Avoiding Exposure to Hazardous Materials in ECE Settings, in partnership with Region 9 Head Start Association

Editor’s note: This text-based course is an edited transcript of the webinar, Avoiding Exposure to Hazardous Materials in ECE Settings, in partnership with Region 9 Head Start Association, presented by Charlotte Hendricks, PhD.

Learning Outcomes

After this course, participants will be able to:

• Identify potentially hazardous materials.
• Describe ways to prevent access to hazardous materials by children.
• Describe proper storage of products used in early childhood settings.

Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT)

I'm excited about giving you a different approach to hazardous materials in early childhood education settings. The reason I said it's a little different is that the term used is hazardous materials. I don't know about you, but when I think of HAZMAT, what immediately comes to mind is that cute little movie Monsters Incorporated, where they completely went crazy if a sock or something got on them and they called it a hazardous material. Sometimes we think of hazardous materials as being radioactivity or some big chemical spill, but it's not that.

A HAZMAT is any substance that can be harmful to the health, property, or the environment. Hazardous materials are classified based on the health effects that they have. Another term that you need to recognize is dangerous goods. Dangerous goods (DG) are classified according to the immediate physical or chemical effects such as a fire, explosion, corrosion, and poisoning.

In early childhood, the term that we think of the most is poison. That's a term that I will use throughout this course. Sometimes I'll say HAZMAT and sometimes I'll say poison. But all of these are substances that could be harmful to children and adults in the early childhood setting. Poisons are any substance that can cause an unintended symptom, including severe organ damage or death. Notice it's unintended symptoms. For example, if an adult is taking heart medication, an intended result of taking that medication is it helps the heart. But if a child gets hold of that heart medication and takes it, then unintended symptoms that could occur could be severe organ damage.

HAZMATS may be liquids, solids, sprays, gases, or a combination of these types of products. The form that the material is in may increase the health risk of the product. HAZMATS can be ingested substances, they may be breathed in, injected, or absorbed through the skin, or in the case of aerosols, through the eyes. Any substances that can be harmful.

Common HAZMATs

• Aerosol sprays
• Bleaches 
• Essential oils
• Fuels 
• Lithium batteries
• Paints, thinner, remover
• Ammunitions
• Dry ice 
• Fragrances 
• Insecticides 
• Nail polish/remover
• Alcohols
• CO2 canisters
• Fertilizers 
• Hand sanitizer
• Mercury 
• Pool chemicals

If you look at transportation.gov or have done any flying in the airlines, you know that there is a list of hazardous materials that you cannot have. These include any aerosol sprays, bleaches, essential oils, fuels, lithium batteries, fertilizer, or hand sanitizer. Those are common ones. Let's talk about hand sanitizer. You can have a tiny amount of hand sanitizer as long as it's in a 3.4 ounce or smaller container that fits in your Ziploc bag, but you can't carry an entire bottle of hand sanitizer in your carry-on luggage because it's considered a hazardous material. Nail polish and remover are hazardous materials. When you look at the terms HAZMAT you have to look at who is actually defining them.

Poisons Commonly Involved in Pediatric (< 5 years) Exposures

• Cosmetics & personal care products
• Cleaning & laundry products
• Pain medicine, vitamins, antihistamines, antibiotics
• Foreign bodies (toys, coins, thermometers)
• Topical preparations
• Pesticides
• Plants

Another way that we can look at what are hazardous materials is simply to look at what are called poisons, and again, that's the term that is most commonly used in early childhood and when talking about children's dangerous substances. The poisons that are most commonly involved in pediatric exposure, that's in infants through preschoolers, include cosmetics and personal care products; cleaning and laundry products; medicines, including vitamins, antihistamines, antibiotics; foreign bodies; topical preparations, such as creams and ointments; pesticides; and plants. We're going to look at a lot of these specifically for early childhood.

Whether you call them hazardous materials or poisons, they may be pure substances or they can be mixtures of products. Some products can be safely used if you follow the manufacturer's instructions, however, if you mix those products, you can have dangerous reactions. The most commonly known one is bleach and ammonia, which can create a very dangerous gas when they are mixed together. Mildew remover has bleach in it and glass cleaner has ammonia in it. If you mix these two products, then you have mixed bleach and ammonia.

If you mix bleach and certain acids such as acid toilet bowl or drain cleaner, it also produces chlorine gas. Pool chemicals have chlorine gas, which is very dangerous. It not only causes coughing and breathing problems, but it can also lead to pneumonia, eye, throat and nose irritation, chest pain, nausea, and very high levels of this gas can cause death.

