Discusses the need for chemistry laboratory safety procedures. Provides descriptions of techniques to increase students' awareness of the symptoms of such things as toxic gas clouds that could escape into the laboratory, along with defensive strategies for reacting to such situations. (TW)

Discusses information gathered in past few years related to health effects of video display terminals (VDTs) with particular emphasis given to issues raised by VDT users. Topics covered include radiation emissions, health concerns, radiation surveys, occupational radiation exposure standards, and long-term risks. (17 references) (EJS)

Just as high school science is more complex than it is at lower grade levels, so are the safety issues teachers face in their classes and labs. Reduce the risks to people and place with Investigating Safely, the third and most advanced and detailed volume in NSTA's unique series of safety guidebooks for science teachers. Some of the guides 11…

Discussed are four major advantages to the use of microscale laboratories for teaching chemistry. Included are effects on waste generation, laboratory safety, reagent variety, and laboratory efficiency. (CW)

Employs the case study approach to show how the Reagan Administration's assault on environmental policies more adversely affects blacks and other minority groups than whites. Reviews recent research that shows minorities heavily concentrated in dangerous occupations and communities where the risk of exposure to toxic pollutants is greatest. (JS)

Recounts a high school chemistry lab explosion while distilling alcohols. Proposes peroxide formation in older samples of alcohols as the cause. Lists commonly found laboratory alcohols and their peroxide concentrations. Discusses methodology for both detecting and removing peroxides. (MVL)

Using information from the 1990 National Health Interview Survey, examined beliefs regarding radon and radon-testing activities among different sociodemographic groups. Results suggest relatively superficial knowledge regarding radon, and little testing, within the survey population. Significantly less knowledge was observed among female and…

Reviews the knowledge utilization process by decision makers and examines how state agency officials in four areas (hazardous waste management, economic development, welfare, and education) use knowledge generated by policy analysis. Appendices include components of the 1988 knowledge utilization survey of state officials. (48 references) (LRW)

Examines how students' perception of risk for 20 environmental hazards are related to gender, community socioeconomic setting, age, and locus of control. The sample was drawn from a large metropolitan area in the southeast. Females had significantly higher risk-perception scores than males. Participants with an internal locus of control posted the…

The aim of the review of D.V. Cicchetti, A.S. Kaufman, and S.S. Sparrow (funded by the General Electric Company; this issue) is to "evaluate [the] literature relating the effects of prenatal and postnatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) upon neurobehavioral, health-related, and cognitive deficits in neonates, developing infants,…

This invited response to the paper by D.V. Cicchetti, A.S. Kaufman, and S.S. Sparrow (CKS), and the responses by the investigative teams of the studies criticized by them, addresses specific errors of logic and interpretation by CKS, and integrates comments made by the study investigators. CKS provide a flawed analysis of the literature on the…

Children and adults in communities of color and low-income communities face disproportionately high exposures to environmental hazards and, consequently, greater risk of experiencing adverse health impacts from these exposures. Almost two thirds of children under 6 with elevated blood lead levels are children of color living in disadvantaged…

Education reform, besides focusing on teaching and learning, must also address the need to maintain a safe, secure, and healthy school environment. As outlined in "A New Compact for Learning," the New York State Education Department and New York educators are responsible for ensuring the safety of school buildings. Students in school…

This document identifies skill standards for lead abatement in a manner that is easy to understand, useful, and meaningful to workers, educators, trainers, labor leaders, contractors, and project owners. To meet the needs of the various users of this document who will have a different application of the standards and seek different information,…

This educational unit on solid waste solutions is intended to convey to students an understanding of the four methods of solid waste handling, in priority order, as recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency: (1) reduction in the volume of waste produced; (2) recycling and composting; (3) waste combustion, i.e., incineration of waste; and…