PEOPLE
The effect of hazardous chemicals depends on how much you were exposed to and for how long.
- Just a little exposure, or "acute" exposure, may cause a headache, nausea, shortness of breath, burns and eye and nose irritations.
- Exposure in larger quantities, or over a longer period of time (chronic exposure) can cause damage to your liver, kidneys, or central nervous system, cause cancer, or birth defects to unborn babies, or even kill you.
- Eating/drinking (ingestion): 5-10 million household poisonings from ingestion are reported each year. Poisonings happen frequently when toxic household products are left unattended where children or animals are present.
- Breathing (inhalation): Fumes from hazardous chemicals can irritate and damage eyes, skin and lungs.
- Skin contact and absorption: Some chemicals, like pesticides, are easily absorbed through the skin and get into the body when you touch them. Chemicals in oven cleaners and drain openers are highly corrosive and can irritate or burn the skin.
ENVIRONMENT
When hazardous materials are not disposed of properly, they can not only hurt people, but plants and animals too!
- A typical home contains between 3 and 10 pounds of hazardous products!
- Millions of pounds get dumped into Washington's landfills with the
garbage
where
it can eventually contaminate water supplies or emit harmful vapors.
- Hazardous waste can also be rinsed into our sewers and storm drains and eventually end up in our rivers, lakes, streams and oceans harming fish and wildlife.
Motor Oil- Motor oil actually never wears out! It only becomes dirty, and therefore can
be
cleaned, recycled and used over and over again. But sometimes, the oil is
dumped on the ground, put in the garbage going to the landfill, or poured
down a storm drain. All of these disposal methods are harmful, and eventually
lead the oil (which now contains toxic contaminants from car engines) into
our streams, lakes and oceans. Used motor oil is one of the largest sources
of oil pollution in our nation's waterways, and most of it is dumped by
people who change their own oil. This used motor oil does the following
damage to the environment: - Just one gallon of used oil can ruin the taste of up to one million gallons of drinking water.
- It kills floating plankton and algae (a basic food source) and threatens the lives of fish, birds, insects and other aquatic life.
- It can not only harm fish, but spoil their taste when eaten by people.
Pesticides- Pesticides are hazardous chemicals that kill organisms that destroy our crops, garden vegetables, plants, wood, clothing or other materials. Some common pesticides are mothballs/flakes, flea collars, bug sprays, or lawn and garden care products. Often times, these chemicals not only hurt their intended target, but lots of other living things in the area.
- Most pesticides do not discriminate between pests, and good insects and plants. When they wipe out other living organisms, they destroy the natural balance.
- They often do not reach their intended target, as wind and other
factors can scatter the pesticide into other locations.
- They can be persistent, and do not easily break down into non-toxic compounds. These persistent pesticides can enter the food chain and travel all over the world. For example, DDT has been found in the cells of animals in Antarctica.
- "Superpests" can be created, as new generations of pests build up resistance to old pesticides. More than 400 insects species are now resistant to some chemical insecticides.
- What we don't know CAN hurt us! The Environmental Protection Agency is currently reevaluating the 50,000 registered pesticides on the market, as there is not adequate information to determine possible long-term effects on our health.
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