Everyone has an interest in keeping employees safe when they’re not at work, and even helping them keep their families safe at home.
Employers need their people to be at work and being productive, and employees need to be at work earning a paycheck. If John has a broken leg, regardless of whether he broke it at work or at home, he isn’t going to be an effective carpenter and the framing still needs to get done. If Ron’s little girl is in the hospital for chemical burns, he either won’t be at work, or he’ll be very distracted while he is at work. Either way, Ron isn’t being productive. Worse, if he’s working but distracted, he could be putting others in danger.
We’ve compiled some resources that you can use to safely deal with chemical hazards that commonly exist in homes. The websites below have relatively easy-to-read solutions that cover everything from handling household asbestos and lead hazards to what to do with a burnt-out CFL bulb
- The Department of Community Development at Ohio State University prepared a fact sheet regarding hazardous chemicals in the home. You can access it here: http://ohioline.osu.edu/cd-fact/0103.html
- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a document on general household hazardous waste. In it is information on how to dispose of hazardous waste (ie, paint and compact fluorescent light bulbs) and links to more information on specific hazards, such as: used oil, medical waste, antifreeze, batteries, etc. Here is the url: http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/hhw.htm
- The EPA published information on how to handle asbestos hazards at home. Here is the url:http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/ashome.html
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put together some helpful information about lead hazards at home. You can find their information at: http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/tips.htm
- And here is some information on the CDC’s new Healthy Homes Initiative: http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/healthyhomes.htm