WHILE a majority of U.S. adults think about home safety often, very few actually take action to make their home safer from the five leading causes of home injury — falls, poisonings, fires and burns, choking/suffocation and drowning.

The findings are a result of a new survey conducted as part of the Home Safety Council’s Hands on Home Safety campaign. The survey polled U.S. adults to reveal the public’s level of awareness around the most common home dangers and determine the safety actions they have taken to protect themselves and their families.

While the majority of U.S. adults (82 percent) indicated that they are very knowledgeable or somewhat knowledgeable about what they can do to make their homes safer, only one-third (36 percent) were able to name a safety action they have already taken. The survey also found that more than a quarter (26 percent) of U.S. adults said they are not worried that an injury may occur in their own home.

“These findings speak directly to the need for additional education to increase the public’s level of awareness around the leading causes of home injury and the actions they can take to protect against injury risks,” said Angela Mickalide, director of education and outreach for the Home Safety Council. “Each year in our nation home-related injuries result in nearly 20,000 deaths and 21 million medical visits, many of which are almost entirely avoidable with proper education and a few simple home modifications.”

Falls Prevention:

Key Findings: When asked to identify which type of injury they are most worried might happen in the home, only about one-fifth (19 percent) of survey respondents were concerned about falls — the leading cause of home injury death.

Home Safety Tips:

• Have grab bars in the tub and shower.
• Have bright lights over stairs and steps and on landings.
• Have handrails on both sides of the stairs and steps.
• Use a ladder for climbing instead of a stool or furniture.
• Use baby gates at the top and bottom of the stairs, if babies or toddlers live in or visit your home.

Poisoning Prevention:

Key Findings: Poisonings are the second-leading cause of home injury, yet less than one-fifth of U.S. adults (18 percent) have put safety locks on their cabinets or posted the Poison Control Hotline on or near all phones. Just more than one-third (39 percent) of survey respondents indicated that they have installed carbon-monoxide detectors near sleeping areas in their homes.

Home Safety Tips:

• Lock poisons, cleaners, medications and all dangerous items in a place where children can’t reach them.
• Keep all cleaners in their original containers. Do not mix them together.
• Use medications carefully. Follow the directions. Use child resistant lids.
• Install carbon-monoxide detectors near sleeping areas.
• Call the Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222 if someone takes poison. This number will connect you to emergency help in your area.

Home Fire Safety:

Key Findings: Fires and burns are the third leading cause of unintentional home injury death and account for 3,400 fatalities each year. The new survey found that while almost all U.S. adults (93 percent) have a smoke alarm in their home, only one-quarter (26 percent) have a fire escape plan in place.

Home Fire Safety Tips:

• Have working smoke alarms and hold fire drills. If you build a new home, install fire sprinklers.
• Stay by the stove when cooking, especially when you are frying food.
• Keep space heaters at least three feet away from anything that can burn. Turn them off when you leave the room or go to sleep.
• If you smoke, smoke outside. Use deep ashtrays and put water in them before you empty them. Lock matches and lighters in a place where children can’t reach them. \
•  Only light candles when an adult is in the room. Blow the candle out if you leave the room or go to sleep.

Choking & Suffocation Prevention:

Key Findings: Home Safety Council research shows that choking/suffocation is the second leading cause of home injury death for children under the age of 14 and the fourth leading cause overall. When asked about safety behaviors followed in the home, the new survey revealed that only 39 percent of respondents require children to be seated while eating, putting them at risk for choking.

Home Safety Tips:

• Things that can fit through a toilet paper tube can cause a young child to choke.
• Keep coins, latex balloons and hard round foods, such as peanuts and hard candy, out of children’s reach.
• Place children to bed on their backs. Don’t put pillows, comforters or toys in cribs.
• Clip the loops in window cords and place them up high where children can’t get them.
• Read the labels on all toys, especially if they have small parts. Be sure that your child is old enough to play with them.
• Tell children to sit down when they eat and to take small bites

Water Safety:

Key Findings: Drowning presents a sudden and silent danger, yet according to the new survey, less than half (49 percent) of U.S. adults actively supervise children when they are in or near water.

Water Safety Tips:

• Stay within an arm’s length of children in and around water. This includes bathtubs, toilets, pools and spas — even buckets of water.
• Put a high fence all the way around your pool or spa. Always keep the gate closed and locked.
• Empty large buckets and wading pools after using them. Keep them upside down when not in use.
• Make sure your children always swim with a grownup. No child or adult should swim alone.
• Keep your hot water at or below 120 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent burns.

For more information on ways to avoid injuries and protect loved ones in and around your home, visit http://www.homesafetycouncil.org.

A new online tool on hazardous chemical accidents has been released by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of Response and Restoration. The new Web site, CAMEO Chemicals, http://cameochemicals.noaa.gov/, is the latest component of NOAA’s popular CAMEO (Computer-Aided Management of Emergency Operations) software suite and the first to be available for use online.

Over the past two decades, the CAMEO suite has brought first responders from an era in which they gleaned emergency response information from maps and reference books spread out on the hoods of their trucks to a time when up-to-date, comprehensive information on chemical plumes, toxicity risks and susceptibility of chemical mixtures to burn or explode can be displayed with a few strokes on a computer keyboard.

