SAFETY
Hazard Symbols
Dangerous chemicals are supposed to be labelled with warning
symbols. But do consumers know what these symbols mean? And
what should you do in case of accidental poisoning?
Chemicals are an integral part of
modern life. They are found in every
household and workplace. But they
can be bad for your health. If not
used correctly they can catch fire,
cause burns, damage health and
damage the environment. Dangerous
chemicals, by law, must have
warning labels flagging their
contents. But do consumers really
know what these labels mean?
And if someone becomes poisoned by
such chemicals, what should they do?
What is a poison?
A poison is a substance which causes
damage if taken into the body. This
can happen by being swallowed,
inhaled, injected or absorbed through
the skin or eyes. Poisons may include
pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals,
household products and even plants.
The majority of poisonings in this
country happen to young children
and mostly at the childs home, the
home of a grandparent, relative,
friend or at school. The peak times
for poisoning incidents with regard to
children is during late afternoon, at
POISONOUS
AT A GLANCE
What is a poison?
Children at risk.
Our survey.
100 consumer choice MARCH 2006 SAFETY
of sight and out of reach of children.
weekends and during school holidays.
Why are children at special
risk of poisoning?
Children are at a special risk of
poisoning due, in large part, to their
curiosity and tendency to put things
into their mouths. Many children
have started to crawl by their first
birthday, and their hand to mouth
co-ordination already allows for
items to be placed in their mouths.
With increased mobility comes
increased curiosity about their
environment and therefore a greater
risk of poisoning.
Poison prevention in the home
(adapted from National Poisons
Information Centre literature)
Do:-
Use containers with child-resistant
caps. Remember that these are
child-resistant not childproof. Your
pharmacist should be able to
provide these, if the medicines
dont come in a blister pack.
Keep all chemicals and medicines out
FLAMMABLE
Keep all products in their original
containers. DO NOT DECANT
CHEMICALS FROM THEIR
ORIGINAL CONTAINERS!
Secure cupboards with
childproof locks.
Use any protective clothing, gloves
or goggles that are recommended
in the instructions.
Read prescription labels carefully to
avoid taking the wrong medicine
or dose. Contact your GP or
pharmacy if in doubt.
Learn to recognise the hazard
warning symbols for dangerous
chemicals (listed in this article).
Whether with medicines or
chemicals, read the labels carefully
and correctly follow all instructions.
Consult your garden centre when
deciding on suitable garden plants.
Do not:-
Remove the labels from medicines or
household products. The label nearly
always contains information relating
to ingredients and instructions as to
what to do in an emergency.
Transfer tablets to another
container. For example, a child
finding tablets in a small container,
purse or envelope could mistake
them for sweets.
Store chemicals under the kitchen
sink or where they can easily be
reached in the bathroom.
EXPLOSIVE
 THE FOLLOWING ARE SOME OF THE MOST COMMON TYPES OF POTENTIALLY POISONOUS SUBSTANCES
THAT MIGHT BE FOUND IN THE HOME:

Kitchen Bathroom aftershave lotion, essential Handbag / briefcase

Detergents, disinfectants,
bleaches, drain cleaner,
oven cleaners, waxes,
polish, dishwasher
detergents and tablets,
white spirit, tippex, glue,
essential oils, herbal
remedies, house plants,
alcohol, coins and
batteries.
Medicines, vitamins, iron
tablets, aerosol sprays,
shampoo, nail polish
remover, mouthwash,
bleach, false teeth cleaner.
Bedroom
Medicines, vitamins,
minerals, herbal
medicines, perfume,
oils, pot pourri oils.
Garden
Flowers, berries, seeds,
mushrooms, leaves.
Farms
Weedkillers, pesticides,
vaccines, sheep dip, slurry
tanks, manure pits.
Coins, medicines,
cigarettes, lighters.
Shed / Garage
Petrol, paraffin, car
products, insect spray,
fertiliser, weed-killer,
paint, white spirit,
turpentine, lighter fluid,
superglue, rat poison.

