In developing content or finding topics for Talk Clean To Me
I often use stories from the field or questions I get via emails, phone calls
or at conferences. However, it seems
several of my friends have had real life tragedies associated to HAIs and
disinfectant misuse as of late.
As the title states, imagine hearing your young child
calling out to you in distress...while on vacation I might add. The condensed version of this true story is
that a water bottle filled with bleach was left on the bathroom counter in my
friend's hotel room. The bottle was the
same brand and size as the bottled water they had been buying to drink. There was no label affixed to the bottle to
identify that it was not water and not fit for consumption. The child, thinking it was just water, drank
some....he's fine (after a trip to the
hospital
), but the situation was awful and without a doubt this event had
left everyone shaken. They were
lucky.
The family of George McAfee
, a former running back for the Chicago Bears,
however, was not so lucky. McAfee died
in 2009 after drinking bleach he found in an unlocked cupboard at the assisted-living
facility he resided in. The bleach burned his lips, esophagus and lungs before
he died in terrible pain in hospital.
Which
brings me to the point of this week's blog.
The importance of properly labelling chemicals - any chemical that has
been decanted into a secondary bottle. Labels
are a vital component to safe use of chemicals.
They are the first alert that there may be hazards associated with using
the product and are required by most companies as part of Workplace
Safety Legislation
. Aside from identifying the product and
potential hazards, a label also tells you what precautions to take when using
the product or steps that need to be taken in case of an accidental exposure,
ingestion, what have you.
1.
Product identifier (product name)
2.
Information for the safe handling of the product
3.
Statement that the SDS is available
These are the minimum requirements for workplace labels. Depending
on the country in which your company operates and the markets you serve, there
are varying regulations to comply with. Further, employers may wish to put more
information on the labels but it is not required under the law.
The long and the short of it is that whether we are in a
hospital, a school, a hotel or at home, if you decant a product into another
container - LABEL IT!!
Hugs to my friend and her little one!
Bugging Off!
Nicole