Young Children Are at Higher Risk

Young children are at higher risk than older children or adults. If you look at all of the poison exposures that are reported each year, almost half of them are to children under age six. Infants and toddlers are at the highest risk. One reason is that children explore by touch and taste. If they see it, they want to pick it up and put it in their mouth to see what it is. Their bodies are also developing, so they have a higher metabolism. If you look at how little their body is and how much they eat or drink, they are actually eating and drinking more and breathing in more air in proportion to their body size than an adult does. With this and their faster metabolic rates, their bodies are less capable of handling chemicals to which they're exposed.

When Do Poisonings Occur?

• When there are changes in the daily routine.
• When a product is being used.
• When adults fail to follow package instructions.
• When products are improperly stored.
• When parents or visitors are present.
• When adults are busy preparing or cleaning up after meals or other activities.

Let's look at when poisonings generally occur. They often occur when there's a change in the daily routine. For example, you might have had a guest come in or you had a fire drill or lunch was served at a different time. For some reason, there's a change in your daily routine and the children might be there when someone is doing the cleaning or something else that's going on where they're using a hazardous material.

It could be that you forgot to put something up because someone came in that you weren't expecting. For example, if you were getting out the bleach to make sure bleach solution, if that is something used for sanitation, did you put the actual bleach solution up?

It can happen when the product's being used or when adults fail to follow the package instructions. Poisonings can occur when products are improperly stored, when parents or visitors are present, or when adults are busy preparing a meal, cleaning up, or doing something else. They may not be watching everything that's going on.

Here's a little story about products being improperly stored. I went into a classroom one time and looked around to see if there was anything out of place and noticed a little door in the wall. I thought I've got to see what's in this little bitty door in the wall. When I opened it, it was access to a heating unit. The teachers had decided to store their aerosol sprays, such as room fresheners (which they shouldn't have been using anyway) in this little area with the heat source. That was just an accident waiting to happen for an explosion.

Things That Can Cause Poisoning in a Typical Early Childhood Environment

Let's look at some of the things that can cause poisoning in a typical early childhood environment.

Personal Items

• Medications, vitamins, herbal remedies, liniments
• Perfumes, hair dye, hair spray, nail polish and remover, nail adhesives/removers
• Alcoholic beverages
• Tobacco and nicotine products, e-cigs
• Concentrated essential oils
• Baby powder (may be inhaled)

Personal items include anything that you would use as an adult, or if you are a family childcare provider, then these things that might be in your home. If you're a home visitor, these are things that you might see in the children's families' homes. When you're talking with families, you can remind them that these are some things they need to keep out of reach.

Some things to keep out of reach include medications, including vitamins, herbal remedies, and liniments. This also includes perfumes or hair dye, nail polish, nail adhesives and removers. If you have acrylic nails the glues and the removers to take those off are highly toxic to children. Alcoholic beverages, tobacco and nicotine products, including e-cigarettes and other vaping products, are also poisonous to children. The concentrated essential oils that many people use in their home or on potpourri or as a bath oil are also toxic.

You may or may not use baby powder on your own child, but it's not recommended in the early childhood education environment because a baby can reach over and grab it. If they're laying on their back while you're changing their diaper and they grab the bottle of baby powder and squeeze the bottle, the powder is going to go straight into their face. If they inhale the powder it's a poison for them.

Alcohol

Alcohol is very very dangerous for young children. It causes low blood sugar which can cause seizures, coma, brain damage, or even death. I saw a research study that said a single mixed drink could be fatal for a toddler. It affects the central nervous system, which includes breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure, which can all drop from alcohol. Just that single shot or a mixed drink could be fatal.

If you have a party or you've had a glass of wine or you have alcoholic beverages out for any reason, be sure and empty cans and glasses and clean up after your party. Sometimes adults will have a party after the children have gone to bed. Once the company leaves people often leave the glasses out and think oh, I'll clean them up the next morning. However, the children may get up before you do, so it's important to clean up before you go to bed. This is something that home visitors should be aware of and share with parents. If you are a family childcare provider be sure that everything gets cleaned up.

Rubbing alcohol looks like water to children. Never put rubbing alcohol in a cup or glass. Bleach is another thing that people often put in cups and glasses. Children might see it and think that it's something to drink. Many of your household products do contain alcohol, such as hand sanitizer, mouthwash, and facial toners. Keep these products out of sight and out of reach.

This term, out of sight and out of reach, is one you may hear me say several times during this course. That's a phrase that is used to prevent exposure to hazardous materials. Keep hazardous things out of children's sight and out of their reach.

