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Hazardous Household Products: Use and Disposal

Dale Dorman, Extension Housing Specialist

Many of the products we routinely use for housework, gardening, home improvement, or car maintenance contain hazardous materials that may endanger our health as well as pollute the environment. It has been estimated that the average house contains from three to 10 gallons of hazardous products.

Collectively, these materials can contaminate our drinking water if they are not stored carefully and disposed of properly. In addition to polluting our water, inappropriate use and disposal of hazardous household products can cause injuries, poisoning and air pollution.

What Makes a Household Product Hazardous?

Household products are hazardous if they are:

• Ignitable -- capable of burning or causing a fire
• Corrosive -- capable of eating away materials and destroying living tissue when contact occurs
• Explosive and/or Reactive -- can cause an explosion or releasepoisonous fumes when exposed to air, water or other chemicals
• Toxic -- poisonous, either immediately (acutely toxic) or over a long period of time (chronically toxic)

How Do You Know if a Product Is Hazardous?

The Federal Hazardous Substances Act of 1960 established labeling requirements for consumer products containing hazardous substances. If a product has a hazardous substance, the front label must include a warning and a description of the hazard.

Levels of hazards are identified this way:

DANGER -- substances which are extremely flammable, corrosive or highly toxic.

POISON -- substances which are highly toxic.

WARNING, or CAUTION -- substances which are moderately or slightly toxic.

A statement telling you how to avoid the hazard must appear with safe use instructions. Examples might be KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN or USE IN A WELL-VENTILATED AREA.

Pesticides Are Different

Regulations concerning pesticides are different. On pesticides, the word "DANGER OR POISON" means that the product is highly toxic. This means that a few drops to 1 teaspoon can kill a 150 lb. adult. The word "WARNING" means that the product is moderately toxic. This means that 1 teaspoon to 1 ounce can kill a 150 lb. adult. The word "CAUTION" means that the product is slightly toxic. It would take over 1 ounce to kill a 150 lb. adult.

As a consumer you should make it a habit to read hazardous product labels. The labels must include the following information.

1. Brand Name
2. Common and/or Chemical Name (example: sodium hypochlorite or bleach)
3. Amount of Contents (example: 16 oz)
4. Signal Word - Danger, Poison, Warning or Caution
5. Instructions for Safe Handling and Use (example: recommended amount to use)
6. Name and Address of Manufacturer, Distributor, Packer or Seller
7. Description of Hazard and Precautions - (example: Irritant to skin and eyes, harmful if swallowed)
8. First Aid Instructions, when necessary or appropriate (example: If swallowed, rinse mouth thoroughly with water. Then immediately drink a glass of milk.)

Types of Hazardous Household Products

Most hazardous household products can be grouped into four major categories:

• Automotive maintenance products include degreasers, motor oil, brake and transmission fluid, antifreeze and car batteries, gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, and car wax with solvent.
• Household cleaners include drain cleaners, oven cleaners, toilet cleaners, spot removers, silver and other metal polishes, furniture polishes, cleansers and powdered cleaners, window cleaners, bleach, liquid cleaners, and dyes.
• Household maintenance products include oil-based paint, auto and model paint, paint stripper, primer, rust remover, turpentine, varnish, wood preservative, mineral spirits, and glues.
• Yard maintenance products include fertilizer, pesticides and pet treatment products.

Other hazardous products include: aerosol products, dry cell and disc or button batteries, hearing aid batteries, moth balls and flakes, roach and ant spray/bait, rodent poison, shoe polish, photographic chemicals, smoke detectors and deodorizers.

How is human health affected by exposure to hazardous household products?

Hazardous substances may be taken into the body through ingestion, inhalation, or absorption through the skin. The immediate effects of poisoning from toxic substances may include fatigue, dizziness, headache, nauseau, stomachaches and diarrhea. Although less is known about long-term effects, research has determined that exposure to certain toxic substances can result in damage to the nervous system, the liver, the kidneys and the reproductive system.

What effect can hazardous household products have on the environment?

Many people dispose of hazardous household products by pouring them down the drain, burning them or putting them in the trash. These practices are dangerous and contribute to drinking water contamination and air pollution.

If hazardous products are poured down the drain, they go to either a septic tank or a public sewer system. In the septic tank, toxins can destroy the organisms which break down the waste and cause a septic tank malfunction. The toxic substances can pass unchanged into surrounding soil and water. If hazardous products enter a public sewer system, they may go to a conventional treatment plant not equipped to break down complex chemicals or high concentrations of simpler ones. The toxic substances may be returned to surface waters which serve as drinking water supplies.

