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Scope on Safety: Debugging safely

Science Scope—December 2007

The hazards of pests in the classroom are numerous. Mice can contaminate food and supplies and trigger asthma attacks, cockroaches can cause allergic reactions and aggravate asthma, flies can spread disease, bee and yellow jacket stings can be life threatening, and spiders and ant bites can cause pain and even death. As teachers, we want to provide a safe classroom for our students, but we are also concerned about the indiscriminant use of hazardous pesticides in schools and on school grounds. Numerous studies have shown the dangers of exposure to these chemicals, especially for children. This is a real issue and one that finally is being addressed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and many state legislators.
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