Community Outreach & Education Program Environmental Health Sciences Center
It is estimated that the average house contains 3 to10 gallons of hazardous products. Many of the products we use for housework, gardening, home improvement, or car maintenance contain potentially hazardous substances. When used or disposed of improperly, these products can become personal health and safety concerns and can also cause problems in the environment. Therefore, it is important to understand what makes a product hazardous, how to identify hazardous substances, and learn how to use and handle these products safely.
Hazardous Substances
A hazardous substance is defined in federal government regulations as “one that may cause substantial personal injury or illness during reasonable handling or use, including possible ingestion by children.” According to the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA), household products are hazardous if they contain substances that have one or more of the following hazardous properties:
Corrosive: A product that can burn or destroy living tissue, such as skin or eyes or by chemical action. Examples: Drain cleaners, oven cleaners, and lye.
Irritant: A product is an irritant if it is not corrosive and causes injury to the area of the body that it comes in contact with after immediate, prolonged, or repeated contact.
Examples: Toilet cleaners, chlorine bleach cleaners, and some pool chemicals.
Strong Sensitizer: A product that can cause an allergic reaction upon repeated uses of the same substance. Usually this does not happen when a person first comes in contact with the product, but after a second exposure.
Examples: Dyes, oils, tars, rubber, soaps, cosmetics, perfume, insecticides, wood resins, plants, paints, plastics, glues, fiber glass, metals, and polishes.
Flammable: Any substance, liquid, solid, or the contents of a self-pressurized container, like aerosol cans, that can be easily set on fire or ignited. Extremely flammable, flammable, and combustible are the three types of flammability based on testing.
Examples: Paint thinners, some solvents, adhesives, rubber cement, and hair spray.
Toxic: In addition, a product is toxic if it can cause long term effects like cancer, birth defects, or neurotoxicity (toxic to nerves).
Examples: Brake fluids, fungicides, insecticides, fertilizers, rat poison, and antifreeze.
Routes of Exposure
A product is hazardous if it can produce personal injury or illness to humans when inhaled, swallowed (ingested), or absorbed through the skin.
1.
Ingestion – eating or drinking hazardous substances or contaminated foods and water and absorbing these substances through your gastrointestinal tract.
2.
Inhalation – breathing in gases, vapors, and sprays that are absorbed through the lungs and enter the bloodstream.
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– What Makes a Product Hazardous?– Student Handout
HYDROVILLE CURRICULUM PROJECT  2004, Oregon State University http://www.ehsc.orst.edu/outreach.htm
Funded by NIEHS grant #1
R25 ES10721

Environmental Health Sciences Center Community Outreach & Education Program
3.
Dermal (skin or eye contact) – some hazardous products can be absorbed through the skin or your eyes and cause injuries.
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– What Makes a Product Hazardous?– Student Handout
HYDROVILLE CURRICULUM PROJECT  2004, Oregon State University http://www.ehsc.orst.edu/outreach.htm
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Environmental Health Sciences Center Community Outreach & Education Program
How Do You Know if a Product is Hazardous?
The FSHA requires that if a product contains a hazardous substance, the product must bear a label of specific size, and the label must contain certain information, depending on the toxicity of the product. “Signal Words” are found on every hazardous product label and show how toxic or hazardous a product can be. If there is no signal word on a product it is not hazardous.
Table 1. FSHA Signal Words for Household Products
Signal Words Properties Examples
POISON highly toxic varnish remover, antifreeze
DANGER
WARNING
CAUTION extremely flammable, corrosive, or highly toxic for all other hazardous products bleach, WD-40 carpet cleaner, cleanser
Other Hazardous Household Products - Pesticides
Pesticides are defined as chemicals used to prevent, destroy, or repel pests: insect, mice, weeds, fungi, and bacteria. Pesticides also include household products, such as disinfectants or cleaners that are used to destroy the growth of harmful bacteria, viruses, or fungi on household surfaces.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registers and regulates pesticides under the
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). These products must meet the basic standards: (1) the product will not cause harmful effects to human health or the environment and (2) that product labeling must meet FIFRA requirements. Examples: insecticides, rodenticides, herbicides, fungicides, etc.
Pesticides also have signal words, but they are based on the degree of toxicity or how poisonous the product is. Tests are conducted to determine the Lethal Dose50 (LD50) of each pesticide.
Lethal Dose50 is when 50% of the test population, which is usually mice or rats, dies when administered a specific dose of a pesticide. The oral LD50 of a substance is expressed in milligrams of chemical per kilogram of body weight (mg/kg). Table 2 indicates how signal words are determined for use on pesticide labels.
