How to Identify Safety Hazards in Your Home
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Transcript of How to Identify Safety Hazards in Your Home
How to Identify Safety Hazards in Your Home
Vicki AinslieMichelle Dunham
csg.gtri.gatech.edu
General Safety in the Home
4.5 million children are hurt every year at home
http://www.safekids.org/content_documents/nskw03_report.pdf
Places where accidents often happen
• Ladder Safety • Slips, Trips, Falls• Focus on slips, trips a
nd falls (Not for the faint of heart!!!)
Hazard Hunter
Fire Safety in the Home
Stats• Each year 4,000 people will dies in
house fires• Over 300,000 injuries• Hundreds will die or be poisoned
by carbon monoxide• Boy, 9, dies in Atlanta house fire |
ajc.com• The LEADING CAUSE of death in
a fire is asphyxiation. • Fire consumes the oxygen in the
air and increases the amount of deadly carbon monoxide, which causes a loss of consciousness or death within minutes.
• Fire victims rarely SEE the flames. • At floor level, temperatures
average about 90 degrees F, but at eye level rise to 600 DEGREES.
• The major CAUSES of home fires are:
• Smoking 26% • Incendiary or Suspicious
16% • Heating 14% • Child Playing 10% • Electrical Distribution
10% • Cooking 8% • All other causes 16%
• Locate smoke alarms in every bedroom, at the top of stairwells, and in downstairs living areas
• Check smoke alarms once a month
• Change the batteries when you change your clocks in the fall and spring.
• If it chirps then you need to change the battery
Code Red Rover - The Safety Zone
• Do you have an emergency evacuation plan?• Do you have a fire extinguisher? (ABC model)• Home Fire Safety - The Police Notebook• Cost $10-15• Home Fire Safety Quiz• Fire Administration Kids Page
• Be careful with candles- never leave them unattended
Stats• Carbon Monoxide is responsible for more recent deaths
than any other single poison, and for suffering and health problems in the survivors.
• Tens of thousands of people seek medical attention or lose day, weeks, months, or years of normal activity from CO poisoning.
• Over 40,000 emergency room visits occurred in 1999 due to CO poisoning.
• More than 450 people die through unintentional CO exposure.
• As many as 2000 people die intentionally due to CO exposure.
• Carbon Monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas. Results from in-complete combustion.
• Sources– Gas Stove– Gas Dryer– Gas Water Heater– Starting car in attached garage– Portable Generators
What are the effects of carbon monoxide?
1. The initial symptoms of CO poisoning are similar to the flu (but without the fever). They include:
• Headache • Fatigue • Shortness of breath • Nausea • Dizziness 2. Many people with CO poisoning mistake their symptoms for
the flu or are misdiagnosed by physicians, which sometimes results in tragic deaths.
3. The health effects of CO depend on the level of CO and length of exposure, as well as each individual's health condition. The concentration of CO is measured in parts per million (ppm).
What are the effects of carbon monoxide?
50 parts per million (ppm)• Safety level as specified by
the Health and Safety Executive
200 PPM • Slight headache within 2-3
hours400 PPM • Frontal headache within 1-2
hours, becoming widespread in 3 hours
500 PPM• Death in 4 hours
800 PPM • Dizziness, nausea, convulsions
within 45 minutes, insensible in 2 hours
1500 PPM• IDLH1600 PPM• Headache, dizziness, nausea in
20 minutes, death in 1.5 to 2 hour
6400 PPM• Death in 10 to 15 minutes 10,000 PPM• Immediate unconsciousness,
death in 1 minute
Carbon Monoxide produces the following physiological effects on people exposed to the concentrations shown:
Carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin
What can you do if you suspect someone has been poisoned?• Remove patient from the site of CO exposure
at once. • Call 911 or another local emergency number
for medical assistance • Immediately administer high-flow, 100%
oxygen through a tight-fitting, non-recirculating mask
• Administer CPR if victim has stopped breathing
Carbon Monoxide (CO) Poisoning in Your Home: Environmental Health in Minnesota• Install a carbon monoxide
detector- Recommend on with a digital read out
• Install at least 15 feet away from stove or other gas burning appliances
• Check it monthly• Replace detector as
necessary (Possible every two years)
• Cost $25-80
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: Prevention Checklist | CDC APRHB
Electrical Safety in the Home
• Be careful with extension cords
• Holiday twinkle lights (Christmas Vacation)
• Be careful with appliances
• Be careful around water- have GFCI outlets
• Be careful around power lines
• Circuit Testers are available
Electrical Safety World
• Tell Your Story!• Background
Information• Games• Safety Certificate
Electrical Safety Quizhttp://www.esfi.org/quiz/
Poisonous Plant Safety in the Home
• Poisonous House Plants• COMMON POISONOUS HOUSEPLANTS• Poisonous Plants• http://www.montana.edu/wwwpb/pubs/
mt9902.pdf• For the Holiday season
– Poinsettia (it would take quite a bit)– Mistletoe– Amaryllis
• What can/should be done at home • The first and best step is prevention. • Keep the Poison Control Center number handy --(800) 222-1222. • If the substance was swallowed, have the container and label handy when you call Poison Control. • Do not induce vomiting unless instructed to do so by your pediatrician or Poison Control Center. • If a chemical or other caustic substance has spilled on the skin, remove the clothes and rinse the area
for at least 15 minutes. Call Poison Control for further instructions. • If it has spilled into the eye, flush it with a steady stream of lukewarm water for 15 minutes and call
Poison Control for further instructions. • Finally, learn CPR. The life you save may be your child’s.
• When to get immediate attention • Call 911 immediately if your child experiences any of thee symptoms:
• difficulty breathing
• drooling
• throat pain
• seizures
• excessive sleepiness
• Medication• Cleaning Products• Alcohol• Bug killers• Fertilizer• Other products-
antifreeze
• Keep items out of reach
• Lock cabinets or closets
• Weekly Reader Families | Home Safety Council Tips
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh - About Children's - Mr. Yuk
Resources• http://class.universalclass.com/chash/f/a/m/familysafety.
htm• http://www.safewithin.com/index.cgi• http://www.consumer.gov/yourhome.htm• http://www.flash.org/welcome.cfm• http://www.acc.co.nz/injury-prevention/safe-at-home/gen
eral-home/• http://www.safety-council.org/info/home/home.htm• http://www.homesafetygame.com/teachersPage.htm• http://www.ivillage.com/topics/home/0,,167098,00.html?a
rrivalSA=1&cobrandRef=0&arrival_freqCap=1&pba=adid=12352461
• http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/falls/FallPrev4.pdf• http://www.chp.edu/besafe/hshb/hshbintro.php
Resources• http://
www.hantsfire.gov.uk/kids/play/games/roomhazards.html• http://www.carbonmonoxidekills.com/• http://www.ibhs.org/media/videos.asp• http://www.libertymutual.com/omapps/ContentServer?cid
=1056650100266&pagename=PMInternet%2FPage%2FPMTertiaryYellow&c=Page
• http://www.cdc.gov/nasd/menu/topic/home_safety.html• http://www.safekids.org/tier2_rl.cfm?folder_id=174• http://www.statefarm.com/sftv/sftv.htm• http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/family/home-safety/home-
safety.htm• http://www.ul.com/consumers/home.html• http://www.usfa.fema.gov/safety/• http://www.childfun.com/safety/home.shtml
Do a home safety check!Check it out, Check it off.
Child Proof your homeMichelle Dunham, MSPH, MSM
(404) 894-8284
Vicki Ainslie
(404) 894-3988