Heritage

Contentseducating towards a better future109efforts in the future, at the macro and micro levels. For this reason, it is of paramountimportance that children learn about heritage and culture-friendly alternatives at anearly age. It is also important that they are taught to care for their heritage and theirsurroundings. For example, children can be taught how to contribute to preventivewaste management through measures aimed at ensuring the classroom, play areasand school canteen are well maintained. Additionally, they must be taught to respectheritage sites and not disfigure them. A clean environment and clean surroundings arenot only healthier, but are more pleasant to live in, and increase our sense of safety andsecurity. Thus, preserving culture gives a place a unique feel and makes it comfortableto live in.tt Teaching tip‘Ten thousand thundering typhoons!’Few people are aware that the seas surrounding Europe contain tons of chemical waste.No-one knows exactly how many chemical weapons have been discarded there, butthe amount is fairly large. For example, in the Baltic Sea, where the allies disposed ofmunitions from German arsenals, there is at least 40,000 tons of waste, a considerableamount of which contains toxic substances.In order to save money, chemical waste was often dumped in shallow waters, in areaswith high levels of fishing. These toxic weapons pose a serious threat not onlyto the environment, but also to the inhabitants of seaside towns, which are oftendensely populated. Moreover, since many of these operations took place in secret,it is not always clear who is responsible. Only recently have these underwaterdumps received more scientific attention. The slow development of awareness islinked with the fact that there is a lack of official records of the dumping operations,which often took place under chaotic circumstances immediately after the war. 3Furthermore, the clearing of these dumps would be incredibly complex and expensive.One of the best researched dumps is the ‘Horse Fair’ (Paardenmarkt) – a First WorldWar munitions dump off the Belgian coast. After the First World War, large quantitiesof explosives were left in Belgium. The collection and temporary storage of ammunitionin depots created an extremely dangerous situation, which resulted in manyfatalities. Because the situation became gradually untenable, and the disposal of the3 Environmental Science and Technology. 2010, 44, 4389–4394. Environmental Hazards of Sea-DumpedChemical Weapons, Hans Sanderson et al.