Purses and Backpacks

Purses and backpacks may contain all kinds of things. I remember when my child was just an infant and I took him into the childcare program. His crib was right beside the door where parents entered the room. I started to hand him to the childcare worker and I looked at his crib and noticed there were rocks in his bed. They were just little rocks, but I really was not happy about that because I didn't want my infant eating rocks. It turned out that a parent had come in and had set their personal item (I don't know if it was a purse or a diaper bag) on the nearest surface, which happened to be my child's crib. This shows you how various things and personal items can enter the childcare, even though you're being very careful as a childcare provider. Parents and visitors sometimes bring in unwanted or unsafe items. The conclusion of that was that I told them to move my child's crib to the other side of the room so nothing like that would happen again.

Personal items should always be stored in a locked cabinet. Whether you are a childcare worker or some other staff member, when you come in and you have your purse it needs to go into a locked area. Another time I walked into a classroom and was doing some inspections to see how things were going and I watched the teacher go over to the file cabinet where she kind of leaned against it with her shoulder and locked it. Her purse was in that file cabinet where they were supposed to keep them.  However, it was supposed to be locked and it wasn't, so when I came in, she tried to discreetly lock it.

Think about what you keep in your personal items, whether it's a purse or a backpack. You might have some small round mints in your bag. A child may be accustomed to getting mints out of their own mother's purse. If they see a medicine container and it has little round objects in it, they don't know the difference between a mint and medicine. Other things you may keep in your personal items are nail polish, nose spray, or various medications. Personal items should always be out of sight, out of reach, and in a locked cabinet. Be sure to observe parents when they come in to be sure they're not setting things down where children may get into them.

In family childcare settings, those personal items may be stored in rooms that normally are off-limits to children such as bathrooms, kitchens, or laundry rooms. If you are in a family childcare setting, be sure and prevent access to those rooms or closets where exposure could occur. Make sure you store medications and alcohol and nicotine products in locked cabinets.

Another time, I walked into a childcare program and there was a child missing. It turned out he had left the playground. This was a three and a half-year-old child who had left the playground, gone in to use the restroom, and was found in the restroom. There was a closet in that restroom area that didn't even have a latch on it. The door was closed, but there was no latch. When I opened that closet to look, there were all kinds of cleaning products, not only on the shelves but even on the floor.

It also helps to teach the children not to touch things. That's no guarantee, but it does help.

Household Items

Lead

Some household items often have lead in them. Windows are a big issue if you have a structure that was constructed before 1977 because before then, lead was used in creating paint. Any furniture, windowsills, baseboards, or anything that was painted prior to 1977 very likely has lead in it. If a child is chewing on a windowsill or if a family is using an heirloom crib or a high chair or something and the child is chewing on it, they may be getting lead chips.  I would not recommend using old furniture that may have lead paint, but you might see that when you're doing a home visit. 

The soil in dense urban areas or near gas stations or where vehicles were parked or repaired may have lead in it. It's not uncommon, especially in rural areas, for people to have tractors and pickup trucks and all kinds of vehicles parked in areas where children have access. The soil absorbs the gasoline or oil or anything that has leaked out of that vehicle, even the exhaust fumes. Older vehicles used leaded gasoline, so if it's an older car that used leaded gasoline that may have leaked into the soil.

If you have an older house, especially one built before 1990, the pipes may have been lead-based solder or had lead in them. If there's a hot water heater that's very old, then there may be lead in that. Bullets, pellets, fishing weight, and hobby supplies may also have lead in them.

I looked around my own home to find things that might have lead or be hazardous and I found a cute little rabbit. It's very heavy and is part of a decorative tic-tac-toe board that my sister gave me. The rabbit has lead in it. A child might look at it and say, "Oh, that's so cute." A very young child would likely take it and put it right in their mouth. You need to avoid lead in a lot of different places.

Other places you might find lead is in jewelry and charms, imported cosmetics, medicines, herbals, and folk remedies. Notice I said "imported," because, in the US, we do have very high standards about lead content. In other countries, or if you're looking at some of the herbal and folk remedies that are not regulated, there may be lead in those.

Vintage items or dishware that were made before 1971, especially if it's white, green, or orange may have lead in it. My grandmother had some vintage Fiesta dishware that I now own. It's orange and it's highly toxic. If you look at the vintage Fiesta Ware, not the new Fiesta, if it was made before 1971, then it could have lead and other toxins in it.

I did a little research just to see how toxic it could be and was interested to learn that certain colors have more toxins. If you looked at the whites that were used, not only in dishware but in any kind of wall paint or wallpaper, things that were white often had lead. Lead was banned in white paint in the US in 1978, so things that were painted after 1978 would not have had lead in them. However, in 2006, lead was found in some Mexican pottery. Other countries do not have the same guidelines that we follow in the US.

