Choose Safe Places for Early Care and Education DISASTER RECOVERY SUPPLEMENT Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) March 2020 Choose Safe Places for Early Care and Education Planning. Guidance. Protection. Contents INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................... 1 Environmental Exposures .......................................................................................................................... 1 Disaster Recovery ..................................................................................................................................... 2 Who can benefit from the Disaster Recovery Supplement? ............................................................................ 2 Disaster Recovery and the Choose Safe Places for Early Care and Education Guidance Manual ......................... 4 PART 1: THE FOUR KEY ELEMENTS OF SAFE SITING DURING DISASTER RECOVERY .......................................................... 5 Types of Disasters .................................................................................................................................... 7 PART 2: ADDITIONAL PLACES WHERE CHILDREN SPEND TIME ...................................................................................... 11 Center-Based Early Care and Education .................................................................................................... 13 Home-Based Child Care........................................................................................................................... 14 License-exempt Early Care and Education ................................................................................................. 17 Out-of-Home Care for Children/Residential Homes/Group Homes ................................................................. 19 Children’s Recreational Spaces ................................................................................................................ 20 Camps ................................................................................................................................................... 22 PART 3: ADDITIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ISSUES ............................................................................................... 23 Floodwater ............................................................................................................................................. 25 Cisterns and Wells .................................................................................................................................. 28 Water Advisories ..................................................................................................................................... 31 Onsite Wastewater Disposal ..................................................................................................................... 34 Air Pollution and Particulate Matter .......................................................................................................... 36 Carbon Monoxide .................................................................................................................................... 40 Indoor Air Quality and Ventilation ........................................................................................................... 42 Mold ..................................................................................................................................................... 45 Cleaning and Disinfection Products .......................................................................................................... 47 Pesticide Usage ...................................................................................................................................... 49 Physical Hazards .................................................................................................................................... 52 Disaster Debris ..................................................................................................................................... 55 Noise ..................................................................................................................................................... 57 APPENDIX A: RESOURCES BY TOPIC ........................................................................................................................... 61 APPENDIX B: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................................... 70 ii Choose Safe Places for Early Care and Education—Disaster Recovery Supplement Choose Safe Places for Early Care and Education—Disaster Recovery Supplement Introduction In 2017, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disasters disrupt communities. Homes, businesses, Disease Registry (ATSDR) released the Choose child care facilities, early childhood programs, Safe Places for Early Care and Education Guidance schools, and other critical infrastructure can be Manual. The guidance manual helps environmental damaged or destroyed. After the initial disaster and public health professionals ensure that early response ends, communities begin the long process care and education programs are located away from of disaster recovery. During this process, places that chemical hazards. The Choose Safe Places for Early were once safe for children may no longer be safe. Care and Education (CSPECE) Disaster Recovery The Supplement can help identify environmental Supplement builds upon the 2017 manual to assist exposures that may be hazardous to children while environmental and public health professionals assess they are in child care or at other places children places where children spend time to protect children spend time such as preschools and recreational from harmful environmental exposures during facilities. Identifying these hazards can help disaster recovery. establish ways to reduce risk. This Supplement will assist public health professionals during disaster recovery identify potential environmental exposures to children in places where children spend time outside of their homes. Environmental Exposures A child’s environment has direct consequences on direct and indirect hazards have grown because of their health and wellbeing. The main focus in this the increase in the number of disasters (fires, floods, document is to discuss environmental exposures hurricanes, etc.), along with increased population that can affect children during disaster recovery. density in disaster-prone areas. This combination Environmental exposures come from biological, increases the chance of harmful environmental chemical, or physical (including radiological) hazards exposures from hazardous materials to children.1 in the environment. The following may make children more vulnerable to Children can be exposed to harmful environmental harmful environmental exposures: hazards by X Physiology—a child breathes more air, drinks X breathing indoor and outdoor air, more water, and eats more food than an adult does compared to their body size. X drinking water, X Behaviors—a child may put objects in their X eating, mouth, play or crawl on the ground and soil, X bathing or swimming, and not recognize dangers. X playing in or on soil, X Surroundings—a child may spend up X touching objects, and to 60 hours per week in child care and may spend time playing outside or in X placing objects into mouths. recreational facilities. Disasters can cause direct and indirect releases of hazardous materials into the environment. An example of a direct release of hazardous materials is when a forest fire produces dioxins; an example of an indirect release is when pesticides from a storage facility wash into floodwater.1 Concerns about both Choose Safe Places for Early Care and Education—Disaster Recovery Supplement 1 Disaster Recovery This Supplement provides guidance to protect children from harmful exposures during disaster recovery, a process which starts before disasters happen with the “Recovery includes recovery planning stage. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the restoration and in the National Disaster Recovery Framework, comprehensively describes the strengthening of key systems disaster recovery process. This recovery process begins in communities as the and resource assets that initial disaster response starts to wind down.2 are critical to the economic This Supplement complements existing guidance from FEMA, the stability, vitality, and Administration for Children and Families (ACF), and others on disaster preparedness in early care and education (ECE) settings. Though disaster long-term sustainability of preparedness is crucial to keeping children safe preceding, during, and the communities themselves.” immediately after a disaster, disaster recovery guidance is often overlooked. Unintentional exposures can happen when children spend time in places —National Disaster affected by disasters that have not been carefully assessed during the Recovery Framework, disaster response. Returning to pre-disaster routines, such as attending Second Edition FEMA school or child care, is vital for community members’ sense of wellbeing and disaster resiliency. Ensuring environmental exposures are assessed and mitigated can help community members feel secure as they recover and return to pre-disaster routines. Who can benefit from the Disaster Recovery Supplement? The