How to Identify Safety Hazards in Your Home

Vicki Ainslie

Michelle 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

Carbon Monoxide in the Home

The

Silent

Killer

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 hours

400 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 home

Michelle Dunham, MSPH, MSM

(404) 894-8284

michelle.dunham@gtri.gatech.edu

Vicki Ainslie

(404) 894-3988

vicki.ainslie@gtri.gatech.edu