If hazardous products are thrown in the trash, they go to an incinerator to be burned or to a landfill to be buried. In either case, the improper disposal of hazardous substances can create a risk to the environment. Improper burning of hazardous products can cause explosions or toxic fumes. Often hazardous substances are not entirely burned and become concentrated in the ash. When hazardous products are sent to the landfill, they may explode, catch fire, give off fumes or leach through the soil into groundwater. Trash collectors and landfill workers are also placed at great risk from fires, explosions and leakage of hazardous substances.

What can be done to minimize the human and environmental risk of hazardous household products?

While it may be impossible to eliminate hazardous products, there are a number of ways that consumers can help solve the problems associated with the use of these substances. The risk to family members and the environment can be greatly reduced by following recommended guidelines for the proper use, storage and disposal of hazardous household products.

When Buying:

• Read labels. Make sure the product will do what you want and that you will feel safe using it. If a product label doesn't give a list of ingredients or adequate instructions for its safe use, choose another product.
• Select the least hazardous product. Let the signal words--poison, danger, warning or caution-- be your guide. When reading labels, do not be fooled by the words "non-toxic." This is an advertising term. It does not mean the product meets any federal regulations for non-toxicity.
• Select non-hazardous substitutes whenever possible.
• Buy the right amount of product for the job you have to do. Remember, once you buy something you are also responsible for disposing of it properly.
• Select multi-purpose cleaners. Check the label to see if a product has several uses. Then you can avoid buying a different product for each job.
• Avoid aerosol spray cans whenever possible. Buy liquid, paste, or powder forms of products. Aerosol products may contain hazardous or toxic propellants, and the fine mist that they produce may be more easily inhaled.
• Choose water-based paint, glue, shoe polish and similar products rather than solvent-based products.

When using:

• Read the directions and follow them. Use only the amount of a product that is absolutely necessary.
• Use hazardous household products as infrequently as possible.
• Use the product only for the tasks listed on the label.
• Use up any product that you buy--or if you can't, give it to someone who can. Make sure that any product you give away is in its original container with its label intact and any use and disposal instructions included.
• Consider using homemade products. If you decide to make your own cleaners, you must use and store them safely. While the ingredients in homemade cleaners are safer, they are not all non-hazardous. Be careful what chemicals you mix. Some chemicals, such as chlorine bleach and ammonia, produce a very toxic gas if they are mixed together.
• Wear protective equipment--such as rubber gloves, goggles, mask or respirator--as recommended by the manufacturer.
• Handle products carefully to avoid spills. To avoid fumes and spills, keep the container closed tightly when it's not being used.
• Use products in well-ventilated areas. When working indoors, open windows and use a fan to circulate the air toward the outside. Air conditioners do not provide sufficient ventilation since they recirculate air, even when set on "vent." Take plenty of fresh-air breaks.
• Do not eat, drink, or smoke while using hazardous products. Traces of chemicals can be carried from hand to mouth. Smoking can start a fire if the product is flammable.
• Do not mix or use a pesticide near a well head.
• Do not mix products unless directions say that you can do so safely. This can cause explosive or poisonous chemical reactions. Even different brands of the same product may contain incompatible ingredients.
• If you're pregnant, avoid exposure to toxic chemicals. Many toxic products have not been tested for their effect on a fetus.
• Don't wear soft contact lenses when working with solvents and pesticides. They can absorb and hold the chemicals next to your eyes.
• Carefully and tightly seal products when you finish. Escaping fumes can be harmful and you will avoid spills.
• Use common sense.

When storing:

• Follow label directions.
• Leave the product in its original container with the original label attached.
• Never store hazardous products in food or beverage containers.
• Make sure lids and caps are tightly sealed.
• Store hazardous products on high shelves or in locked cabinets out of the reach of children and animals.
• Store incompatible products separately. Keep flammable products away from corrosive products.
• Store volatile products--those which warn of vapors and fumes--in a well-ventilated area.
• Keep flammable products away from heat, sparks or sources of ignition.
• Store rags used with flammable products, such as furniture stripper and paint remover, in a sealed, marked container.
• Know where flammable materials are located in your home and know how to extinguish them. Keep a fire extinguisher or materials to control fires where you can get to them.
• Keep containers dry to prevent rusting.
• Do not store hazardous products in the same area as food.

