4:160-AP1 Hazardous and Infectious Materials

Hazardous and/or Infectious Materials

The Buildings and Grounds Supervisor is responsible for the District’s compliance with State and federal law concerning toxic, hazardous, and/or infectious materials. This includes requirements in the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) Hazard Communication Standards (29 C.F.R. §1910.1200), adopted by the State Toxic Substances Disclosure to Employees Act (820 ILCS 255/, otherwise inoperative). See information on OHSA’s website at www.osha.gov/dsg/hazcom/index.html.

Pesticide Application on School Grounds

The Buildings and Grounds Supervisor is responsible for compliance with the Lawn Care Products Application and Notice Act (415 ILCS 65/3) and shall:

1. Provide an annual schedule of pesticide application to the supervisor of each District building.
2. In coordination with the supervisor of each District building (including each Building Principal), notify employees and students and their parents/guardians in each building. The notification must:
3. Be provided at least four business days before a pesticide application on school grounds.
4. Be written or by telephone. If written, the notice may be included in newsletters, calendars, or other correspondence currently being published.
5. Identify the intended date of the application.
6. Provide the name and telephone contact number for the Buildings and Grounds Supervisor or other school personnel responsible for the pesticide program.

Prior notice is not required if an imminent threat to health or property exists. If such a situation arises, the Building and Grounds Supervisor must sign a statement describing the circumstances that gave rise to the health threat and ensure that written or telephonic notice is provided as soon as practicable.

Pesticide Application in School Buildings and Structures

The Buildings and Grounds Supervisor is responsible for compliance with the requirements in the Structural Pest Control Act (225 ILCS 235/) and shall:

1. Provide an annual schedule of pesticide application to the supervisor of each District building.
2. In coordination with the supervisor of each District building (including each Building Principal):
   1. Maintain a registry of all employees and parents/guardians of students.
   2. Notify those employees and parents/guardians of students before pesticides are applied in or on each building. The notification must:
      1. Be provided at least two business days before a pesticide application in or on school buildings.
      2. Be written. The notice may be included in newsletters, bulletins, calendars, or other correspondence currently being published.
      3. Identify the intended date of the application
      4. Provide the name and telephone contact number for the Buildings and Grounds Supervisor or other school personnel responsible for the pesticide program.

Prior notice is not required if an imminent threat to health or property exists. If such a situation arises, the Building and Grounds Supervisor must sign a statement describing the circumstances that gave rise to the health threat and ensure that written notice is provided as soon as practicable.

The Buildings and Grounds Supervisor is responsible for the District’s integrated pest management program and the District’s compliance with the Structural Pest Control Act. 225 ILCS 235/.

1. Applicable if the Superintendent determines that an integrated pest management program is economically feasible:

The Buildings and Grounds Supervisor or designee shall: (1) develop and implement a program incorporating the Department of Public Health guidelines; (2) notify the Department, on forms provided by the Department, that a program is being implemented; (3) repeat the notification every five years after the initial notification; and (4) keep copies of all notifications and all written integrated pest management program plans.

2.  Applicable if the Superintendent determines that adopting an integrated pest management program is not economically feasible because such adoption would result in an increase in pest control costs.       

The Buildings and Grounds Supervisor or designee shall: (1) notify the Department, on forms provided by the Department, that the development and implementation of an integrated pest management program is not economically feasible; (2) include in the notification the projected pest control costs for the term of the pest control program and projected costs for implementing a program for that same time period; (3) repeat this notification every five years after the initial notification until a program is developed and implemented; and (4) attend a training course, approved by the Department, on integrated pest management and repeat attendance every five years thereafter until a program is developed and implemented in the District’s schools.

The Buildings and Grounds Supervisor or designee shall maintain copies of all notifications that are required by the Structural Pest Control Act and provide the Building Principal(s) or designee(s) sufficient information to allow him/her/them to inform all parents/guardians and school employees at least once each school year that the District has met its notification requirements.

