Safe Use
Source: Guide to Hazardous Products Around the Home. Second Edition. 1989. Missouri Household Hazardous Waste Project.

Toxins entering the body Hazardous substances may enter your body in four ways: through inhalation, ingestion, direct contact, or absorption through the skin. Common sense and a few pieces of simple safety equipment can protect you from exposure to hazardous substances. This section suggests practices and types of equipment you may need for protection from a variety of common household hazardous products.

The type of safety equipment you may needs depends on the hazardous material to which you are exposed. If the material with which you will be working is not included in the tables below, ask a safety equipment salesperson for further assistance. Read the labels of suspected hazardous products to be sure that you are/will be properly protected. Remember that manufacturers sometimes change product ingredients so be sure to check the label each time you purchase a product, even though you may have used the same product previously.

Properly designed and fitted safety equipment should not be awkward to wear or use. Far too many people risk unnecessary injury, poisoning, or even cancer when using hazardous products without the proper protection. The comfort, money, or time spent on correct protective equipment and procedures is more than compensated for by the savings from the discomforts of illness, medical bills, and time lost to illness or injury.

Safe Use Menu:

  1. Tips on using products safely

  2. Ingestion Prevention

  3. Inhalation Prevention / Respiratory Protection

  4. Guide to Respirators - a guide to selecting an appropriate respirator based on the product to be handled

  5. Absorption Prevention / Eye and Skin Protection

  6. Guide to Goggles - list of products for which safety goggles should be worn when handling

  7. Guide to Gloves - a guide to selecting an appropriate pair of work gloves based on the product to be handled

  8. Protection from Fire

  9. Guide to Fire Extinguishers - how to select the right fire extinguisher

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