Westmoreland Elementary Pilots Non-Toxic Cleaning
Gary L. Glendening
August 19, 2008
At the August Board of Education meeting, the
Board gave its approval for Westmoreland Elementary to pilot a
school wide non-toxic cleaning program.
Westmoreland Elementary believes that schools
have an obligation to provide a healthy environment for those who
work at schools; teachers, custodians and other staff members, and
those who learn at schools; students.
The staff at WES has concerns about the
toxicity of cleaning products generally used in schools,
particularly those used at Westmoreland Elementary. These
concerns prompted research into both the potential hazards
associated with commercial cleaning products and the newer
generation of “green cleaning products” that claim to be toxic
free.
The popularity of so called “green cleaning
products”, products that report to not cause damage to the health
of people, are on the rise. This popularity in green products
may be due to the concern that many, if not most, commercial
cleaning products contain chemicals that can be harmful to people.
Reading the warning labels on commercial cleaning products helps to
explain these concerns.
At Westmoreland Elementary and most schools,
all of the commercial cleaning products being used display a label
warning that says, “Keep Out Of Reach of Children”. The
labels go on to make statements such as; hazardous to humans and
domestic animals, danger corrosive, store in an area inaccessible
to children, causes eye and skin damage, use in well ventilated
area, fatal if swallowed, do not breath vapor of fumes, do not get
on skin, wear goggles or face shield and rubber gloves when using,
if inhaled move person to fresh air, in case of accident call a
poison control center, emergency department or physician.
Along with the possible immediate danger of
certain commercial cleaning products, comes the possible long term
effect of such products. Multiple studies have questioned the
relationship between commercial cleaning products used in schools
and student respiratory problems including asthma, as well as other
health impairments. Additional studies point to a link
between commercial cleaning products and student learning
issues.
Unfortunately, most of the so called green
cleaning products have some of the same issues associated with
commercial cleaning products. Most green cleaning products
researched were also labeled with Keep Out Of The Reach of
Children, thus causing some skepticism about removing one problem
from WES only to add another. Fortunately, one cleaning
product that will allow for the removal of all toxic commercial
cleaning products from Westmoreland Elementary School, along with
the health and learning problems associated with commercial
cleaning products was found.
The product that Westmoreland Elementary
School will be piloting for health and cleaning purposes is
marketed as KD Gold Non-Toxic All Purpose Soap. It is
an industrial cleaning product manufactured and distributed by
Natural Soap Formulas, Inc, a company located in Ft. Lauderdale,
Florida. KD Gold is a blend of plant-derived ingredients that
are fragrance free, non-combustible, non-hazardous, non-fuming,
biodegradable, and non-toxic. It is a proprietary, bio-based
formula consisting of fatty acids, vegetable and plant based
enzymes and minerals, organic alcohol, coconut oil, and folic
acid. All of KD Gold’s ingredients are found on the Food and
Drug Administration’s (FDA) “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS)
list.
Unlike most commercial cleaning products, no
warning label of any kind is required to be placed on KD Gold by
any Federal, State or municipal agency. The technology behind
KD Gold was originally developed for use in cleaning up oil
spills. The cleaning action is based on molecular technology
that utilizes submicroscopic particles known as “colloidal
micelles” (nanotechnology), which penetrates and breaks up oil
molecules into soluble, biodegradable components.
Westmoreland Elementary is proud to be the first school in our region and one of the few schools in Kansas to implement a cleaning program using KD Gold, an excellent non-toxic cleaning product. We feel that all members of the WES team will benefit from this change. WES custodians and staff will be documenting the use of KD Gold to ascertain the effectiveness of the cleaning product, and the BOE will be provided with updates. Websites of interest are listed below.