Training and Necessary Equipment

Each Building Principal and non-certificated staff supervisor shall ensure that all staff members under his or her supervision receive training on the safe handling and use of hazardous materials as required by 105 ILCS 5/10-20.17a. Emergency response and evacuation plans must be a part of the training.

Before an employee is given an assignment where contact with blood or bodily fluids or other hazardous material is likely, the employee must be provided the necessary training, including training in the universal precautions and other infection control measures to prevent the transmission of communicable diseases and/or to reduce potential health hazards as required by 23 Ill.Admin.Code §1.330. The appropriate supervisor shall maintain an attendance record of an employee’s participation in the training.

Substitute Non-Hazardous Materials

District staff shall comply with State law governing toxic art supplies in schools. 105 ILCS 135/. This includes substituting non-hazardous material for hazardous substances whenever possible and minimizing the quantity of hazardous substances stored in school facilities. No art or craft material containing a toxic substance shall be ordered or purchased for use through grade 6; material containing toxic substances may be used in grades 7 through 12 only if properly labeled according to State law.

Infectious Materials

The Buildings and Grounds Supervisor shall prepare and distribute to all employees an Occupational Exposure Control Plan to eliminate or minimize occupational exposure to potentially infectious materials. The Plan shall comply with the Bloodborne Pathogens Standards adopted by State and federal regulatory agencies and an updated copy given to the Superintendent annually. The Plan shall address the following issues:

1. Exposure determination. Positions that do not subject the employee to occupational exposure are generally exempt from the Plan and the Standards.
2. Implementation schedule specifying how and when risks are to be reduced. The Standards are very specific on risks reduction, e.g., Universal Precautions must be followed; engineering and work practice controls are specified (hand washing, restricted food areas); personal protection equipment must be provided; housekeeping requirements are specified (regulated waste disposal and laundry); vaccination requirements (all employees who have occupational exposure must be offered, at employer expense, the hepatitis B vaccine and vaccination series); communication of hazards to employees through labeling and training; and recordkeeping.
3. Process for ensuring that all medical evaluations and procedures, including the hepatitis B vaccine and vaccination series and post-exposure evaluation and follow-up, are available as required by law.
4. Procedures for evaluating an exposure incident.

Emergency Response Plan

The Building Principal shall ensure that proper procedures for the cleanup of potentially hazardous material spills are followed including the following:

1. A building custodian is responsible for the actual cleanup,
2. Personal protective equipment, chemical neutralization kits, and absorbent material are available in each building at all times, and
3. Spill residue is placed in containers designated for such purpose and disposed of in compliance with local, State, and federal law.

Evacuation

The Building Principal shall ensure compliance with the School Safety Drill Act. 105 ILCS 128/. This includes, among other things, ensuring that evacuation rules are posted in each room and discussed with each class using the room during the first days of the school year. The evacuation rules indicate the primary and alternate exits and the evacuation area to which students should proceed upon leaving the building.

The Building Principal shall conduct evacuation drills according to School Board policy 4:170, Safety, and administrative procedure 4:170-AP1, Comprehensive Safety and Security Plan.

Legal Reference(s): 

29 C.F.R. §1910.1030, Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens, adopted by the Ill. Department of Labor at 56 Ill.Admin.Code §350.300.

29 C.F.R. §1910.1200, Occupational Safety and Health Administration Hazard Communication Standards, adopted by 820 ILCS 255/1.5, Toxic Substances Disclosure to Employees Act.

105 ILCS 5/10-20.17a and 5/10-20.49.

105 ILCS 135/, Toxic Art Supplies in School Act.

105 ILCS 140/, Green Cleaning School Act.

225 ILCS 235/, Structural Pest Control Act.

415 ILCS 65/, Lawn Care Products Application and Notice Act.

23 Ill.Admin.Code §1.330.

Date Adopted:  January 12, 2009

Dated Amended:  October 22, 2019