Ways in which school facility planners, managers, and others can guard against the potential indoor air quality (IAQ) problems presented by paint are covered in this bulletin. It opens with an overview of paint formulations and the functional quality of different paints, paying special attention to the volatile organic compounds present in some…

In order to highlight the importance of identifying children with elevated blood lead levels, the Illinois Department of Public Health produces its surveillance report to present state and county level data on the number of children screened for and identified with lead poisoning. In Illinois, all children between 6 and 84 months of age must be…

This paper discusses the importance of a school's having procedures in place to deal with possible biological terrorist threats. It begins with a discussion of biological terrorism. It then provides the symptoms of anthrax, treatment options for anthrax, and precautions to take when suspicious of an attack with a hazardous material. The paper goes…

Presents discussions on sources, health impacts, methods of analysis as well as lengthy discussions of lead, nitrates, and atrazine as related to water pollution and the interdisciplinary nature of the modern chemistry curriculum. (DKM)

Discussed are the potential hazards associated with nitric acid, inorganic and organic nitrate salts, alkyl nitrates, acyl nitrates, aliphatic nitro compounds, aromatic nitro compounds, and nitration reactions. (CW)

Presents research findings regarding the susceptibility of young children to various indoor environmental pollutants including cigarette smoke, heating and cooking equipment, art supplies, lead, and asbestos. Discusses assessment, management, and prevention of environmental hazards to provide guidelines for achieving a safe child care environment.…

Describes the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Hazmat Training Program (Beckley, WV). It is the largest program in the nation for training skilled workers to safely handle toxic and hazardous wastes. This program has produced more than 450 certified instructors, who, in turn, have trained more than 18,000 workers. (LP)

Reports on the work of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. Describes three technical projects that encourage environmentally sound industrial development in 160 nations. Provides information for teachers to obtain instructional resources on this topic. (CFR)

Discusses Home*A*Syst, a self-assessment tool that helps residents identify health and environmental risks around their homes and form plans of action to reduce those risks. (WRM)

Children can be exposed to dangerous chemicals and toxins in the most unlikely of places: Their schools. This brief article describes the types of threats that school environments pose to students' health, including such pollution and chemical exposures as lead, mercury, arsenic, molds, and poor indoor air quality. The article provides tips for…

In 1986, Lake Nyos, a volcanic lake in Cameroon, released a huge amount of carbon dioxide gas, killing over 1,700 people in the surrounding area. This case study, developed for use in a limnology or aquatic biology course, explores that event, introducing students to concepts relating to lake formation, thermal stratification, and dissolved gases.…

Lab safety begins with the teacher. Teachers must make learning how to be safe an integral and important part of their professional development and work. Teachers who are unfamiliar with laboratory instruction should take whatever steps necessary to prepare for the unique challenges associated with safety in conducting laboratory investigations…

Rhetorical scholarship criticizes melodrama for its tendency to simplify and reify public controversies and valorizes the comic frame as an ethically superior mode of rhetoric. These judgments are rooted in the discipline's reliance on Burkean categories, a reductionist conception of melodrama, and an implicit assumption that social unification…

The cumulative result of almost 100 years of mining, milling, and smelting has left areas of Jasper County, Missouri, contaminated with high levels of the trace metals Pb, Cd, and Zn. The site was listed on the National Priorities List in 1990 and is now known as the Jasper County or Oronogo-Duenweg Mining Belt Superfund Site. The U.S.…

This report combines neuroscience, child development research, and program evaluation data to better inform policymakers' decisions about investing in and supporting existing early childhood programs. Core child development concepts highlight the importance of early experiences on the development of brain architecture and, in turn, future…