The green had arsenic in it, so even fabrics and wallpaper from back in the earlier part of the 19th century had arsenic in them. In 1922 arsenic was used as an insecticide. Orange that was made prior to World War II includes uranium, which they started using in 1969. If you have vintage Fiesta Ware, especially the orange, it should not be anywhere near food or near the children. A lot of your imported ceramic dishware and potteries, especially if it's brightly colored and decorated, can easily have lead in it, as well as leaded glassware. Lead is universally recognized as a toxic substance, but it's not regulated the same in every country.

Getting Rid of Lead

There are ways to get rid of lead. If you have lead in the soil and it's tracked into the house, damp-mop the floor and clean the surfaces. You can plant grass to cover the soil. Test your tap water for lead safety. Here's a really important and easy tip. Always use cold water when you're using it for drinking, cooking, or making infant formula rather than using the hot water that has been in the hot water heater and sitting there longer. It also helps to run the water for a few seconds before you actually put the water in the glass, that way, if there is any lead solder in the pipes, it rinses it out.

Repaint interior and exterior walls and windowsills. Dispose of children's furniture, painted toys, or toy chests made before 1978. I have a cute toy that is very brightly colored, hand-painted, and came from Stockholm, Sweden. It was purchased back in 1989, so there's a very good chance that the paint that was used on that has lead in it. You would not want children to be playing with something like that, because they're going to chew on it.

Don't allow young children to wear jewelry and charms that may have lead in them. Keep hobby materials such as bullets, pellets, and fishing sinkers out of sight and out of reach.

Carbon Monoxide (CO)

Carbon monoxide is another toxin that you may have in the house. It's an odorless, colorless gas and it's produced by burning fuels in vehicles, small engines, stoves, lanterns, grills, gas ranges, and furnaces. It's absorbed through the lungs and transported by the bloodstream. Carbon monoxide prevents the blood from carrying oxygen. That means that if the blood doesn't have any oxygen when it gets to the brain and the heart, they aren't getting the oxygen that they need. The antidote for carbon monoxide is oxygen.

Everyone should have carbon monoxide detectors and they should be checked regularly. Be sure that they have good batteries in them. Install them throughout the facility and if the warning sounds, immediately evacuate. Don't wait to check them because you can't look and see if there's carbon monoxide. If the detector goes off, then get out of the facility.

Have your heating system, chimney, and wood stoves cleaned annually. If you are a home visitor and you're going into the homes and see that families are using wood-burning stoves or they have a fire in the fireplace, ask if they're having them cleaned annually. Encourage them to do that and to have appliances installed and serviced by professionals.

Never burn charcoal indoors or in an enclosed area. Never use a gas oven to heat a room or use unvented gas-burning appliances indoors. Never use a generator inside. Also, don't have a generator outside near a window or a door of the facility, because the exhaust fumes are still going to come in. The same is true if you have a car right outside the door that's running because the exhaust can come into the facility through the door. Avoid exposing children to carbon monoxide and avoid exposing them to vehicle exhaust.

Batteries

Most of the time when you think of batteries, you think of the typical AA or AAA batteries. We use batteries for so many items. Batteries are actually dangerous for children. The most dangerous batteries are the disk batteries or button batteries, particularly battery number 2032. This is one of the most dangerous ones and it's often used for small electronic devices such as keyless entry for vehicles, calculators, wristwatches, fitness appliances, toys, and games.

When batteries enter a child's body, whether the child sticks them up their nose or swallows them, they're large enough that they may even get stuck instead of being swallowed all the way down. Wherever they are lodged, whether it's the nose or the throat or even going into the stomach, they begin to burn a hole within two hours.

You have batteries everywhere. They are found in remote controls, keyless entry fobs, toys, cameras, talking books, singing greeting cards, flashing shoes, lighted jewelry, and medical equipment, among many other things. Children love things that light up, so there are a lot of batteries even in the early childhood setting.

The battery compartment on toys or whatever technical device you are using should have a screw closure. That means when you put the battery inside, you have to use a tiny little screwdriver to remove that screw in order to open the battery compartment door and replace the batteries. Many do not have a screw closure where the battery goes. If that's true, then you need to securely tape it shut. You don't want children to have access to the batteries inside the toys they're using. 

If you are changing the batteries yourself, lock up the new batteries and when you're disposing of the used batteries, do it safely. For example, let's say you had a new package of batteries that you had opened and you're replacing them in a toy or something. You look down and notice there's a battery missing. The first thing to know is that you should've been watching the battery, but the next thing to do is start looking for that battery. If there's any way that a child could've swallowed that battery, you have to do something immediately because within two hours it's likely to do severe damage to that child.