“CAMEO is the most widely used chemical response software in the world,” said Capt. Ken Barton, acting director of NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration. “With CAMEO Chemicals, we’ve responded to user requests to improve access and ease of use of this vital information. While the Web site is newly operational, it has already been placed in service with a major chemical release on the Mississippi River and a dangerous train derailment in New York.”

CAMEO Chemicals is an online, easy-to-use version of the most popular components of CAMEO, the chemical database and the reactivity prediction tool. Key features include:
Extensive Chemical Database: CAMEO Chemicals uses the same chemical database as CAMEO, which contains response recommendations for more than 6,000 chemicals. The database also contains more than 100,000 chemical synonyms and identification numbers, which aid emergency responders in identifying unknown substances during an incident.
Critical Response Information: The revised search engine and new ranking order for search results makes finding chemicals easier. Data sheets on each chemical provide physical properties, health hazards, information about air and water hazards, and recommendations for firefighting, first aid, and spill response.
Chemical Reactivity: This tool predicts what hazards could arise if chemicals were to mix.

CAMEO Chemicals was developed by NOAA in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard. The Web site is maintained by NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration, a program of the National Ocean Service.

WITH the 2007 hurricane season less than a month away, AT&T is offering important communications preparedness tips for consumers and small business owners alike.
“Because of its historic presence in the Southeast, AT&T has probably dealt with more hurricanes than any other communications company in North America,” said David Scobey, president of AT&T Southeast. “While no one can predict the impact of Mother Nature, we can all take precautions and have a plan and functioning communications equipment in place when hurricanes or any other types of disasters strike.”
Consumer Tips

• Have a family communications plan in place. Designate someone out of the area as a central contact and make certain all family members know who to contact if they become separated.
• Prepare for the worst-case scenario. During natural disasters, such as hurricanes or flooding, wireline services can be interrupted for extended periods of time because of damage caused by high winds or flooding. Wireless phones may serve as alternative means of communication.
• Be sure you have a “Hurricane Phone.” Be sure that you have at least one corded telephone that is not dependent on electricity in case of an electrical power outage. Cordless telephones usually have receivers that are electrically charged, and, thus, will not work if there is a power outage. Consider keeping a basic hard-wired phone and a wireless phone on hand for emergencies to enable communication with safety officials and loved ones, even when the power is out.
• Be radio-ready. Make sure that you have a working, battery-operated radio. The radio can keep you up to date on the latest weather reports, public safety issues and evacuation notices.
• Program all of your emergency contact numbers into your cell phone. Numbers should include the police department, fire station and hospital, as well as your family members.
• Keep your wireless phone batteries charged at all times. Have an alternate plan to recharge your battery in case of power outages (i.e. charging via your car charger, extra cell phone batteries, use of a disposable cell phone battery).
• Keep your wireless phone dry. The biggest threat to your device during a hurricane is water, so keep your equipment safe from the elements.
• Forward your home number to your wireless number in the event of an evacuation. (more…)

FORT MYERS, FL — The American Society of Safety Engineers  recently announced the approval of the new American National Standard Institute (ANSI)/ASSE Z359.2-2007 standard.

 The standard, Minimum Requirements for a Comprehensive Managed Fall Protection Program, recognizes the need for organizations to protect workers from fall hazards in the workplace. It is the first in a series of five standards that have been sent to ANSI for approval.

ANSI/ASSE Z359.2-2007 standard is the first approved standard in a series of standards that focus on fall protection and related systems. It was approved by ANSI on April 23, 2007. The standard establishes guidelines and requirements for an employer’s managed fall protection program including policies, duties and training; fall protection procedures; eliminating and controlling fall hazards; rescue procedures; incident investigations; and evaluating program effectiveness.

The purpose of the standard is to help organizations develop and implement a comprehensive managed fall protection program that identifies, evaluates and eliminates, or controls, fall hazards through planning, proper training, proper installation and use of fall protection and rescue systems, and implementation of safe fall protection and rescue procedures.

“The committee is very excited about the recent approval of Z359.2-2007, which is the first in a family of five standards that have been sent to ANSI for approval,” said Z359 ASC Chair Randall Wingfield. “This is an important development in fall arrest protection because there has been no change to the fall arrest/protection consensus standards in 20 years, yet falls remain one of the top four causes of on-the-job fatalities. The current approved standard, the four additional standards sent to ANSI for approval and the 12 additional fall protection standards in process make up the framework for a future comprehensive fall protection code.”

ASSE serves as the secretariat for the Z359 Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) on fall protection and related systems. There are currently four additional Z359 standards submitted to ANSI for approval: Z359.0, Definitions and Nomenclature Used for Fall Protection and Fall Arrest; Z359.1, Safety Requirements for Personal Fall Arrest Systems, Subsystems and Components; Z359.3, Safety Requirements for Positioning and Travel Restraint Systems; and Z359.4, Safety Requirements for Assisted-Rescue and Self-Rescue Systems, Subsystems and Components. The Z359 ASC is also currently working on a comprehensive fall protection code that will include 12 additional standards for release sometime in 2008.