Forget that grandparents and older
people are more likely than
younger adults to be taking
medication, so when visiting them,
make sure that medicines are out
of reach of any children.
Have out of date medicines in your
home. Bring them to your
pharmacist for safe disposal.
Refer to medicines or tablets as sweets.
Take medicines in front of children
as they often imitate the actions
of adults.
Mix chemicals unless you are sure
they wont react. For example, never
mix acid cleaners with bleach, as
the reaction produces chlorine gas.
What to do in an emergency
Ifa child is found with a poison:-
Stay calm but act quickly.
Take the poison away from the child.
Make the child spit it out, run your
fingers around the mouth and
inside the mouth, removing any
remaining material.
DO NOT make the child vomit.
This is extremely important as it
may increase the risk of aspiration
(poison going into lungs) and if it
is a corrosive poison, it can burn
the throat and mouth for a second
time on the way up.
Do not give them anything to eat
or drink until instructed to do so
by qualified medical personnel.
Take the child to a GP or hospital if
you suspect that they may have
been poisoned. Some poisons have
immediate effect, others can take
hours or even days to affect the
person, therefore it is always best to
see a GP. If this is not possible,
bring the person to a hospitals
accident and emergency department.
Always take the product container
or label with you to the GP /
hospital. If a person ingests a
substance stored in, for instance, a
container with no label, bring the
container to the GP. This can help
to identify the substance and speed
up the treatment.
If a chemical is splashed in the
eyes, they should be immediately
washed with tap water and then
medical assistance sought.
Symptoms that can occur
after poisoning
Symptoms can vary depending on the
poison, the amount taken and the
strength of the product, but can
include some of the following:
Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain,
drowsiness, dizziness, weakness,
headache, difficulty swallowing or
producing more saliva than normal,
skin rash, burns around nose or
mouth, seizures, coma. Its important
to remember that almost every one of
these symptoms can be caused by
other, unrelated medical complaints.
Therefore, having these symptoms
does not necessarily mean you have
been poisoned.
Some poisons do not have
immediate symptoms and it may be
hours, days or even months before
they show.
When taking someone with
suspected poisoning to the
hospital or GP, it is important
to know the following details:-
What was taken?
How much was taken?
The persons age and weight.
Does the person have any
symptoms?
How long ago did the
poisoning occur?
Was there manufacturer
information on the label /
container. Some labels include
telephone numbers for the
manufacturers information desk,
which can be helpful in the case of
a suspected poisoning.
Was there a hazard symbol or
poison label on the product?
HAZARD SYMBOLS SURVEY
Symbol Incorrect Explanation from members of public
Corrosive Its raining. Is it a pair of scissors?
Environmental Fishing not allowed. Power lines down.
hazard Beware power lines down.
Poisonous Its a CD cover.
Flammable Do not burn.
Explosive Falling rocks. Beware of laser.

