Reducing Household Hazardous Waste
Curriculum for Third Grade Classes
What are household hazardous products?
Household Hazardous Products are products that are used in the home that contain ingredients that have the potential to harm people or the environment. Hazardous products are those with certain characteristics. the products, wastes
* Toxic
* Flammable
* Corrosive
* Explosive/reactive
A product is toxic if it is acutely or chronically harmful if small amounts are swallowed or inhaled, or one which contains a carcinogen. Flammable products are easily ignitable. Flammable products ignite at 140° F or lower. Corrosive products are very acidic or basic (briefly explain the pH scale). Corrosive products can damage or irritate human tissue depending on the level of exposure to the substance. The level of exposure is the function of the amount of the toxic encountered and the duration and frequency of the exposure occurrence. reactive products react violently with certain substances around them. Deadly fumes can result from some reactions.
Hazardous products can be purchased at almost any store. Anyone can purchase these products.
Can anyone give an example of a product that they think is hazardous?Some examples are:
* Oven Cleaner
* Household cleaners
* Pesticides
* Insecticides
* Drain cleaners
* Motor oil
* Gasoline
* Glass Cleaners
* Mildew removers
* Toilet bowl cleaners
* Furniture polish
* Shoe polish
How can you tell if a product is hazardous?
The only way to is to read the label.
Look for words such as caution, warning, danger/poison.
Activity:The classroom will be broken up into sections. Each section will represent an area of the house that would contain household hazardous products. These areas will be marked kitchen, bathroom, garage, and laundry room. Products that will be used in these rooms will be put in each area. The classroom will be broken up into teams. Each team will have five minutes in each room to try to distinguish the hazardous products from the non-hazardous ones. After twenty minutes the answers will be given. The teams will discuss how they decided which products were hazardous and which ones were not.
A large poster of a human body will be at the front of the classroom. The poster of the human will have the major organs drawn onto it. Connection lines will be drawn from the chemicals to the organ that they are known to effect. The students will all take a chemical product from used in the activity above and see where each chemical affects the human body.
What can people do to reduce the amount of hazardous products that they use?
Find alternatives and safer substitutions.
A discussion should be prompted if a student does not inquire about products that we can not eliminate such as gasoline or motor oil. This would be the opportunity to mention the main goal is to reduce, substitute or eliminate. For a product that you can not live without, such as gasoline, or motor oil, reducing is your best decision. This would involve conserving whenever appropriate. If you're only going a short distance, walk, ride your bicycle, Make sure your car doesn't have leaks.
Activity: Materials will be brought into the classroom for the students to prepare their own alternatives to some of the hazardous products that were mentioned previously.
Produced as a pilot classroom session by the Lexington Health Department. 1998
Kitchen Floor Cleaner and Polisher
o 1 cup water
o 3 drops of vinegar
o 3 drops of baby oil
o 1 container
Step 1. Mix the water, vinegar and baby oil in the container.
Step 2. Soak up some mixture with the sponge.
Step 3. Rub the sponge onto the floor or linoleum squares.
Step 4. Wipe off the dirty liquid and squeeze out the sponge in a container for dirty water.
Step 5. Rub with the towel.
How it works:
The vinegar takes off the greasy dirt, and the baby oil protects the plastic from drying and scratching. The oil makes the plastic shine.
Replaces:
Linoleum Floor Cleaner and Wax. Some of these cleaners contain diethylene glycol, a chemical which can be toxic to water organisms and which is able to catch fire. Some cleaners contain ammonia which is reactive.
Cleaning and Polishing Wood Furniture and Removing Water Stains on Wood:
o 1 dab of toothpaste
o 5 drops of olive oil
o 1 lemon wedge
o rags
Step 1. Dust off the wood.
Step 2. Gently rub in a small dab of toothpaste onto the water stain.
Step 3. Wipe off any leftover toothpaste.
Step 4. Put 5 drops of olive oil and 5 drops of lemon juice on the cloth. Spread the oil onto the strained wood in a very thin layer aver the area where you rubbed the toothpaste..
Step 5. Rub the oil onto the stained wood.
Step 6: Wipe off any remaining oil and rub the spot with a clean cloth to make it shine.
How it works:
The oil absorbed by the wood and the lemon gives it a good smell.
Replaces:
Wood furniture polish. Many contain phenols, and spray-propellants such as isobutane or propane, which are able to catch on fire and which are not good to breathe.
Glass Cleaner
o ½ spoonful of corn starch
o a few drops of vinegar
o 1 cup of water
o sheets of newspaper
o container for mixture
Step 1:Mix in the container the cornstarch, vinegar, and water. Stir it well.
Step 2: Take a rag and dip it into the mixture. Rub the rag onto the glass, wiping across the glass in one direction a few times.
Step 3:Take a handful of newspaper and rub in one direction across the glass. This will remove any streaks of lint.
How it works:
The newspaper leaves glass dust-free and creates a dirt-resistant film.
Replaces:
Many glass cleaners contain ammonia which can irritate breathing tubes and eyes. Almost all glass cleaners are applied by spray pumps, and droplets from spray can be breathed.
This page updated Friday September 23 2005