Study: over 54 percent Poles do not know what to do with spilled mercury

This is alarming, according to the organizers, because mercury, the second most toxic element on Earth after plutonium, is not biodegradable and has a very detrimental effect on health and the environment. It accumulates in living organisms, including humans, and disrupts many important biochemical processes. Vapours containing mercury particles from a broken thermometer or fluorescent lamp can quickly lead to poisoning.

Therefore, it is important to start with ventilating the room where such object has been broken, and close the door to prevent others from entering the room and spreading mercury all over the apartment. Glass shards should be collected in rubber gloves, then the floor wiped with wet disposable paper towels, and all (including gloves) placed in an airtight plastic bag. Then, after washing hands thoroughly, the bag should be brought to the fluorescent lamps disposal point.

According to TNS Polska, however, as many as 54 percent adult Poles do not know what to do in such situation.

To increase public awareness about the dangers of mercury in our environment, campaign creators decided to start environmental education of 5-6 years old preschoolers. The educational campaign is implemented in kindergartens in six Polish cities: Gdansk, Krakow, Lublin, Łódź, Warsaw and Poznań.

"What would happen if we spilled mercury?" - asks the teacher in one of Warsaw\'s kindergartens. "You have to run away quickly" - shouts five years old Jaś. Ania (same age) says with conviction: "Our Earth would be very ill. Animals and people would fall ill. All would be dry and there would be no fresh air. Plants would die."

It is not very far from the truth, if we realize that, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, mercury from a single thermometer (1 gram) can poison one small lake with an area of 8 hectares.

During 45-minute classes preschoolers learn how to segregate garbage, what hazardous waste is, how to treat it, in particular, how to avoid the risks associated with mercury. Campaign organizers are hoping that this way they can also draw parents\' attention to the problem of mercury and its presence in the immediate vicinity of people.

Kindergarten teacher asks children: "And do you think that your parents know about the dangers of mercury?". "I think they do not know, never said anything to me - believes Grześ. - But now I will tell them."

According to surveys carried out for the campaign, many adult Poles do not know which products may contain mercury. Thermometers are an exception, 77 percent respondents associate them with mercury. Only 35 percent respondents indicated the presence of mercury in fluorescent lamps, and 11 percent said it could be found in once popular dental fillings. However, only 9 percent know that mercury can be present in windows.

Meanwhile, around 1.5 tons of mercury per year is used in the production of windows in Poland (mercury is used in most window sealants).

Kindergarten raises the question: "What will you if you break a thermometer?" "I will ask an adult to deal with it. If they refuse, I will say that I will be sick" - Grześ says firmly.

"When we ourselves are not aware of the dangers, it is great when kindergarten become places where youngsters gain important knowledge and develop responsible, environmentally friendly attitudes" - said Sławomir Brzózek, vice president of the Our Earth Foundation, which co-organised the campaign and developed the program of activities for children.

In his opinion, we need a serious debate about mercury, its responsible use and disposal, and alternative mercury-free technology.

"As many as 68 percent Poles in our study declared that they are would choose mercury-free products in order to reduce or eliminate the production of this element. This means that we want to protect the environment and our health and the health our children. We simply do not know how to do that" - said Brzózek. He believes that consumers should know that they can help reduce the risks associated with the use of mercury by selecting products that do not contain it.

To facilitate this, campaign organizers award "Green Window" certificates to window manufacturers whose products do not contain mercury.

The initiative launched the website (www.zieloneokno.org), where visitors can watch an educational video on mercury, and learn how to neutralize spilled mercury.

Children from kindergartens that take part in educational campaign participate in the art competition "Green Tomorrow". The award is the removal of mercury from the kindergarten windows or their replacements with eco, mercury-free windows.

The campaign "Green window - take mercury out of your life" is organized jointly by Our Earth Foundation, eco in company and the Toxicological Information Office.

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland

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