERA, ASHARA and NESHAP).
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/region1/enforcement/asbestos/index.html

New England Resources for Schools
This website provides links to the Regional schools topics page, hazardous waste fact sheets, examples of the types of environmental issues found in schools, and other links of interest to the schools community.
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/ne/assistance/schools/index.html

EPA Regional and State Asbestos Contacts
List of asbestos contacts in the EPA Regional Offices and the States.
Source: EPA - Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics
http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/regioncontact.html

EPA New England's K-12 Schools Website
This site discusses efforts to improve coordination and integration amongst EPA's many schools related programs, and provides links to Regional topic specific web sites, such as: asbestos, diesel school buses, drinking water, environmental management systems, energy, indoor air quality, lead, mercury and teacher and student resources. Links to national websites are provided as well.
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/ne/schools

Colleges and Universities in New England
Colleges and universities grapple with a myriad of environmental issues in order to protect the health of their communities and comply with the law, both on and off campus.To improve C/Us' overall environmental compliance, EPA-NE has launched a coordinated enforcement/compliance assistance effort aimed at reaching all of New England's colleges and universities.
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/ne/assistance/univ/