The biggest thing to remember is to not insert or change batteries in front of young children. They want to mimic you. They'll see what you're doing and they want to do the same thing, so that's when they're going to pick up the batteries.

Cleaning Products

Let's talk about cleaning products. Cleaning products are usually packaged in large, attractive containers.  Most do not have child-resistant packaging.  Cleaning products often look like beverages. For example, pine cleaner looks like apple juice, a bleach bottle looks like a milk jug, and window cleaner looks like a blue drink. Do not use aerosol sprays around children.

Caustic products such as acids or alkaline can damage the skin, eyes, lips, tongue, mouth, throat, and stomach. Growing up many of us heard that we should look out for toilet bowl cleaner because it's so dangerous, and it is. Toilet bowl cleaner is one of the worst ones. Other caustic products that are dangerous include oven cleaner, mildew remover, rust stain remover, lye, drain openers, and lime.

Dishwashing detergents are extremely dangerous in any form, whether it's the liquid, powder, or the pods. If young children see something like the pods, they often don't know any better and will sometimes put it in their mouth. Think about it what these detergents can do. They will eat the dried-on egg off of your dinner plate. Think about what it's going to do to the esophagus and to the stomach. Dishwasher detergent is extremely dangerous.

Another item I have in my kitchen is Lemi Shine original. The bottle states that it removes tough spots and film. Again, it's going in your dishwasher and it is highly toxic and very hazardous for children. Look around your own home and see what's under your sink and what's in your bathroom cabinet. Look in your childcare environment and see if is there anything there that shouldn't be around children or needs to be out of sight, out of reach, and locked up.

We're going to talk a little bit later about what to do in case of poisoning. But right now, I want to bring up that if a child does ingest something, such as dishwasher detergent, do not induce vomiting. That was an old thing that they used to say that if you swallowed poison, throw it back up. That is not recommended anymore, because there are so many different products that cause damage going down and they can cause additional damage coming back up. Don't induce vomiting.

As I mentioned before, automatic dishwasher detergents (ADDS) are available as powders, liquids, tablets, and pods. The ingredients that make ADDs so effective also make them dangerous if swallowed, inhaled, or contacted with skin. Severe effects, including burns and tissue damage, can occur. Store ADDs out of sight and out of reach. The way to prevent exposure to any kind of dishwasher detergents is to keep the children out of the kitchen where you're washing dishes. In a family childcare environment, you may have children around the dishwasher. When you load the dishwasher, close it. When you have finished unloading the dishwasher and put the clean dishes up, close it. Keep the dishwasher closed. Don't put the detergent in until you're ready to push that start button and let it run.

Laundry detergent, stain removers, fabric softeners, and other laundry products can be very dangerous. Some are more of a detergent or a soap and might cause an upset stomach or cause irritation, from mild to painful. Some products, such as rust remover, can cause burns. Laundry detergent pods can cause dangerous injury including coughing, choking, trouble breathing, coma, and possibly death.

Children shouldn't be around these items, but as with any products, if you're using them, whether the children are present or not doesn't make any difference. When you use a product, use it and then put it up. With laundry detergents, as you've likely noticed, the top unscrews and that's your measuring cup. Put the laundry detergent in it and put it back on so you don't have a cup sitting around with the product in it.

A lot of times, children are poisoned because the adult pours whatever the product is, whether it's bleach, laundry detergent, or anything else, into a cup to measure it. Then the child sees the cup and says oh, this looks good. They might get a lot or they might just get a little bit of residue, but you don't want them getting any of it. Don't use drinking cups or glasses to measure products.

Keep all laundry products, especially detergent pods, out of sight and out of reach.

Outdoor Use Items

Let's talk about outdoor use items. I call them outdoor use, but sometimes they're used indoors. These are things that primarily are used outside.

Pesticides

Use integrated pest management and avoid pesticide use if possible. A resource for more information is Reduced Risk Pest Management.

Never put roach powders, rat poisons, bait traps, or other pesticides in children's areas. In fact, it's not recommended they be in the facility anywhere. There are times someone has a private or family childcare center or what's called relative care. These may be unlicensed childcare programs that are not required to follow all the same instructions. However, it's a good idea to never use any kind of pesticide within the facility.

If outdoor areas are treated, use those products when children are not present and keep them off the treated areas for 24 hours. I visited a Mother's Day Out program at a church one time and when I went out on the playground area there was a man who was throwing out pesticide all over the grass because he wanted to get rid of any fire ants or any other little bugs and critters that could be out there. I knew that the children were supposed to go out onto that playground area within the next hour. I quickly told him that wasn't a good idea and suggested he stop. I don't know what they did, because I don't have authority over that, but those types of things happen. You have very well-meaning people that are trying to help, but if they don't understand the toxicity of products and childcare, it can cause a very hazardous situation.

