News tagged with 'Safe Home 101'

Mike Tyson's four-year-old daughter is on life support after a treadmill accident Monday.   With more than 25,000 exercise equipment accidents each year, the Consumer Product Safety Commission reports more than a quarter occur to children under the age of five.

It is a mystery that will take 21 years to solve - how do solents, plastics, chemicals in our environment adversely affect children's health and disease. The NIH and CDC will examine more than 100,000 participants at 105 diverse sites around the country in this ambitious National Children's Health Study. 

A second report on the chemical used in plastic, Bisphenol A, says there is some concern about the exposure to infants and children. Thought to be an endocrine disruptor with a link to health problems, many consumers are already forcing manufacturers to turn to alternatives to plastics and resins and away from the six billion pounds of BPA produced a year.

While many shampoo products claim that they are made from all-natural, herbal ingredients, that is not always the case. The Consumer Guide to Safe Shampoos will help you understand the product label and what ingredients you should avoid when purchasing shampoo for your family.

When the electricity goes out- how do you know if your food is safe to eat? The general guideline is to keep the freezer and refrigerator doors closed as much as possible to maintain cold temperatures for as long as possible. If unopened, the food will stay cold for up to 4 hours. A full freezer will hold the temperature for about 48 hours (about 24 hours if only half full) but only if the doors have remained shut. If in doubt, toss it.

Vinyl shower curtains tested by The Center for Health, Environment, and Justice (CHEJ) from five popular retailers, were found to contain high concentrations of polyvinyl chloride (PCV) chemicals associated with cancer and other health problems. The amount of chemicals present was 16 times greater than the guideline for indoor air quality. 

SAFE HOME 101- Homes older than 15 years may not be constructed with ground fault circuit interruptors (GFCIs), which prevent electrocution when electricity and water meet with you in the middle. If GFCIs were installed in every U.S. home, nearly 70 percent of the approximate 400 electrocutions that occurred last year could have been prevented.

While Congress is still undecided and the FDA is waffling, major retailers are responding to consumer demand and voluntarily removing a controversial chemical BPA, used to make baby bottles, toys and cups.

Use the same disinfectant wipe on a toilet, then a sink, then a keyboard, and you are likely undermining the reason you turned to a disinfectant wipe in the first place, say researchers presenting a study in Boston today. Washing hands with soap and water is still considered the best anti-bacterial method to use in a hospital setting.