This hazardous waste program hits home By DONNA MISCOLTA and JENNIFER HOWELL Special to the Journal One thousand tons of hazardous waste are dumped each year directly into sewers on the ground, posing a serious threat to Puget Sound. Industrial byproducts? No, just households improperly disposing of cleaners, solvents, paints and other products used in and around the home. Two million gallons of used motor oil end up in Puget Sound every year. Supertanker spill? No, just ordinary people changing their oil and pouring it down storm drains, or not fixing a leaky car. The average household typically uses and stores more than 60 hazardous products, including household cleaners, automotive products, paints, solvents and pesticides. These sometimes seemingly harmless products can threaten the health of entire households, including pets. For example, most spot removers contain solvents that can be absorbed through the skin or breathed through the lungs. Chlorine bleach is an irritant and reacts with ammonia or acid products, such as vinegar, to create toxic gases. Such information is not often readily available to the consumer. A study done by the New York Poison Control Center found that 85 percent of product warning labels were inadequate. Each year, the Seattle Poison Center receives over 70,000 calls from people reporting incidents of hazardous household products being spilled or swallowed. Many of these cases involve children. One in 10 children under the age of six requires emergency medical treatment due to accidental exposure to hazardous wastes in the home. Household hazardous waste, which can contaminate our homes, health and environment, is among the issues being addressed by the Local Hazardous Waste Management Plan. Participants in the plan are King County, the City of Seattle, the Seattle-King County Health Department and suburban cities. One element of the King County effort focuses on providing information about household hazardous waste to the school community. Three years ago, the County's Solid Waste Division developed a teacher's guide, "Hazards on the Homefront," that provides lesson plans on household hazardous waste designed to be easily incorporated into existing curricula. The guide introduces students to issues such as label reading, health and environmental effects of common products, and safer substitutes. It also provides students with research methods to learn more about household hazardous waste, such as using community resources, designing experiments and surveys, and evaluating data. Many of the lessons readily tie into the goals of the new education standards that ask students to apply academic skills and subjects to real life situations. Believing that teachers are more likely to use Hazards on the Homefront if provided with some background and training, the Division offers the guide free to teachers who take a six to 10-hour workshop. During the workshop, teachers learn about household hazardous waste and ways to present this topic to students of different grade levels and within various academic subjects. Teachers receive ready-to-use materials including overheads and sample activities. In addition, after the workshop, project staff follow up with calls and information, and teachers can request to have a speaker come to the classroom. Reaching out to schools to encourage the community to think about the waste stream it creates and the consequences of its choices is a natural approach for the Division. The Division has been successfully teaching students about waste reduction and recycling for the past eight years. The Division offers assembly programs and classroom presentations for elementary, middle and high schools as well as recognition and rewards to classrooms that take on waste reduction and recycling projects as Green Teams. A recent evaluation of the elementary school program, the Wiz Kids at Home, demonstrated high gains in student knowledge as well as high teacher satisfaction. When the issue of educating the public on household hazardous waste became a focus, going to the schools was considered a key strategy. Children have a natural enthusiasm and interest in the environment. And because their habits are still forming, children often are more receptive to changing their behavior for a good cause. The intent of the program is to present children with the choices available to them and the effect each has on their lives and the world around them. Teachers who have been involved in the program have been pleased not only with the high quality and significance of its content, but also for the interest and enthusiasm it generates in students. Alice Alcorn of Kent said she is excited about the program because "it matches my philosophy of education. The content is important for the long range. Citizenship skills and thinking skills are best developed in situations where students deal with real problems and where their actions can make a difference in the world. It was the first time this year that I heard that great 'cooperative buzz' that lets you know that interest and energy are high and that students are working well together." Bill Morse of North Bend, said "interest was high from the start. The students all enjoyed going home and finding hazardous products. They reported back that they were as surprised as their parents as to the number and amount of hazardous products they found. Throughout the rest of the year when I was with these students, it was common to refer back to what we had learned and to relate it to the subject at hand." Chris Blea, who teaches middle school science, found that the subject provided a good transition between a chemistry unit and an ecology unit. "It did a great job of bringing chemistry into a personal realm -- making the kids (and myself) more aware of the chemicals/hazards around them and how to better take care of what we have in our households." An optional part of the program is for teachers to do action projects with students to reinforce lessons learned and to apply those lessons to real experiences. For example, fifth graders at Campbell Hill Elementary in Renton stenciled storm drains with messages to increase public awareness of the fact that waste that is dumped down drains eventually ends up in Puget Sound. The class also designed a colorful mural about clean water that was painted on a Metro bus shelter. A Special Education class at Nathan Hale High School taped a video that instructed others about safer cleaning substitutes such as baking soda, vinegar and castile soap. Sixth graders at Beaver Lake Middle School researched topics on household hazardous waste and then created T-shirts, brochures and other materials to share what they learned with their community. One student created a brochure and map on recycling motor oil that has been distributed throughout Issaquah. The program, first piloted during the 1994-95 school year, offers workshops four to five times a year. Workshops are provided to teachers individually or in coordination with co-sponsoring school districts or programs such as MESA. The program is looking for sites and co-sponsors for the 1997-98 school year. The program offers a way for the King County Solid Waste Division and educators to pursue a common goal -- encouraging students to think critically by presenting them with real life issues, the choices available to them and how they affect the world in which we live. Donna Miscolta is program coordinator for the King County Solid Waste Division. Jennifer Howell is with Triangle Associates Inc.