Houses Of Worship And Children’s Health

The U.S. EPA has released a free booklet that facility managers at houses of worship can reference to identify and mitigate potential health threats, such as lead and radon exposure.

In accordance with Children’s Health Month, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced the release of a new EPA booklet, “Supporting Healthy Houses of Worship: Effective, Affordable Measures to Protect the Health of Congregations and Staff” today.

houses of worship
New booklet for houses of worship available from U.S. EPA

This booklet is designed to provide places of worship with information on actions they can take to reduce environmental health risks, with a special emphasis on children’s health, as children are particularly vulnerable to many environmental risks.

“Churches and houses of worship play a vital role in American society, and we are providing them with voluntary recommendations for effective and affordable measures to protect the health of their congregations and staff,” EPA’s Wheeler. “This booklet is an important part of EPA’s efforts during Children’s Health Month to highlight all our programs and resources available to protect children where they live, learn and play.”

The 27-page booklet is designed to identify some of the most common types of environmental health concerns (e.g., lead, mercury, mold/moisture, radon exposures, etc.) found in older facilities and contains voluntary recommendations that maintenance staff may use to limit risks to congregations. Other factors, including arts and crafts and pest management, are covered. The booklet also provides one-stop access to learn some facts about these issues and existing low-cost or no-cost measures to prevent, reduce, and resolve each of the highlighted environmental issues.

Facility managers can download the booklet at this link: https://www.epa.gov/education/supporting-healthy-houses-worship