School district wins Excellence in Sustainability Award

BROOKSVILLE, FL — The Hernando County School District recently won the second annual National Environmental Health Association's (NEHA) Excellence in Sustainability Award for their efforts to promote green living, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

In December 2007, the Hernando County School District was named the greenest school district in the country and won the Green Cleaning Network's inaugural Green Cleaning Award for schools and universities, the story stated.

The maintenance department helps keep the district on its sustainable path by doing such things as: Maintaining room occupancy sensors; maintaining waterless urinals and low-flow restroom fixtures; installing hand dryers in place of paper towel dispensers; and performing yearly maintenance on heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, the story noted.

District Maintenance Director Sean Arnold said: "Everything [in our district] is environmentally focused. I want to make sure our school district is definitely reducing the carbon footprint."

According to the story, recycling is a major part of the district's sustainable success; more than 250 tons of goods were recycled last year alone.

The efforts by students and staff in the Hernando County School District boil down to one concept: Creating a healthier learning environment, the story added.

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Mold and MRSA close courtrooms

LOUISVILLE, KY — Two Jefferson County courtrooms were closed in as many weeks due to mold contamination and the presence of infectious bacteria, according to the Courier-Journal.

Courtrooms 302 and 310 in the Hall of Justice were closed following two incidents where prosecutors contracted methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the story stated.

According to the story, there was food residue leaking down a wall and food stains in the carpet, and although many courthouse workers have fallen ill in recent years, no correlations between indoor environment quality and employee health were drawn until now.

Jefferson District Judge Sean Delahanty said: "We need to do a better job disinfecting the building."

Courtroom 302 was reopened late last week after city maintenance workers cleaned the area, removed mold contamination and shampooed the carpets, the story noted.

Courtroom 310 will remain closed during the remediation process because of what officials are calling "an unacceptable smell," the story added.

Procter & Gamble Professional™ bolsters H1N1 program

CINCINNATI — Procter & Gamble Professional™ recently announced that it has bolstered its novel H1N1 customer program in response to heightened swine flu indicators, according to a press release.

Procter & Gamble Professional customers can access a comprehensive toolkit at www.pgpro.com with H1N1 information and links, as well as both Procter & Gamble products and procedures designed to help reduce the spread of viruses, the release stated.

Individuals can attend a special Procter & Gamble Professional webinar on "Addressing the Threat of the H1N1 Virus" October 21, 2009, featuring relevant information from an epidemiologist and a product safety and regulatory affairs specialist, the release noted.

Ann Fetzer, director of Procter & Gamble Professional product supply North America, said: "In light of elevated concerns by health officials, we are working closely with our customers to meet their product demands and need for information. In addition to ramping up our disinfectant production, Procter & Gamble Professional offers online sanitation programs customized to foodservice, hospitality and building, cleaning and maintenance customers."

Especially as of late, increased emphasis has been placed on the need for routine and repeated cleaning of commonly touched surfaces, including out-of-home environments frequented by the public, the release added.

Study: College students' pandemic preparedness is sub-par

BOSTON — A recent study released by Simmons College's Center for Hygiene and Health in Home and Community, and sponsored by an educational grant from Reckitt Benckiser's LYSOL^® brand products, revealed that college students are not following proper hygiene guidelines to help protect themselves from serious illness, according to a press release.

Despite growing concerns about H1N1 influenza A (swine flu) and other transmittable infections on college campuses, only 63 percent of students polled had cleaned their dorm room in the past week, the release stated.

According to the release, 73 percent of respondents admitted they had never cleaned their dorm room door handle, one of the most frequently touched surfaces and a conduit for germ spread; such habits expose students to thousands of bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Escherichia coli (E. coli), fecal organisms, streptococcus and more.

Dr. Elizabeth Scott, co-director of the Simmons College Center for Hygiene and Health in Home and Community, said: "These findings compound the concerns many parents have about their child's health when they're away at college and out of their home. Parents can help students stay healthy at college by encouraging them to take small preventative measures every day to help protect themselves from germs."

While television remote controls and shared bathroom sink handles generally harbor less bacteria than other high-touch surfaces, both were found to be contaminated with MRSA in some of the dorm rooms studied, the release noted.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), students should practice good hand hygiene by washing their hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing and keep surfaces clean by wiping them down with a household disinfectant according to directions on the product label.

Communal shower floors were the most contaminated surface in the dormitory, harboring more than 40 times the number of bacteria found on the toilet seat, the release added.

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MRSA has schools on alert

SUNBURY, PA - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than one in ten cases of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) involve people who acquired the potentially deadly infection in a community setting, such as a school, according to The Daily Item.

Schools are particularly at risk because athletic programs and locker rooms can provide the staph bacteria with fertile breeding grounds and a means of cross contamination, the article stated.

During one school board meeting in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, MRSA issues were raised by a parent and school officials said, “After a spate of MRSA cases in 2008, the district beefed up its preventative measures in an effort to keep the problem in check,” reported the article.

In Milton schools, which have not had reported outbreaks, Rod Harris, who is the athletic director, added, “We’ve increased the frequency of maintenance staff wiping down handrails, door knobs and other areas frequently touched by many people. These are all being wiped down twice a day now.”

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Staff may seek strike for poor hospital hygiene

THE FAIRGREEN, WESTPORT, IRELAND - Non-nursing support staff are considering taking industrial action over working conditions and the standard of hygiene at Mayo General Hospital, according to The Mayo News.

A staff ballot for industrial action will take place next month with a result expected on Monday, October 12, stated the article.

According to the article, up to 20 cleaners have left their jobs through illness and retirement in the last year and have not been replaced because of a recruitment embargo.

“This is an essential service and the cleaning is not being done adequately. This issue has been raised for the last two months but we are getting nowhere with management,” said Seamus Burke, a SIPTU health official.

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Dow expected to sign clean up plan

SAGINAW, MI - State and federal environment officials and Midland’s Dow Chemical have reportedly concluded dioxin clean up negotiations addressing contamination along the Tittabawassee River and Saginaw River and Bay, according to an article on The Saginaw News.

A formal proposal could come in less than a month and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state Department of Environmental Quality representatives said the talks, “will likely result in a proposed agreement on an administrative order on consent to comprehensively address dioxin and other Dow Chemical contamination.”

Officials say the public will have an opportunity to chime in on any agreement, stated the article.

“In June, EPA outlined our non-negotiables to the community at a public meeting and we have held firm,” said Bharat Mathur, acting regional administrator with the EPA’s Region 5 office in Chicago. “EPA listened to the community before the negotiations began and we won’t sign off on any clean up agreement before public concerns have been discussed and considered.”

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