Do not use pesticide products on edible plants unless that product is specifically labeled for that purpose. For example, if you are going to a farmer's market to purchase food for the children for a cooking activity, ask the person who raised the food, "How was it raised? Is it organic? Did you use any pesticides? What kind of fertilizer did you use?" Ask them and make sure there are no toxins on the food and wash the produce before you serve it to the children or use it in cooking. The same is true for products from a grocery store. It's always a good idea to wash the products before you eat them, just to make sure there's nothing on there.

Avoid breathing any pesticide fumes. If you or someone else are applying pesticides, avoid the fumes and don't do it when children are present. If you have a pesticide company that's coming into your facility make sure it's a licensed company, they know what they're doing, and they are going to do it safely and use appropriate products. It still should be applied when children are not present, for example on a Friday afternoon if you're going to be closed all weekend. Make sure you wash your hands or shower immediately after applying pesticides. Store pesticides in the original containers in a locked area, preferably outside the facility.

Lawn and Garden Chemicals

Lawn and garden chemicals are other things that are often found near the early childhood environment. We want nice grass for the children to play on and flowers and maybe berries for them to pick. However, lawn and garden chemicals should be inaccessible, preferably locked up outside the facility, and always in the original or clearly labeled containers. When I say the clearly labeled containers, you may have a pump sprayer that you mixed some sort of chemical in.

It may be a very safe chemical. For example, it could be something like neem oil that is often used and is considered to be safe for edible produce. It's diluted and is not in the original container that you buy at the store as it comes as a concentrate. Even though it may be in the proper dilution, it should still be locked up outside the facility. Although they may be safe for use around children, you should still use those products when children are not present and keep them off the areas for at least 24 hours.

Pool Chemicals

Some of your childcare programs may even have their own pools, so you're using particular products. Use the products according to the manufacturer's instructions and test the water for proper chemical concentration to be sure that you're putting the proper amount of pool chemicals in. Previously, I mentioned chlorine gas. It is very important to ensure adequate ventilation for indoor pools and hot tubs. When I was teaching in college, I had a student that came into my office and he was writing notes to me because he could not talk. He couldn't talk because he was working as a lifeguard and someone had put too much chlorine in the pool and when he walked into the enclosed area he inhaled the chlorine gas and he completely lost his voice. The doctor told him to not even try to talk for two weeks. It was very dangerous for him.

Store the chemicals in the original labeled containers in a locked, temperature-controlled area. Temperature-controlled is the recommendation of the chemical manufacturer. If you are handling pool chemicals, wear personal protective equipment including gloves and goggles. As a reminder, you should not be handling these or putting these in when the children are present.

Other Items

Hydrocarbons

• Baby oil
• Lighter fluid
• Motor oil 
• Mineral oil
• Gasoline
• Hair oil
• Lamp oil
• Kerosene
• Some furniture polishes
• Torch fuel
• Motor oil

Some other items that are dangerous include we call hydrocarbons. These include all your oils, gasoline, petroleum products, hair oil, kerosene, motor oil, and even mineral oil. Products such as these are slippery and they can easily go "down the wrong way." This means that if a child swallowed it, they could aspirate it into their lungs while they were swallowing. What happens, in that case, is they're probably going to start coughing and if they aren't coughing they may be choking and not getting air in. Other effects can include fever, lung irritation, pneumonia, and even death. The symptoms can occur very quickly.

I found a few things I typically have in my home at any time. I don't have young children here, so please know that these are not accessible to children. These are just common items that are found in many homes, so again, family childcare providers may have these items or if you're a home visitor you might see these on home visits. Look to see if it's a safe environment.

Some items I have in my house are Goo Gone and furniture polish, which are both petroleum-based products. I also have Endust. Some of the furniture polishes do have the hydrocarbons in them and some do not. One of the worst things about Endust is that it's an aerosol. Aerosols are substances that are in canisters with pressure and you push the button and the spray comes out. Those should never be in children's areas and should never be used when children are present. These are not bad products, they just need to be used safely and at the right time and place and not around children.

With any of your products, always reclose the child-resistant caps immediately. You should open them, use them, close them, and then put them away. Don't turn your back on an open container even for a second. Again, you shouldn't be using these around children. However, someone else such as a maintenance person or a contractor might be doing some work in your area. Always watch, because they might set something down. You have to know where your children are at all times and what substances they may be exposed to.

Lock your oils and other hydrocarbons out of children's reach. Even baby oils should not be in children's reach. Baby oil does not need to be locked up, but it does need to be out of sight and out of reach where children can't get to it. It's not considered a poison, but it is something that you wouldn't want children picking up and squeezing it into their mouths.