When Disposing:

• The best disposal advice for any potentially hazardous household product is don't; instead, use it up or give it to someone who can.
• If you must dispose of a hazardous household product, read the product label carefully and follow the recommendations for disposal.
• If the recommended disposal method is not feasible, and you cannot use up the product, then you should store the product until a suitable disposal method is available. For safe storage, be sure the product is properly labeled, sealed, out of the reach of children and pets, away from moisture and running water, and away from food and water storage areas.
• Recycle wastes if you can. Take used motor oil and batteries to an authorized collection site.
• Call your local community government with questions about any material which you think may pose a disposal problem.
• Find out about and follow your trash collector's disposal guidelines.
• Do not bury household wastes unless you have obtained a permit of exception from your local health department.
• Do not bury any containers, empty or full, in your back yard, or throw them into roadside dumps.
• Do not dispose of anything in dumps by the side of the road, ditches, gullies or sink holes.
• Do not dispose of any materials by pouring them onto the ground or down street drains or storm sewers.
• Do not put liquid wastes into the trash.
• Do not mix wastes; this could create a violent reaction or form a more hazardous product.
• Do not attempt to use a back yard fireplace or barbecue as an incinerator.

Key to Disposal Recommendations

The following chart offers general disposal recommendations for potentially hazardous products that you may have in your home. When more than one disposal method is given, the first is preferred. Choose another method only when the first is not feasible.

Household refuse: Discard with household refuse that is carried to a sanitary landfill or municipal incinerator. Rinse empty containers well with water before you discard them.

Wrapped refuse: Wrap in newspaper and then in plastic before you add it to household refuse.

Small amount down drain: Pour small quantities (less than one-third of the container) down the drain (or toilet) on a city sewer using plenty of water; rinse the container thoroughly, then discard it as household refuse. If large amounts are to be disposed, take to local sewage treatment plant.

Solidify/double wrap: Solidify with absorbent material such as kitty litter, sawdust, charcoal, or sand. Allow the material to dry, then double wrap it in plastic and discard it with household refuse.

Special recycling center: Take the product to a special recycling facility or return it to its manufacturer.

Motor Oil

An auto service or repair station -- or any station that changes oil -- may accept used motor oil for recycling. To dispose of used motor oil, which contains hazardous petroleum products, first drain the oil through a funnel into a clean container that can be tightly sealed. Then deliver it to your local recycling center. Call the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Division for the nearest center that accepts used motor oil.

Pesticides

Homeowners often store unused pesticides for many years. Pesticides may deteriorate when stored for a long periods and labels may become unreadable. Discard or relabel anything that cannot be identified.

To dispose of less than a full container of a liquid formulation, leave it in the original container, with cap securely in place to prevent spills or leaks. Wrap container in several layers of newspaper and tie securely and place in a covered trash can for routine collection. Liquid in containers up to a gallon should be poured onto an absorbent material such as oil dry, kitty litter, clay soil, or saw dust, shoveled into a plastic bag, and placed in the trash.

Wrap individual packages of dry pesticides such as granules or dust formulations in several layers of newspaper and place in a plastic bag; tie or tape closed and then place in routine trash collection.

Empty pesticide containers should be triple rinsed and the rinse water used as spray material for pest control purposes.

Empty tripled-rinsed containers can be placed in household trash collection.

Never flush waste pesticides down drain or toilet. Attempt to give excess containers of pesticides to neighbors for their use according to labeled directions.

Pesticides that have been banned by EPA may be on the Hazardous Waste List and cannot be placed in household trash. Contact your county Extension agent for specific instructions on banned pesticides or pesticide classified as Hazardous Waste.

Aerosols

Discard only completely empty aerosol cans. Before discarding, spray the contents outside and away from humans or animals until the can is completely empty. Then discard the can with household refuse. Never put pressurized cans, even empty ones, in a trash compactor or incinerator.

References

"Disposal: Do It Right -- Managing Household Waste." Washington, DC.: The Household Products Disposal Council, n.d.

"Disposal of Household Hazardous Waste." Pullman, Washington: Washington State University, 1989.

"Guide to Hazardous Products Around the Home." Springfield, MO.: Household Hazardous Waste Project. Missouri State University Office of Continuing Education, 1989.

"Hazardous Household Products." Extension Bulletin HE-368-1. North Carolina State University, Cooperative Extension Service, May, 1990.

"Hazardous Household Products: A Guide to Safer Use and Disposal." Research Triangle Park, NC.: Triangle J. Council of Governments, 1985.

"Hazardous Household Waste. What You Should and Shouldn't Do." Alexandria, VA.: Water Pollution Control Federation, 1987.

"Household Hazardous Wastes: Disposal Recommendations." Extension Bulletin E-1782. Michigan State University, Cooperative Extension Service, January, 1987.

"Household Waste: Issues and Opportunities." Washington, DC.: Concern, Inc., 1989. Know Your Chemicals: Alternatives and Precautions. Department of Environmental Regulation. State of Florida

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