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Environmental Safety Tips for Students

The world that surrounds students can pose a risk to their health and safety if they are not adequately informed of the dangers they face. By providing students with environmental safety tips, you can arm them with the information necessary to avoid many of the dangers that they encounter every day. Once students learn what to look for, they will be more knowledgeable of the environmental elements that pose a danger to them and more adept at avoiding potential injury.

  1. Seek Adult Help Before Using Uncommon Chemicals

    • Students should never attempt to use a chemical with which they are unfamiliar without adult assistance. By doing so, they may misuse the substance or fail to exercise proper safety precautions associated with the use of that chemical. To ensure their safety, they should also confer with an adult before attempting to handle an uncommon chemical.

    Avoid Unlabeled Chemicals

    • When chemicals are not labeled, it is impossible to truly know what containers hold. Students should never attempt to use any chemical that does not have a clear label. When students assume that they know what a chemical is and attempt to use it anyway, they risk serious harm if the chemical is different from what they expected.

    Use Chemicals in Ventilated Areas

    • Many chemicals give off strong odors; these fumes can often be extremely hazardous and capable of causing poisoning, chemical burns, and other bodily harm. While these odors can't be avoided completely, students can reduce the degree to which they inhale these fumes by using chemicals only in well-ventilated areas. As a general rule, using chemicals outside is always preferable to using them inside, as fumes can more easily and rapidly dissipate when chemicals are used in an open space. Students in science classrooms should handle potentially hazardous substances inside chemical hoods or similar ventilating devices.

    Don't Mix Chemicals

    • Some chemicals that are safe alone can be extremely hazardous when mixed. For example, the mixture of bleach and ammonia gives off highly toxic fumes--chlorine gas--that can result in death if inhaled. For safety's sake, students should never mix chemicals unless specifically told to do so by an adult.

    Avoid Areas High in Smoke

    • To ensure respiratory safety, students should aim to breathe air that is as clean as possible. When students live with smokers, or generally spend a lot of time around these individuals, maintaining a clean-air environment can be difficult. Once students are informed of the dangers associated with breathing less-than-clean air, they can understand the importance of seeking out quality air and will be more likely to avoid areas in which they may inhale substances that could be detrimental to their lungs.

    Install Radon or Carbon Monoxide Detectors

    • Smoke detectors were once the only hazard-detection tool available to home owners. Now home owners can better protect their families from other potential dangers by buying and installing radon and carbon monoxide detectors. Students can help ensure household safety by speaking with their parents about these detection tools and encouraging the adults in their home to install these useful devices.

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