MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 18, 2013) – Dozens of state teachers in the Philippines have banded to eliminate toxic substance in schools and created their own action plans following a two-day training and workshop by the Manila-based nongovernmental organization BAN Toxics.
The training and workshop which was held recently at Fort del Pilar Elementary School in Baguio City was conducted under the Toxics-Free Schools Program or TFSP through a partnership between BAN Toxics and the Department of Education or DepEd.
Organizers said the teachers created an action plan on how to integrate the concepts of a toxic-free school plan to their lessons. The action plan not only covered science and non-science subjects and even Music, among others.
The output will be forwarded to the DepEd as reference materials for the development of a teachers’ manual as supplemental material for teaching their respective subjects.
“We believe that the teachers and school personnel have big roles in disseminating information and raising awareness, especially to sensitive issues such as toxic poisoning,” Misael Santos, Mercury Projects Coordinator of Ban Toxics, said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
Santos, who also facilitated the workshop, said: “They are the school’s first line of defense so it is imperative that they know what to do in case of toxic contamination.”
She said toxic substances abound in schools and causing harm and exposing schoolchildren to great danger without them knowing it.
The seminar highlighted the “Fearsome Five” toxins commonly found in schools – mercury, lead, asbestos, cadmium, and arsenic.
Santos said toxic substances can be found in items and materials normally used by children such as crayons, markers, and school bags and children are exposed to harm on a daily basis.
In 2006, a science teacher brought a sample of mercury in the classroom and the flask containing the mercury broke during the experiment, exposing some 80 students to high levels of mercury during the accident, which caused the temporary closure of the school and hospitalization of the vicitms.
“We recognize the importance of this training because this empowers us as teachers to protect our students from unnecessary harm. As administrators, it is our responsibility to keep our schools safe from all kinds of danger, especially from these invisible yet highly dangerous toxic substances,”Julia Ladiong, principal of Fort del Pilar Elementary School, said in the same statement.
Other schools that participated in the training are Kias Elementary School, Bakakeng Elementary School, Pinget Elementary School, and Lindawan Elementary School. Some parents of Fort del Pilar Elementary School students also joined the training.
The TFSP engages the school community to be more aware and vigilant against these toxic substances that are present in our environment. It also promotes solutions and alternatives that the school can use to avoid, or gradually phase-out and minimize the health and environmental risks.
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