FILE: EBBG
HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES
The Acadia Parish School Board, in its efforts to contain and control the dangers of hazardous substances, authorizes the Superintendent or his/her designee to establish and maintain administrative regulations and procedures which address the purchase, storage, handling, use, transportation, and disposal of hazardous materials for all school facilities and operations including instructional areas. Emergency response actions and evacuation plans shall also be coordinated with the procedures.
Administrative regulations and procedures shall be in compliance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations which pertain to the safe and proper storage, transportation, and disposal of hazardous materials.
The Superintendent shall be responsible for maintaining a plan of action addressing the use of hazardous chemicals to accomplish the following:
Designate a person at the central office level to supervise practices that are used in the storage, use, and distribution of all chemicals.
Designate the principal or representative in each school to be charged with the supervision of safe practice in storage, use, and distribution of chemicals in the school.
Develop a plan to redistribute or dispose of any unwanted or contaminated substances.
The School Board, in the past, has made arrangements with chemical corporations to assist in disposing of excess chemicals from high school labs. A pick-up date will be established each year, usually in the month of May, for chemicals to be turned in to the Acadia Parish Media Center for temporary storage and packaging in plastic buckets for disposal. Buckets will be labeled according to the following categories: 1) Acid, 2) Base, 3) Poison, 4) Flammable, 5) Reactive, 6) Unknown, 7) Asbestos, and 8) Metals. Attached to each bucket will be a High School Lab Waste Disposal sheet.
Develop an ongoing inventory of chemicals. The principal or designee shall maintain an annual inventory of chemicals in each school, showing gains and losses for the year.
A copy of the chemical inventory shall be maintained on-site in the school, with a copy sent to the central office, and a copy sent to the office of the local fire chief on a form provided by central office.
At the end of each school year when inventory sheets are requested, the updated inventory should be placed in the designated areas.
The chemicals that require particular care are those that may be included in a middle or high school science, biology, chemistry, or physics classroom or lab. Some chemicals used by janitors for cleaning or weed and insect control may also be included.
PESTICIDES
The Acadia Parish School Board recognizes that the exposure of school children to pesticides poses known and unknown risks to their health and well-being. Therefore, the School Board shall prepare or cause to be prepared, and submit to the Department of Agriculture and Forestry on or before August first of each year a single comprehensive integrated pest management plan for all schools under its jurisdiction that applies integrated pest management strategies of pest prevention methods and strongly recommends the least toxic methods of control for grass and weed control, and rodent and general pest control in, on or around school structures and grounds. Any deviation from the submitted annual pest management plan shall be delivered in writing to the Director of Pesticide and Environmental Programs of the Department of Agriculture and Forestry no later than twenty-four (24) hours prior to any pesticide application. Records of inspections, identification, monitoring, evaluations, and pesticide applications shall be maintained by the schools and submitted with the annual pesticide management plan to the department annually.
In addition to a comprehensive pest management plan, the School Board, in accordance with statutory provisions shall:
Assure that the application of any herbicide, rodenticide, insecticide or restricted use pesticide, in, on, or around structures or grounds of schools that provide education to pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade classes shall be done by or under the supervision of a certified commercial applicator.
Require each school to maintain a hypersensitive student registry listing the names of students whose parents have submitted a written statement to the school which shall include but not be limited to the student's name and address, parent's or guardian's signature, name and address, and a written medical verification by a licensed physician which includes the physician's signature, name and address.
Require that schools shall use, whenever possible, the least toxic method of pest control. The least toxic method of pest control may include methods other than the application of pesticides. A restricted use pesticide shall be applied to a school building or on school grounds only during periods in which students are not expected to be present for normal academic instruction or organized extracurricular activity for at least eight (8) hours after the application.
Require each school to keep a written record of restricted use pesticides used to control pests, with an entry of pertinent information about the application being recorded after each application. The written record shall be kept in each school and shall be available for inspection during school hours.
Employ at least one (1) certified commercial applicator if the system has less than ten (10) schools or at least two (2) certified commercial applicators if the system has ten (10) or more schools.
Revised: November, 2015
Revised: November 5, 2018
Ref: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. ยงยง3:3381, 3:3382, 3:3383, 3:3384, 3:3385, 3:3386, 3:3387, 3:3388, 3:3389
Louisiana Handbook for School Administrators, Bulletin 741, Louisiana Department of Education
Board minutes, 6-6-94, 11-5-18
Acadia Parish School Board