CORROSIVE IRRITANT ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD

Report by
Mike Doran
cc

SAFETY MARCH 2006 consumer choice 101

 HAZARD SYMBOLS SURVEY
Hazard symbol Example of product
Irritant Bleaches, some household cleaning products.
Flammable Compressed gas cylinders / canisters, solvents
such as petrol, white spirit, turpentine, lighter
fluids, cigarette lighters, paraffin, petrochemicals.
Toxic Rodent poisons, weedkillers, dishwasher
detergents, disinfectants, bleaches, etc.
Corrosive Some cleaning products, strong acids or alkalis.
Explosive Rare in the home.
Environmental hazard Again, rare in the home. More common on a farm
or in industry.
Flammable gas Gas canisters, refillable gas cylinders for use in
heaters, some pressurised canisters containing
deodorant, air freshener, etc.
Useful contacts Hazard symbols survey
With so many potentially poisonous
The National Poisons substances in the home, it seems
Information Centre sensible to be aware of what their
PO Box 1297 hazard warning symbols mean. In an
Beaumont Hospital effort to gauge consumers awareness
Beaumont Road of what these important symbols
Dublin 9 mean, Consumer Choice conducted a
tel (01) 837 9966 survey in the Swan Centre, a busy
fax (01) 837 6982 shopping complex in the South
email npic.dublin@ Dublin suburb of Rathmines.
beaumont.ie A list of seven of the most
www.iol.ie/~npic/ popular hazard symbols, many of
which would feature on containers
The Health and Safety and products in most homes, was
Authority shown to twenty members of the
10 Hogan Place public and they were asked to
Dublin 2 describe what the symbols meant.
tel 1890 289 389 Not one person was able to
fax (01) 614 7020 correctly identify all seven items.
email wcu@hsa.ie Twelve out of the 20, (60%)
www.hsa.ie correctly identified three symbols or
less. Of the remaining eight who got
at least four correct, only one
identified five symbols correctly.
There is a difference between
recognising a warning symbol and
knowing what it means. Most of the
participants, 16 out of 20, were
familiar with at least five out of the
seven symbols, but many could not
explain what the symbols meant.
The tables on pp101-102 show
some of the symbols shown to
consumers in the survey and the
incorrect explanations they gave.
These warning symbols are put on
products for a very good reason,
namely the prevention of poisoning
with dangerous chemicals. The fact
that so few consumers are
sufficiently familiar with them is
worrying and indicates that the
Government must make more of an
effort to increase awareness of the
dangers of chemicals in the home.
What the symbols really mean
Toxic/Poisonous: Toxic to health,
poisonous to humans. On no
account ingest.
Irritant or Harmful: Avoid contact
with skin, do not breath. This
symbols covers a wide range of
potentially harmful products that can
damage the skin and eyes and cause
irritation to the nose and throat.
Corrosive: Avoid contact with skin.
Can burn skin or eyes. Extreme
caution is advised.
Flammable: Risk of catching fire.
Never expose these products to a
naked flame such as a lighter or
matches or any other source of
ignition, such as electrical switches.
Some flammable materials are also
volatile solvents, which means
that they can spread out from
unsealed containers. For this reason,
they should be stored in airtight,
sealed containers.
Explosive: Risk of explosion.
Environmental hazard: Can cause harm
to the environment, pollute rivers
and streams, damage wildlife. More
associated with industrial pollution.
Flammable gas: Same as flammable,
but in gas form (usually pressurised
containers).
The hazard symbols most familiar
to consumers in the survey were the
Irritant, Toxic and Flammable
symbols. This is unsurprising as
these would feature in most
households at one time or another.
The Irritant symbol could be found
on bottles of bleach, the Flammable
on a variety of products including
aerosol canisters. Rat poisons and
weedkillers might feature the Toxic
symbol.
What to do
Consumers who have been
poisoned, or suspect that they have,
should proceed immediately to a GP
or accident and emergency department
of a hospital. Although most instances
of poisoning do not lead to death, it
is vital to get medical treatment.
National Poisons
Information Centre
Many doctors treating people who
have been poisoned will contact the
National Poisons Information Centre
(NPIC) at Beaumont hospital. The
centre operates every day of the year
and provides a comprehensive
information service to medical staff
and other healthcare professionals
from across the country who are
treating suspected poisonings.
Information officers at the centre
answer queries regarding symptoms of
poisoning. They are not qualified to
make clinical decisions regarding a
patients treatment but can assist the
doctors in the management of the
poisoning by providing relevant, up-to-
date information. The NPIC
Information Officers answer enquiries
between 8am and 10pm every day. At
other times, telephone enquiries are
automatically re-routed to the National
Poisons Information Service in Britain.
There are plans to provide 24-hour
cover at Beaumont soon.
Another role of the NPIC is to
collect data on acute poisoning. This
information is then passed on to the
European Commission where it is
incorporated with reports from other
European Poisons Centres.
The number of enquiries received
by the NPIC has increased
dramatically in the past ten years. Last
year, the centre dealt with 16,000
calls. Of this number, most involved
pharmaceuticals, but 1,890 were cases
of household poisonings. The
majority of these, nearly 1,100 in all,
related to children. Dr Joseph Tracey,
clinical director of the NPIC, said that
people need to exercise more caution
when storing chemicals: People
always store bleaches, dish-washing
tablets and dish-washing fluids under
the kitchen sink. This makes toxic
chemicals very accessible, particularly
to children. Our message is to store
these products high up out of the
reach of children. Tinned foods, like
beans and peaches, can be stored
under the sink as they are safe if

choice comment children get their hands on them.

The Department of Health and Children
should be alarmed at the apparent
unfamiliarity of consumers with hazard
warning symbols present in most
homes. This should be addressed
through a comprehensive advertising
campaign to warn consumers of the
potential dangers of household
chemicals and to raise awareness and
understanding of the symbols. In
addition, the service provided by the
National Poisons Information Centre
(NPIC) must be resourced to provide a
full, 24 hour response service for the
Irish consumer.
Also, on no account should chemicals
be decanted into smaller containers
such as jam jars, for use in cleaning
brushes and the like. In the event of
poisoning, theres no label on the jam
jar and this inevitably delays appropriate
management of the poisoning.

102 consumer choice MARCH 2006 SAFETY