Always keep every product in the original labeled container. Never pour anything like gasoline, oil, or other products into a bottle or a cup. Never put poisons in food containers. I remember when I was growing up back in the 1970s my aunt put some sort of insecticide in an old glass Coca-Cola bottle. My cousin saw it, picked it up, and drank it. He's okay, but you see how quickly accidents can happen.

Combustible Items

Other items may be combustible. With these products, we're not talking about them being toxic from drinking them. Obviously, if they drink gasoline or ethanol or something, it is toxic, but they are considered hazardous materials because they are combustible. That means that they produce vapors and those vapors can ignite explosively. Even a carelessly dropped cigarette near a gasoline container or a lawnmower with a leaking fuel tank can cause an explosion. The gasoline produces vapors and if a spark hits the vapors then you get an explosion. Some products which are combustible include:

• Gasoline
• Ethanol
• Propane
• Butane
• Acetone
• Ammonia

In this situation, when I refer to acetone I'm not talking about a bottle of nail polish remover. That should definitely be kept away from children, out of sight and out of reach, but it's not explosive. Acetone is also used when you're doing woodworking, stripping paint, and in other types of carpentry. You can get this type of acetone in a quart jar or a gallon container at the hardware store. That is the acetone I'm talking about which can produce vapors and can ignite.

It's the same for ammonia. It's not just the little bottle of ammonia that you might be using in the house, but if you had a large amount of ammonia or fertilizer where ammonia is listed as one of the ingredients, those can ignite explosively.  These larger quantities of the products can be combustible. Combustible means it could explode, it doesn't mean the same as flammable. Flammable items include things that will burn, such as paper and wood. Combustible means it can ignite explosively. Anything like this must be in a locked area outside the facility and it should not even be inside the facility.

Other items such as paints, paint thinners, and paint removers should be used when children are not present or you must prevent access to the area and also make sure that the fumes from that are not coming into the children's area. For example, if you had a family childcare center and the neighbor was working on some things near your garage or helping you out with a product, they might be using products that are not considered safe. Could those fumes come into the early childhood environment? I know this seems a little far stretched, especially if you're in a childcare center where you don't have that problem, but every single childcare program is different, so I'm bringing up all the different things that could possibly happen because most of them I have seen. 

Use only interior paints inside the facility. Again, never transfer paint into cups, glasses, or food containers. If you're using any paint strippers and solvents, use them as directed in well-ventilated areas. You wouldn't be doing this when children are present, but the fumes and the odors can stay in the environment for a while, so you need to be sure everything's ventilated and that there are no aerosols or fumes when the children do return to that area. Again, store these products in a locked area outside the facility, not inside.

Use and Storage Basics

Use of HAZMATs

Any potentially hazardous substances should not be used when children are present. It may be that the children are simply not in that room. For example, if you're using bleach sanitizer or other sanitizing agents, you might use them when the children are in another room doing another activity. Whether you have a cleaning service that comes in or you do the cleaning, it should not be done when children are present.

An exception to this would be approved sanitizing agents such as a bleach and water solution, which is the most commonly used one if it's mixed properly. There are also a lot of green and less toxic products that can be used for sanitation. Those can be used as a non-aerosol, such as in a pump bottle if it's properly diluted or it's a proper solution because it's safe to use around children.

Things that are not safe for children, such as any aerosols, should not be used when children are present. All products should be used as recommended by the manufacturer, so read the directions and never mix products. It doesn't matter if somebody says, "If you mix this and this it does a wonderful job." Mixing products is not allowed in the early childhood setting.

Storage of HAZMATs

Any potentially hazardous product must be kept in its original container. We've mentioned this over and over again, but appropriate dilutions such as a bleach solution or other cleaning solution that has been approved must be in clearly labeled containers. These solutions should meet state licensing or Caring for Our Children regulatory standards.

Use a new pump spray bottle that is clean and hasn't been used for storing anything that was toxic. Don't reuse something else. Label it clearly and put the appropriate dilution in the bottle. This will change from state to state, and sometimes even depending on who is doing the inspection. I've seen cases where bleach solution that is properly made is allowed to be out of reach, but it's used when the children are present and it does not have to be locked away. However, I have also seen licensing inspectors come into a facility and say that it has to be locked up. If in doubt, ask your licensing inspector and follow the regulations for your center. Sometimes it's a little bit of a gray area as to what must be locked up and what must not.

