MEDIA RELEASE

LOCAL CONTACT:             Bill Sozanski: Canary Committee
                                               203-261-2823 or 203-913-6868
                                               sozanski@SNET.Net

NATIONAL CONTACT:      Beth George, 212/245-0510,
                                                bgeorge@promediacomm.com

Connecticut Foundation for Environmentally Safe School Press Release
School Communities Breathe Easier With Passage of IAQ Bill

  Wednesday September 17, 2003: Canaries Return to the Capitol to Sing a Happy Tune
  http://pollutionfreeschools.org/news/

  Hartford: Today, the Canary Committee held an upbeat press conference to
  celebrate two initiatives that promote improved environmental health in CT
  schools. The first initiative impacting all public schools is the passage of landmark
  legislation, An Act Concerning Indoor Air Quality in Schools. This new law holds
  school districts accountable for properly maintaining facilities and discourages the
  practice of deferring maintenance, which has lead to numerous incidents in which
  students and teachers have become afflicted with preventable illnesses.

       "In the long run, the true measure of this bill's success will
       come when CT teachers no longer have he highest rate of
       occupational asthma, and we stop hearing reports of
       children requiring medical care due to poor air quality in a
       school. This bill is the first important step toward reversing
       what had become an alarming trend.", stated Joellen
       Lawson, founder of the Canary Committee who became
       disabled as a result of mold exposure at the McKinley
       Elementary School in Fairfield, CT.

  Serving as a spokesperson for the nine children who had testified at a public
  hearing in March, Taylor Epifano, age 11, of Trumbull, said,

       "I would like to thank the lawmakers who supported the new
       bill. All the children (Canary Kids) here today are proud of
       speaking out. I know it made me feel good that the
       lawmakers believed our stories and understood our
       suffering. This bill has made a difference in my life, but it
       will also make a difference in the lives of other children
       who remain in sick schools."

  Representative Robert Godfrey of Danbury remarked,

       "All of us have been touched by the stories of these children
       and teachers. It was time we finally did something about
       this. The Canary Committee played a pivotal role in the
       passage of what is in my opinion one of the most significant
       pieces of legislation from last session." He went on to say, "I
       was very pleased by the bipartisan support that lead to
       overwhelming approval of this bill in the House (147 to 1)
       and Senate (35 to 1)."

  The second initiative highlighted in the press conference was the Green Flag
  Program coordinated by the Center for Health Environment and Justice (CHEJ),
  which is directed by Lois Gibbs, the mother who revealed the toxic waste site
  buried beneath the Love Canal, NY neighborhood. Paul Ruther of CHEJ
  congratulated the three award winning Connecticut Schools. The Villa Maria
  Education Center (Stamford) and Huckleberry Hill Elementary School
  (Brookfield) received awards for investigating environmental health issues in
  their schools, the first step in the Green Flag Program. Southeast Elementary
  School in Mansfield received an advanced award and a state citation for their
  outstanding recycling program. All three schools will continue to work on indoor
  air quality issues through the program.
 

Story published in CTnow.com by the Hartford Courant

Schools' Environmental Programs Honored

                   Three Connecticut schools were honored Wednesday at
                   the Legislative Office Building in Hartford with a national
                   award for their environmental programs.

                   The Green Thumbs Club at Southeast Elementary School
                   in Mansfield received the Green Flag Award for its
                   12-year-old recycling program. Villa Maria School in
                   Stamford and Huckleberry Hill Elementary School in
                   Brookfield were also honored for teaching children about
                   environmental issues.

                   Later in the day, the Green Thumbs Club celebrated the
                   award at the Mansfield school at a ceremony with School
                   Superintendent Gordon Schimmel, Principal Norma
                   Fisher-Doiron, Virginia Walton, the town's recycling officer,
                   and Mickey Maheu, a teacher who advises the students in
                   the club.

                   The Green Flag program encourages students to
                   investigate potential environmental hazards, such as
                   mold, in their schools and to work with teachers and
                   administrators to ensure their schools are safe.

                   For more information on Green Flag, visit
                  greenflagschools.org.