Mgr. Petra Soukupová

Toxic Science I

Contents1. Warm-up: Brainstorming2. Photo3. Post-reading Questions4. Resources5. Key

1. Warm-up

Science

3. Post-reading Questions*Why was leaded petrol called ‘Ethyl’?*How and why was it used?*What effects did Ethyl have on the factory workers and the inventor himself?*Where was Freon used and why?*What killed the inventor?*Why does the writer suggest that it might have been better for the environment if the inventor had chosen a different job?*Are both leaded petrol and Freon used nowadays?

4. ResourcesAdapted and photo taken from:Thomas Midgley, Jr. In: Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia [online]. San Francisco (CA): Wikimedia Foundation, 2001- [cit. 2012-11-05]. Dostupné z: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Midgley,_Jr.

5. Key1. Warm-up: Students' own answers.2. Thomas Midgley, Jr., an American engineer and scientist; invented Ethyl and Freon.3. Post-reading questions.* It sounded more scientific and it hid the word 'lead'.* It was used as an additive for cars to run smoothly.*Some workers were poisoned, some were mentally disabled, some died,

some went insane. The inventor was poisoned and had to take a year off.* It was used in refrigerators and aerosol cans to replace the toxic chemicals used in them. *An invention of his own.*See the comment made by J. R. McNeil, environmental

historian/Students' own answers.* Students' own answers.