Table 2. FIFRA Signal Words and Toxicity Rating Scale
Signal Words Toxicity
Oral LD50
(mg/kg)
Examples
DANGER-POISON highly toxic 0 - 50 indoor/outdoor insect killer
DANGER highly toxic/corrosive 0 - 50 toilet bowl cleaner
WARNING
CAUTION moderately toxic slightly toxic
50 - 500
500 - 5,000 flea spray rat poison
Read Before You Use!
Besides signal words, product labels contain other important information, such as instructions for safe handling, use, and storage; active ingredients; and first aid safety. As a consumer, make it a habit to read all label information before using any product.
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– What Makes a Product Hazardous?– Student Handout
HYDROVILLE CURRICULUM PROJECT  2004, Oregon State University http://www.ehsc.orst.edu/outreach.htm
Funded by NIEHS grant #3
R25 ES10721

Environmental Health Sciences Center Community Outreach & Education Program
S TUDENT W ORKSHEET 1: Name_______________________________
Part 1: Reading Hazardous Household Product Labels
There is a lot of information on product labels, but this activity focuses on identifying hazardous household products.
Procedure:
1.
2.
Read ten product labels for the various household products on display. Find the
Hazardous Properties, Signal Words, and Route of Exposure for each product.
Refer to Student Handout 1: What Makes a Product Hazardous? to help you complete the table below.
SAFETY: Be sure that ALL products are handled safely. DO NOT open any products.
Hazardous Properties - Route of Exposure
Product List properties that make it hazardous.
Signal Word (Ingestion, Inhalation,
Dermal – skin or eye contact)
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– What Makes a Product Hazardous?– Student Handout
HYDROVILLE CURRICULUM PROJECT  2004, Oregon State University http://www.ehsc.orst.edu/outreach.htm
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Environmental Health Sciences Center Community Outreach & Education Program
Conclusion Questions: (Answer in your Learning Log)
1.
Which hazardous properties were most common?
2.
Which signal word was most common?
3.
Which products are most toxic? How did you determine this?
4.
What are the three routes of exposure? Which route was most common?
5.
What product(s) determine the signal words based on toxicity testing?
6.
What did you learn from this activity?
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– What Makes a Product Hazardous?– Student Handout
HYDROVILLE CURRICULUM PROJECT  2004, Oregon State University http://www.ehsc.orst.edu/outreach.htm
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Environmental Health Sciences Center Community Outreach & Education Program
P ESTICIDE L ABELS FOR M OLD C ONTROL :
LYSOL® DISINFECTANT – Antibacterial Kitchen Cleaner
FRONT LABEL
BACK LABEL
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– What Makes a Product Hazardous?– Student Handout
HYDROVILLE CURRICULUM PROJECT  2004, Oregon State University http://www.ehsc.orst.edu/outreach.htm
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Environmental Health Sciences Center
P ESTICIDE L ABELS FOR M OLD C ONTROL :
HEINZ® - Vinegar
Community Outreach & Education Program
Heinz Distilled White Vinegar is made from sun-ripened grain and crystal clear water. With its clean, crisp flavor, it’s ideal for your favorite marinades, salads and recipes. And Heinz
Distilled White Vinegar is guaranteed to have the full 5% activity required for successful canning and pickling.
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– What Makes a Product Hazardous?– Student Handout
HYDROVILLE CURRICULUM PROJECT  2004, Oregon State University http://www.ehsc.orst.edu/outreach.htm
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Environmental Health Sciences Center Community Outreach & Education Program
TILEX® – Mildew Remover
P ESTICIDE L ABELS FOR M OLD C ONTROL :
FRONT LABEL
BACK LABEL
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– What Makes a Product Hazardous?– Student Handout
HYDROVILLE CURRICULUM PROJECT  2004, Oregon State University http://www.ehsc.orst.edu/outreach.htm
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Environmental Health Sciences Center Community Outreach & Education Program
S TUDENT W ORKSHEET 2: Name_____________________________________
Part 2: Hazardous Household Products Inventory
Procedure:
1.
Take an inventory of the hazardous household products found in your home.
Try to locate 2 or 3 hazardous products in each area of your house; don’t inventory all ten products from one location. Randomly survey products from the following areas in your home:



Garage
Under your kitchen and bathroom sinks
Closet or shelf where household cleaning products are stored
 Basement
2.
Read both front and back labels. Fill in the chart using information on the label.
SAFETY: Use caution when handling all products.
