Many school buildings with high radon levels also exhibit high carbon dioxide levels that starve the minds of students for oxygen. Administrators must realize that the world's best educator cannot teach minds made dysfunctional by their environment. This article describes Environmental Protection Agency testing results and offers radon monitoring…

An inspection of 138 New Jersey school buildings revealed that a significant percentage of school officials do not have a good understanding of their asbestos management plan and, therefore, are failing to meet all of the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act's requirements. (MLF)

The background of the proposal is discussed. The debate over the management of hazardous materials by ban or phase-out is related. The conclusions of the meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development are presented. (CW)

Discusses how a higher education facility can prepare for an Environmental Protection Agency inspection with some quick topics designed to smooth the process. Tips include determining if waste is hazardous, labeling waste properly, preventing pollution, improving housekeeping, and having good hazardous materials management practices. (GR)

Argues that schools should use a planned communications program to allay fears brought on by asbestos removal. Offers tips on informing the public, such as developing an informative handbook and distributing flyers. Claims that special meetings offer the opportunity to hand out materials and answer questions. (RJM)

Uses dartboards to represent magnitude-frequency relationships of natural hazards which engage students at different levels of preparation in different contexts, and for different lengths of time. Helps students to mitigate the misconceptions that processes occur periodically by emphasizing the random nature of hazards. Includes 12 references.…

Discusses the September 11 terrorist attacks' implications for school safety. Explores various schools' security procedures and any changes that have been made in the aftermath. Includes a sidebar on dealing with suspicious packages. (EV)

Mercury tends to vaporize when exposed to air. The warmer the air, the more quickly it vaporizes. Although swallowing mercury can be a problem, the greater risk results from inhalation and skin absorption. Symptoms and health-related problems can result within hours of exposure. Spilled mercury settles in cracks and absorbent material such as…

Green chemistry is the awareness of the damaging environmental effects due to chemical research and inventions. There is emphasis on a need to include green chemistry in synthesis with atom economy in organic chemistry curriculum to ensure an environmentally conscious future generation of chemists, policy makers, health professionals and business…

An experiment is described which allows easy, rapid determination of mercury levels in commercially seafood samples from a contaminated area. Students gain experience in the preparation of a calibration curve, the determination of unknown concentrations, and risk assessment based on experimentally determined data.

A chemical laboratory information profile (CLIP) is presented for the chemical, triethanolamine. It summarizes the chemical's physical and harmful features, exposure limits, and symptoms of major exposure for the benefit of teachers and students, who use the chemical in the laboratory.

Product take-back (also called extended producer responsibility) has become a trend for dealing with the garbage resulting from categories of problematic products. Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is one such category with computer equipment being of particular significance. This article provides a description of the European…

Gaps in school achievement among racial/ethnic groups and between students from different socioeconomic circumstances are well documented. They are wide and persistent, well known and widely acknowledged. This report focuses on the conditions and experiences that create and perpetuate achievement gaps. It is the second edition of the report…

Tips that laboratory researchers and beginning graduate students can use to safeguard against explosion hazard with emphasis on clear illustrations of molecular structure are discussed. Those working with hazardous materials must proceed cautiously and may want to consider alternative and synthetic routes.

In fall 1989, the initial implementation of the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act of 1986 (AHERA) was evaluated. This report summarizes evaluation results presented in a two-volume final report and appendices. AHERA regulations required: (1) inspection of all elementary and secondary schools to identify any asbestos-containing building…