Page 24 - School Planning & Management, October 2017

FACILITIES U.S. SCHOOLS STRUGGLE TO MAINTAIN A HEALTHY LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
issues at educational facilities. Environmental contamination issues at schools are frequently covered by both local and national media outlets driven by angry parents demanding a safe environment for their chil- dren, or teachers and other staff suffering from illness, and backed by their unions. Reputational management expenses can increase rapidly when either a pollution issue is discovered or students and teachers fall ill and the public starts hearing reports in the local media.
Recent examples
Mold — Wyoming West Middle School was closed indefinitely in September 2016, displacing 1,100 students, after mold was discov- ered following a burst pipe in the basement from 2011.
Legionella — Three schools in the Chicago suburb of Elgin, Ill., were closed in September 2016 after legionella was found in the cooling system. Although nobody was ill, all schools needed to be closed and decontaminated before students could return. Underground Contamination — Development at a property adjacent to a former school bus depot in Hillsborough, N.C., was delayed after a leaky underground storage tank, first discovered in 1990, and a recent spill prevented developers from purchasing the property and starting new construction.
Asbestos — A Falmouth, Mass., school with identified asbestos
issues faced a nearly $300,000 bill for the abatement and cleaning of 42,000 square feet of ceiling tiles.
What can schools do?
Schools have an obligation to their staff, students and communi- ties to provide a safe and healthy learning space. Many of the envi- ronmental issues U.S. schools face are historical and/or unknown, making complete prevention of environmental contamination challenging, if impossible. Other issues, like those arising from mold or contaminated cooling systems, can only be prevented with timely and thorough remediation efforts once the problem is identified.
School and government officials can limit their total environ- mental risk, and get ready access to funds for necessary cleanup and remediation efforts, with pollution liability insurance. Environ- mental contamination is becoming more widespread and more high profile, and officials and administrators can benefit greatly from a comprehensive environmental risk management program coupled with insurance coverage from an experienced insurance partner.
What types of environmental insurance should schools consider?
Environmental liabilities at schools are best covered by special- ized policies covering the specific exposures they face. Schools should work to select an insurer with related claims expertise and access to experienced consultants and contractors to manage pollution risks.
Some of the key coverages to consider
• Disinfectioncostscoverage:Coverageforcleanupcostsassoci- ated with bacteria, diseases or viruses that require reporting to federal, state or local government authorities (i.e., Ebola, Avian Flu, etc.). This protects schools in the event that someone sick with such an issue comes to their facility and they subsequently have to pay to decontaminate a portion of the school, or the entire facility.
• Broad covered locations: Coverage for all property owned, leased or managed by the by the school. This assures that all school property is covered, without the need to schedule every location to the policy.
• Reputation management reimbursement: Coverage for fees, costs, and expenses directly related to mitigating harm to a school’s reputation resulting from environmental pollution.
• Bodily injury and property damage for asbestos and lead- based paint: Covers any individuals who get sick from asbestos or lead-based paint at a school location.
• Inadvertentdisturbanceofasbestosandlead-basedpaint:Cov- erage for schools that accidentally release these substances into the environment,aslongasitwasn’tduringanabatementproject. SPM
>>Miles Foxworth is an environmental underwriter for Beazley, a specialist insurance business with operations in Europe, the U.S., Asia, Middle East and Australia. He can be reached at miles.foxworth@beazley.com.
HEALTHY BUILDINGS. HEALTHY PEOPLE. HEALTHY PLANET.
The Airius fan system helps schools just like yours save up to 30% on heating by delivering hot air in the ceiling back down to the floor.
With our optional PHI add-on,
Airius units can also eliminate up to 99.9% of airborne VOCs, including bacteria and mold, combating odors and toxins, reducing the risk of illnesses for students and teachers.
The World Standard airiusfans.com For Destratification 303.772.2633
The World Standard For Destratification
24 SCHOOL PLANNING & MANAGEMENT / OCTOBER 2017
WEBSPM.COM