School children in the Nordic countries are taught about hazardous chemicals in Hanna’s House

In a new, joint Nordic teaching material the youngest school children are taught about the hazardous properties of e.g. drain cleaner, lighter fluid and limescale remover, and about why such products need to be handled with caution.

Serious eye damage or poisoning are some of the casualties that children are at risk for if they get into close contact with household chemicals at home. That is why five Nordic countries are now launching a new, joint Nordic teaching material which is aimed at teaching the pupils in grade 2-6. to be cautious if they encounter such chemicals at home. The project is supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Pay attention to the hazardous chemicals

The new teaching material “Hannas House of Hidden Hazards” is a website where the pupils can navigate around in Hanna’s House and meet regular household chemicals and learn about the hazard labelling on the bottles.

- It is the responsibility of the parents to store and handle the household chemicals in a correct and safe manner, but by giving the children knowledge about the potential hazards we hope to minimize the risk of accidents. As a bonus the children may tell their parents what they have learned, and that the toilet cleaner and the dishwasher tabs shall not be placed on the lower shelves where the youngest children may access them. In that way the whole family can benefit, explains Trine Thorup Andersen from Miljøstyrelsen in Denmark, who is one of the parties behind the project.

The website Hannas House of Hidden Hazards” is developed in corporation between five Nordic countries:

Denmark (Miljøstyrelsen), Sweden (Kemikalieinspektionen), Norway (Miljødirektoratet), Finland (Tukes) and Iceland (Umhverfisstofnun) with suport from the Nordic Council of Ministers. The teaching material is available in the five languages at the following websites:

Finland: hannantalo.fi;  svensk.hannantalo.fi

Denmark: hannashus.dk, hannashouse.dk

Sweden: hannashus.se

Norway: hannashus.no

Iceland: honnuhus.is

About Hanna’s house of hidden hazards:

• The teaching material is made in a corporation between Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland.
• The material is structured as a website. Through one lecture the pupils can learn about the significance of the different hazard pictogrammes on the bottles with household chemicals and about why it is important to handle and store them correctly.
• The material is aimed for teaching in natural science, but it is available in all Nordic languages and English and can thus be used across subjects.
• The development of ”Hanna’s House of Hidden Hazards” is supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers by 250,000 DKK.

Further information: 

Senior Adviser Sari Tuhkunen, tel. 029 5052 050

Senior Adviser Elina Ekokoski, tel. 029 5052 009

email: [email protected]