Green Cleaning, Sanitizing and Disinfecting: A Toolkit for Early Care and Education

Green Cleaning Policy for ECE Programs Chemicals that are commonly used for cleaning and maintaining buildings can affect human health as well as the environment. Many such products contain ingredients that may result in eye, skin or respiratory irritation and chemical burns, may cause or trigger asthma, or contain carcinogens, reproductive toxins/endocrine disruptors or other hazardous chemicals. Children are more vulnerable to health effects from exposure to hazardous chemicals than adults for several reasons. They have a higher metabolism rate than adults, thus, they take in more food, water, and air for their body weight. They also have different behaviors such as mouthing items and crawling on the floor, which may bring them into closer contact with toxins. Their body systems are also less mature and are less able to break the toxins down and remove them.i Exposure to these chemicals also has serious public health impacts for staff and building occupants: A study published by the American Journal of Industrial Medicine found that custodians experience one of the highest rates of occupational asthma, twice the rate of other workers. The percentage of children with asthma in the United States more than doubled between 1980 and 1995, and asthma is currently the most common cause of absenteeism. Studies have found links between cleaning products and asthma. Children can be particularly affected by the neurotoxins found in some of these products with a resulting impairment of development, learning and behavioral abilities. Purpose This policy supports the use of safer and healthier cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting products and procedures in our ECE program. Objectives Policy The ____________________________finds that purchasing less toxic products will result in improved indoor air quality, enhanced environmental health, a more productive learning environment and reduced liability. It is the policy of this institution that environmentally preferable cleaning and maintenance products shall be used wherever possible. Additionally, we will implement and practice green cleaning and disinfecting procedures per guidelines to manage and clean our ECE facility and to minimize exposure to toxins related to building contaminants and cleaning products. The center will: 1 Reduce dirt, pollutants and microbes (germs) in our ECE facility. Minimize worker/occupant exposure to harmful chemicals and cleaning product by-products. Minimize the amount of chemicals accumulated and/or released into the air by cleaning processes and cleaning product dilution, use and storage.

Green Cleaning, Sanitizing and Disinfecting: A Toolkit for Early Care and Education

Provide parents, staff and outside cleaning contractors with the following: 1.) List of approved cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting products and work practice procedures to be used in the facility 2.) Procedures for safe and appropriate product dilution (if used) 3.) Techniques to mitigate hazards (e.g. ventilation, dilution station, etc.) Provide parents and staff with online resources on green cleaning, sanitizing and disinfection Periodically review the facility using the Green Cleaning, Sanitizing and Disinfecting Checklist. Ventilate the area as much as possible while cleaning to ensure minimum hazard exposure. Keep Records. Safety data sheets and a list of products and when and how they were used must be kept for 30 years as required by the Hazard Communication Program. Label Cleaning Products. Secondary containers of diluted cleaning products without the original label must be labeled according to requirements of the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard. Develop a Procedure for the Use of Cleaning Cloths. Whenever possible, we will use microfiber. When we use microfiber, we will color code the cloths and mops as an effective way to minimize transferring germs from one part of the facility to another. For example, if multiple mops are used in ECE, place a colored label on each for location of mops usage (i.e. green for kitchen, blue for bathroom). Avoid known hazardous chemicals when purchasing cleaning products. We will seek to purchase products certified by a third-party, for example, those certified by Green Seal, EcoLogo, and Design for the Environment. If these are not available, we will avoid products that: o are aerosols o contain specific ingredients: o 2-butoxyethanol (or ethylene glycol monobutyl ether) and other glycol ethers o Alkylphenol ethoxylates (some common ones are: nonylphenol and octylphenol ethoxylates, or octoxynols) o Bisphenol A o d-Limonene o Dyes (may be listed as FD&C or D&C) o Ethanolamines (common ones to look out for are: monoethanolamine [MEA], diethanolamine [DEA], and triethanolamine [TEA]) o Fragrances 2

Green Cleaning, Sanitizing and Disinfecting: A Toolkit for Early Care and Education

o o o o

Parabens Phthlates Pine or citrus oil Quaternary ammonium compounds (look out for these: alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride (ADBAC), benzalkonium chloride, dodecyldimethyl-benzyl ammonium chloride; lauryl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride; benzyl-C10-16-alkyldimethyl, chlorides; benzyl-C12-16alkyldimethyl, chlorides; benzyl-C12-18-alkyldimethyl, chlorides; benzylC16-18-alkyldimethyl, chlorides; and didecyl and didecyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride) o Triclocarban o Triclosan Infectious Diseases There are many things to consider when working to reduce the transmission of infectious diseases in child care settings. The transmission of disease is higher in these settings due to the lack of personal hygiene of young children and their hand to mouth activities. Their immune systems are less developed, thus they are more susceptible to becoming sick when exposed to disease. They are also more vulnerable to the health hazards posed by many common products used to kill infectious germs. This policy strives to prevent the transmission of disease through the use of the least hazardous means possible. To minimize exposure to infectious disease and hazardous cleaning, sanitizing and disinfectant products, it is our policy that we will: 1. follow the Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards Appendix K Schedule for Cleaning, Sanitizing and Disinfecting unless Vermont regulations state otherwise. 2. train providers in our facility in accordance with the curriculum contained in the Green Cleaning, Sanitizing and Disinfecting Toolkit for ECE. 3. schedule periodic inspections of our facility using the Green Cleaning, Sanitizing and Disinfecting Checklist. 4. designate a cleaning coordinator for our facility who will be trained in green cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting policies and practices and the prevention of infectious disease, and will act as a resource to our staff and families. 5. consult the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website for instructions on implementing additional preventative actions to reduce infectious disease if an outbreak of a serious disease occurs. 6. purchase least-hazardous sanitizers and disinfectants as described in Choosing Safer Cleaning, Sanitizing and Disinfecting Products.
i

Sandra Hoffmann and Alan J. Krupnick, Valuing Riskto Health; Children are Not Just Little Adults