Store those products in a locked storage room or cabinet and away from children's areas. The locked storage rooms and cabinets must have a combination, electronic or a magnetic device, key, or equivalent locking device. One Head Start program I visited was in a school and they stored things in the lockers that were in the hallway, so they were out of the children's area and had a combination lock. It was still accessible when they needed to get it, say before children came or after children left, to do cleaning, but it was completely away from the children. If it is a cabinet that's locked and it has a key to it, don't leave the key in the lock and don't hang the key right beside it. Keep the keys out of sight and out of reach. Other products labeled "Keep out of reach of children" without any other warnings must also be inaccessible to children. It's not saying they have to be locked, but they must be out of sight and out of reach.

Out of Sight, Out of Reach

Remember, out of sight and out of reach means that the children don't see it, therefore, they're not tempted to get it. Even if they are tempted, they can't reach it. A storage shelf or a cabinet must be at least five feet above the finished floor to be considered out of reach. Even if that cabinet has doors that you shut, for something to truly be out of sight and out of reach, it must be at least five feet above the finished floor. Also, there. cannot be access t the cabinet by furniture, ladders, toys, or any other objects. If you had a storage shelf that was mounted on the wall, but you had another little shelf below it, it's not five feet above the finished floor because a child could climb up on that shelf to get to the cabinet.

I saw a two-year-old that somehow managed to get on top of a Little Tikes truck. I don't know how he did it because nobody saw him do it. He was just pushing it along and the next thing you know, he is standing on top of it. Children are creative. They will push a toy or a chair or a little truck up to the wall, stand on it, and get to whatever it is they want to reach. 

If You Suspect a Poisoning

If you suspect a poisoning, don't wait to call for help. Don't wait to see if the child gets sick. If you suspect a poisoning, the first thing that it's recommended is that you call the Poison Control Center. When you call 1-800-222-1222, you will be connected with your local Poison Control Center. It doesn't matter what part of the country you're in, it will connect you to the local Poison Control Center. This number should be posted by your phones and be programmed into your cell phone. Put it on the wall with your other emergency information and call this number as soon as you suspect poisoning. The Poison Control Center is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, by people who are qualified and knowledgeable about a variety of hazardous substances. They will give you the best advice.

This is the number that I would call no matter what, even if you're not sure if there's a poisoning. Don't feel silly about it. One time I looked at my child and noticed something in his hand. It turns out it was the little seed pods off of what we call monkey grass, which is grown a lot in the south. I called Poison Control and they told me it was okay and that it was not toxic.

Another time, I was working with a Head Start program and we had a landscaper who came in to help renovate the playgrounds. There was an old tennis court that we turned into a tricycle path and they planted some large bushes in planters on that concrete area. We wanted some shade, so we asked them to plant something that could live in containers. They planted something called weeping yaupon. They told us they were wonderful because they had little berries and the birds loved them.

The next spring when I was out visiting, one of the Head Start teachers came to me and said, "Ms. Hendricks, this a nice playground and the kids love it, but you know those bushes over there, I'm kinda worried because they've got all these little red berries on them and the birds don't come anywhere near it." I always admire teachers because they notice the little things and they're concerned and they want to do the best. I thought, if a bird won't eat the berry, I'm concerned about the berries. The first thing I did was I went to a local nursery where some friends worked. I showed him a picture and some berries and said, "What is this?" He looked it up and found that it was weeping yaupon. He looked up the technical name of it and it was something about vomitus. That was the first indication that this was not good. I called the Poison Control Center and told them about it and at first, she said she didn't think it was toxic, but she looked again just to make sure.  She found that it was considered toxic at 15 berries, but they treated poisoning if a child only ate five berries. Since we found that the berries were toxic, the people had to come and take out those bushes and put new ones in that did not have berries.

If you suspect a poisoning, have the following information available:

• Child’s condition (symptoms)
• Name of the product or ingredients
• How much product was taken and how exposed (ingested, breathed, absorbed)
• Time poisoning happened
• Child's age and weight
• Your name, address, and phone number

When you suspect poisoning and call the Poison Control Center, it's very important that you have all the information. You need to be able to tell them about the child, including his age, weight, how much of the substance he ate and how he's behaving.  For example, if he's lethargic, coughing, or dancing around and seems to be fine. You should know the name of the product or the ingredients. Whatever product was ingested, take it to the phone with you. Look at the back of the label so you can tell them exactly what the product is, who the manufacturer is, and read the ingredients to them if you need to. They need to know how much of the product was taken and how the child was exposed. Was it ingested, breathed in, or was it on the skin and was absorbed? What time did it happen? They also want to know your name, the address where you are with the child, and a phone number where you can immediately be reached, especially if you happen to be disconnected.

References

https://aapcc.org/prevention/daycare-school-poison-safety

https://www.nsc.org/home-safety/safety-topics/other-poisons/household-products

https://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/poisoning/preventiontips.htm