Healthy Homes, Healthy Families

Everyone wants to live in a safe neighborhood and home. But is your home a safe and healthy place to be? Some of the most serious health problems may start at home. Of course, a healthy home is important for everyone, but there are special reasons to think about children:

• Children’s bodies are still growing so their organs and immune systems are more likely to be affected by toxic products.
• For their size, children eat more food, drink more water, and breathe more air than adults. When they are exposed to toxins they get a bigger dose than an adult would.
• Children play and crawl on the ground. This means they are closer to things that might cause health problems. And remember, babies and young children put almost everything into their mouths – even things with chemicals on them!
• Children depend on adults to make their home safe.

How do I know if something is hazardous?
What about my arts and crafts supplies?
What can I do to reduce the hazards in my home?
If I can’t get all the hazardous products out of my home, what should I do?
What should I do with the hazardous products I don’t want or can’t use?

How do I know if something is hazardous?
Household products are called hazardous if they can harm people or the environment when not correctly used, stored, or disposed of. The average family generally has more than 60 hazardous products in their home. Examples include:

How can you decide if a product is hazardous?
Read the label! Label reading is a good way to see the benefits and possible dangers of a product. In the 1960’s the Federal Hazardous Substances Act was signed into law in an effort to protect consumers from hazardous products.

You can also learn more about the products in your home by visiting the National Institutes of Health and National Library of Medicine Household Products Database.

In general:

• Poison means highly toxic
• Danger means extremely corrosive, flammable, reactive, or highly toxic.
• Warning and Caution appear on all hazardous substances. These signal words are followed with precautionary statements such as “Keep out of reach of children.” When used on non-pesticide labels, Warning and Caution are used interchangeable; there is no distinction between hazard levels.

For pesticides:

• Poison and Danger have the same meanings as above
• Warning means moderately toxic; corrosive, flammable, or reactive.
• Caution means slightly toxic, corrosive, flammable, or reactive.

What about my arts and crafts supplies?

Parents and others buying art materials, school supplies and toys such as crayons, paint sets, or modeling clay should be alert and purchase only those products which are accompanied by the statement  "Conforms to ASTM D-4236."

The Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act (Public Law 100-695) requires all art materials be reviewed to determine the potential for causing a chronic hazard and that appropriate warning labels be put on those art materials found to pose a chronic hazard. The term "art material" includes "any substance marketed or represented by the producer or repackager as suitable for use in any phase of the creation of any work of visual or graphic art of any medium." (15 U.S.C. 1277(b)(1). The law applies to many children's toy products such as crayons, chalk, paint sets, modeling clay, coloring books, pencils, and any other products used by children to produce a work of visual or graphic art.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) believes that under the broad statutory definition of "art material" three general categories can be seen:

1. Those products which actually become a component of the work of visual or graphic art, such as paint, canvas, inks, crayons, chalk, solder, brazing rods, flux, paper, clay, stone, thread, cloth, and photographic film.

2. Those products which are closely and intimately associated with the creation of the final work of art, such as brush cleaners, solvents, ceramic kilns, brushes, silk screens, molds or mold making material, and photo developing chemicals.

3. Those tools, implements, and furniture that are used in the process of the creation of a work of art, but do not become part of the work of art. Examples are drafting tables and chairs, easels, picture frames, canvas stretchers, potter's wheels, hammers, chisels, and air pumps for air brushes.

The CPSC does not believe that Congress intended products in the third category to be considered "art materials." Therefore, as an enforcement policy, the CPSC is not requiring that products falling in this third category comply with the standard for art materials. However, manufacturers still have the responsibility under the FHSA to assure that these products comply with any FHSA labeling or other requirements due to chronic toxicity or other hazards.

The LHAMA does not change the fact that products which are hazardous are banned for distribution to young children, whether the hazard is based on chronic toxicity, acute toxicity, flammability, or other hazard identified by the FHSA. There is an exception for art materials if they meet all three of the exemption criteria of Section 2(q) of the FHSA in that they: (1) require the inclusion of the hazardous substances for their functional purpose, (2) bear labeling giving adequate directions and warnings for safe use, and (3) are intended for use by children who have attained sufficient maturity, and may reasonably be expected, to read and heed such directions and warnings.

For more information on the requirements for art materials, contact the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Recalls and Compliance Division, Office of Compliance, Washington, DC 20207, telephone: 301-504-7913.
Complete Publication #5016 - Labeling for Art Materials

What can I do to reduce the hazards in my home?
Hazardous products have found their way onto your shelves over a period of years. Use these strategies to minimize or eliminate them from your home.

Shop Smart!

• Read labels and choose the least toxic product
• Buy only what you need or can use over a short period of time if you must choose a toxic product – bigger is not always better.

Practice Green Cleaning

• Use less toxic alternatives whenever possible.
• Follow label directions carefully.
• Use heavy-duty cleaners only for heavy-duty jobs.
• Avoid using aerosols.
• Elbow grease reduces the amount of solvents needed.
• Wear protective clothing.

Reduce chemicals in your yard and garden

• Plant pest and disease resistant species.
• Avoid preventative applications and weed-n-feed products.
• Use non-chemical pest controls first.
• Practice Natural Yard Care.
• Use less toxic alternatives to chemical gardening supplies.

Examine your painting needs

• Buy only what you need, use our paint calculator
• Use latex based paint/stains.

If I can’t get all the hazardous products out of my home,
what should I do?
Minimize the risks to your family by properly storing hazardous products.

• Store products out of reach of children and pets.
• Put Mr. Yuk stickers on hazardous products and teach children what it means. Kitsap County residents may call The Public Works Kitsap 1 at 360-337-5777 to request stickers.
• Keep products in their original containers to make sure you have the safety information for the product and reduce the possibility of children mistaking the hazardous product for a common product (antifreeze looks like juice/drinks).
• Store flammable materials away from ignition sources (pilot lights, stoves, etc.).
• Store dry and liquid chemical away from each other.
• Keep oxidizers like bleach and some pool chemicals away from flammable liquids.

If you have a spill, follow the label directions for cleaning it up. Do not reuse the spilled product.

What do I do with hazardous products I don’t want or can’t use?
Improper disposal of hazardous products can harm you and the environment. When they are poured down the sink, flushed down the toilet, poured on the ground, or washed down a storm drain it can contaminate our drinking water, streams, lakes, and Puget Sound. If hazardous products are thrown into the trash, they may mix with other products becoming more toxic or reactive. In Kitsap County it is illegal to throw hazardous products into the trash!

If you have left over hazardous products, bring them to the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility  for safe disposal or recycling. The Facility accepts hazardous products from Kitsap and Mason County residents Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm. Homeowners with more than 50 gallons of material TOTAL are asked to call the Kitsap County Public Works Kitsap 1 at 360-337-5777 ahead of time to make an appointment. There is no charge for residential disposal. Businesses may use the Facility by appointment only.

Kitsap County Public Works
Solid Waste Division
(360) 337-5777 or (800) 825-4940
solidwaste@co.kitsap.wa.us