Product Signal Word
Route of
Exposure
Directions for Use
Storage
Location in
Home
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– What Makes a Product Hazardous?– Student Handout
HYDROVILLE CURRICULUM PROJECT  2004, Oregon State University http://www.ehsc.orst.edu/outreach.htm
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Environmental Health Sciences Center Community Outreach & Education Program
S TUDENT W ORKSHEET 2:
Conclusion Questions: (Answer in your Learning Log)
1.
Create a data table to record the following data. Out of the 10 products, how many are labeled Danger, Danger-Poison, Warning, and Caution? What percentage of the sampled products is represented by each category?
2.
How many of the products surveyed in your home are stored incorrectly, according to directions on the label?
3.
Based on the manufacturer’s direction for use for a specific product, what would a misuse look like? (For example, how could you misuse an oven cleaner?)
4.
Were all of your hazardous household products stored according to the recommendations on the label? If not, describe what the problem was and how you could fix it. If the label recommended “Store away from children”, where do you think a safe location would be?
5.
What can you do to reduce your risk of being exposed to these products?
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– What Makes a Product Hazardous?– Student Handout
HYDROVILLE CURRICULUM PROJECT  2004, Oregon State University http://www.ehsc.orst.edu/outreach.htm
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Environmental Health Sciences Center Community Outreach & Education Program
S TUDENT H ANDOUT 2:
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3: W
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EMO :
R ESULTS OF A R ECENT H OUSEHOLD H AZARDOUS P RODUCT I NVENTORY
1.
Based on what you learned from your Hazardous Household Products Inventory and the responses in your Learning Log, create a one-page message that recommends action or commends the adult decision-makers in your household.
2.
Write your memo in the following report/memo format. This is an example of a technical document that may help you communicate technical information with parents or adults in your household.
Heading
Date: Today’s date
To: Names of Household Adult Decision-Makers (parents, grandparents)
From: Your Full Name
Subject: This Acts as a Title, Between Seven to Nine Words—cap all main words
(For example, A Follow-up to My Recent Survey of our Household
Hazardous Products)
Introductory Paragraph
The memo style is used as method of internal communication. It is in the block style.
Paragraphs are usually six to eight sentences long. The introductory paragraph gives a brief background and states the main point. In this case, it would mention the recent survey of ten items and note two to three key observations. Such as the following: In analysis of the survey, I noted that most of our household hazardous products are stored safely; however, two items, both labeled with the signal word “Danger”, are within reach of small children.
First Heading
Report the overall observations from your Household Products Inventory.
Specific information
In this paragraph, students introduce the signal words and review their findings.
Example: I am learning about the signal words on household hazardous labels.
Students can introduce the three key terms and briefly define them. Then note: Out of the ten products I charted, 20% were labeled Caution, 20% Warning, and 60% Danger.
Lead into the commendations and recommendations for actions based on these findings.
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– What Makes a Product Hazardous?– Student Handout
HYDROVILLE CURRICULUM PROJECT  2004, Oregon State University http://www.ehsc.orst.edu/outreach.htm
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Environmental Health Sciences Center Community Outreach & Education Program
Second Heading
Include your step-by-step recommendations for action. Key recommendations included.
Begin by commending the readers for good choices they made in safety and storage of household hazardous products. Then suggest in one, two, or three steps what needs to be accomplished to make the home a safe place for children.
Conclusion
Use brief, forward-looking language. This can be a brief closing with positive comments and a brief allusion to action and future care taken together in this area.
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– What Makes a Product Hazardous?– Student Handout
HYDROVILLE CURRICULUM PROJECT  2004, Oregon State University http://www.ehsc.orst.edu/outreach.htm
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Environmental Health Sciences Center
Category
Community Outreach & Education Program
W RITING A M EMO S CORING G UIDE
NAME: ________________________________________
Scoring Guide
Possible points
Your score
10
Format: How well does the student replicate the document design?
10 Complete: Does this answer all my questions as a reader?
Style
10 Compelling: Is it appropriately effective and/or persuasive?
10
Tone: Is it appropriate level of language for reader? Are technical terms defined? Can reader understand it?
Composition
20
20
Clarity: Does it flow naturally? Avoids wordiness?
Organization: Is it arranged in a logical form?
Mechanics
Total
20
20
100
Punctuation: Commas? Periods? No comma splices?
Spelling: No spelling or typo errors.
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– What Makes a Product Hazardous?– Student Handout
HYDROVILLE CURRICULUM PROJECT  2004, Oregon State University http://www.ehsc.orst.edu/outreach.htm
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