
				Pat Quinn, Governor

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Environmental Progress - Spring 2003

“Green” Classrooms are Clean Classrooms

Educational materials can be hazardous, require safe handling

Hazardous chemicals can be found in school science labs, art rooms and shop classes. Handled, stored or disposed of improperly, they can pose risks to students, staff and the environment from their toxic, flammable or reactive properties.

Professionals sort and pack potentially dangerous classroom chemicals for proper disposal

To help teachers and school officials learn how to appropriately deal with these issues, the IEPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention partnered with other state agencies in a series of five workshops on potentially harmful chemicals in school classrooms. More than 500 educators learned “green chemistry” practices that use safer materials for common science experiments while reducing the amount of waste created.

For instance, common household items like vitamin C tablets, liquid laundry starch, iodine and hydrogen peroxide can be used to study reaction rates and times. More typical chemicals such as formaldehyde, mercuric ion, thiosulfates or bisulfates require special handling.

The IEPA and its co-sponsors, the Illinois State Board of Education and Illinois Department of Public Health, demonstrated how to make bio-diesel fuel from canola or other vegetable cooking oil, and how glue could be made from milk.

Information was provided on safe storage and disposal of chemicals utilized for teaching. Five workshops were held and over 200 teachers and other school officials attended. Some web sites that may be useful for teachers trying to incorporate green chemistry into their lesson plans: