Ten hazards everyone can control in their own home to improve their environment
Newswise — With more and more people spending a good portion of their day inside – whether at home, school, and/or in the workplace – it is important to recognize that indoor environments may contain a number of hazards. However, many of these hazards can easily be eliminated and/or controlled. To address these issues, and to commemorate the annual observance of Earth Day on April 22, the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) has re-released its checklist of “Ten Environmental Hazards You Can Live Without.”
“ACOEM’s environmental checklist provides 10 practical steps that all of us can take to improve the quality of our indoor environment,” said Robert K. McLellan, MD, author of the checklist. “Earth Day reminds us of an ancient wisdom – people are inextricably linked with their environment,” he said. “The environment does not stop at the walls of our homes and buildings.”
The checklist is part of ACOEM’s ongoing commitment to protect the health and safety of workers, workplaces, and environments. Its focus is on household environmental hazards such as tobacco smoke, radon, asbestos, lead, combustion gases, water pollution, household chemicals and pesticides, allergens, and food poisoning. It provides tips on how to avoid and/or control these hazards in the home and includes recommendations and helpful resources from the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission among others.
ACOEM encourages its members to disseminate the checklist to their patients and colleagues and urges the public to implement the recommendations to improve and protect their living environment. The checklist is available on the ACOEM web site at www.acoem.org or http://tinyurl.com/bugg5wc.
ACOEM (http://www.acoem.org) is an international medical society of 5,000 occupational and environmental medicine physicians and other health care professionals. The College provides leadership to promote optimal health and safety of workers, workplaces, and environments.
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