This
story
features
a
learning
activity
that
took
place
prior
to
school
closures
due
to
COVID-19.
What
if
a
tanker
truck
was
involved
in
an
accident
on
the
Route
123
bridge
and
its
contents
began
spilling
into
the
Occoquan
River?
Antietam
Elementary
School
Gifted
Education
Teacher
Kathy
Lamont
posed
this
hypothetical
question
to
her
fifth-grade
students
in
a
problem-based
learning
lesson.
The
local
setting
made
the
problem
more
realistic,
but
a
presentation
from
the
Prince
William
County
Department
of
Fire
and
Rescue's
(PWC
DFR)
Hazardous
Materials
(HazMat)
Operations
Team
gave
students
an
inside
look
at
what
really
happens
when
a
scenario
like
this
occurs.
Divided
into
groups,
students
needed
to
figure
out
what
the
spill
was
(hydrochloric
acid)
and
what
actions
were
needed
to
protect
both
people
and
the
environment.
To
protect
the
people,
they
needed
to
re-route
traffic.
Using
maps,
they
were
able
to
direct
traffic
to
Interstate
95,
which
helped
drivers
avoid
the
incident.
But
the
bigger
problem
was
working
with
an
environmental
group
that
was
concerned
about
the
toxic
liquid
spilling
into
the
Occoquan
River.
Fifth-grader
Joy
Svendsen
said,
"I
liked
doing
experiments
because
we
got
to
use
the
pH
strips
and
do
real
things."
Her
classmate
Aryanna
Beach
shared,
"My
favorite
part
was
when
we
tested
everything
with
the
pH
strips."
During
their
presentation,
PWC
DFR
Captain
Chris
Adams
and
HazMat
Coordinator
Matt
Adkins
talked
to
students
about
the
hypothetical
incident
in
the
lesson
and
related
it
to
real
events
that
have
taken
place.
They
also
shared
the
Emergency
Response
Guidebook,
a
resource
they
carry
with
them
that
is
published
by
the
U.S.
Department
of
Transportation,
Pipeline
and
Hazardous
Materials
Safety
Administration.
"It
was
cool
to
see
they
use
the
book
that
has
each
acid
and
the
solutions
for
what
to
do
with
that
acid
or
base,"
fifth-grader
Amina
Kanu
shared.
During
the
presentation,
Brianna
Atkinson
picked
up
on
a
key
point
about
hazmat
incidents,
"Sometimes
you
can't
do
everything;
sometimes
you
just
have
to
stand
back
and
watch,
which
is
hard."
Much
to
their
delight,
one
of
the
presenters
donned
the
chemical
suit
that
first
responders
may
wear
at
hazmat
scenes.
Fifth-grader
Sarah
Loy
explained,
"It
takes
a
long
time
to
put
on
the
hazmat
suit."
Her
classmate,
Joy,
added,
"It
was
really
cool
that
they
put
it
on
for
us."
"I
love
being
able
to
partner
with
people
who
actually
do
the
things
we
study.
It
shows
the
students
that
what
we
are
learning
is
important.
And,
if
they
like
something
they
learn,
there's
probably
someone
doing
a
job
and
using
that
information."
Lamont
shared.