|
H
A Z A R D O U S M A T E R I A L S
— FACTS |
How To Monitor Hazardous Products
Determining which products in your house
are hazardous is easy — just read the label! Because of the Federal
Hazardous Substances Act of 1960, any consumer product that is
considered hazardous must be labeled.
The Act requires that these labels include
a description of the hazard, first aid instructions and directions on
how to properly store and handle the product. Every hazardous
product will be labeled with one of the following terms; the term will
depend on the level of the product’s hazard:
-
POISON
and DANGER: These labels are on products with the
highest level of toxicity. The POISON label means that if this
product is consumed, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin, it can
cause injury or death.
-
DANGER:
This label indicates that the product is highly toxic, flammable or
corrosive, meaning it can poison you, cause a fire, or eat away at
your skin or eyes.
-
WARNING
and CAUTION: These labels indicate the lowest level of
hazard, but if you see these warnings on a household product, the
product is still toxic or poisonous, flammable or ignitable,
corrosive or reactive.
If you do not see
any of these labels on a product, it means the product is not hazardous.
Pesticides are
excluded because they do not fall under the Hazardous Substances Act.
Pesticides have been regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency
since 1972, however, and require labels to warn consumers of their
toxicity, as well. The labels for pesticides are similar to the
ones above, except for that WARNING means the pesticide is
moderately toxic, and there are two different levels for the CAUTION
label: slightly toxic and not toxic.
According to a
University of Missouri report by Marie Steinwachs of the Office of Waste
Management, “A household hazardous product is one whose use or disposal
poses a threat to human health or the environment.”
Most household
hazardous products can fit into four categories, however, which makes
hazardous product identification a little bit easier. The
categories are as follows:
-
Automotive
Products: motor oil, brake and transmission fluid,
antifreeze and car batteries, gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, car
wax with solvent, and windshield wiper fluid.
-
Home
Improvement Products: paint, varnish, stain, paint
thinner, paint stripper, caulk, adhesives, primer, rust remover,
turpentine, mineral spirits and glues.
-
Household
Cleaners: drain cleaners, oven cleaners, toilet cleaners,
spot removers, silver polishes, furniture polishes, window cleaners,
bleach, dyes, tub and tile cleaner, and ammonia.
-
Pesticides:
insecticide and insect repellant, weed killer, rat and mouse poison,
pet spray and dip, flea collars, mothballs, ant/roach killer, garden
fungicides, slug poison, wood preservative, and banned pesticides.
Other household
hazardous products that don’t fit into these categories include
certain electronics, batteries, aerosol products, air fresheners,
smoke detectors, shoe polish, cosmetics, pool chemicals, lighter
fluid, prescription medicines, and arts and craft materials.
The U.S. EPA has several more common household hazardous waste
products listed on its
Web site.
|