Early afternoon late January, fire crews and ambulances are called to a local office building. The building was evacuated and eight people were taken to hospital. The cause – the mixing of two common household cleaning products to unclog a sink (ammonia and bleach). 

Each of these products has its benefit when used appropriately. Ammonia in liquid form is an excellent cleanser and is found in products used to clean windows, drains, bathrooms, ovens and stainless steel. Bleach is a diluted solution of sodium hypochlorite that works well as a disinfectant and stain remover.

The information you need to manage household chemicals safely is available on the containers you purchase. But it doesn’t help if you don’t know what the symbols and phrases mean.

But if you mix them together you create a problem. The manufacturer of ammonia says that it is incompatible with “chlorine-based bleaching agents.” While the manufacturer of the bleach says it “reacts with other chemicals such as toilet bowl cleaners, acids, or products containing ammonia to produce hazardous irritating gases, such as chlorine and other chlorinated compounds.”

The information you need to manage household chemicals safely is available on the containers you purchase. But it doesn’t help if you don’t know what the symbols and phrases mean. A little education in this area can protect you and your family from the hazards present in commonly used household chemicals.

Everyone has dozens of chemical products in their house that were purchased to perform the basic cleaning and maintenance activities required to keep things running smoothly. In fact, it is hard to imagine life without all these items.

Yet some of these products contain ingredients that can be harmful if not handled correctly. In Canada, products that contain such ingredients must be labelled with:

• symbols to identify the hazards;
• instructions on how to use and store the products;
• the appropriate first aid treatment.

 Hazard Identification

The first thing you will notice on the label for these products are the hazard symbols. A product might display one or more of the following warnings:

EXPLOSIVE. Container can explode if punctured or heated. Flying pieces of the container can cause injuries to people in the surrounding area.

CORROSIVE. Will cause chemical burns to skin or eyes. May also cause damage to lungs if inhaled and throat and stomach if swallowed. Do not mix these products with any other household products as this could produce dangerous fumes.

 POISONOUS. Can cause illness or death if swallowed, inhaled or in contact with skin or eyes.

FIRE HAZARD. Product or its vapour may ignite if exposed to heat, a spark or flame. Any rags used with this product may also catch fire and can even begin to burn on their own.

Beneath the symbol will be a phrase that describes the degree of risk of the product.

CAUTION – a temporary injury may occur. Death can occur with extreme exposure.

DANGER – may cause temporary or permanent injury, or death.

EXTREME DANGER – exposure to very low amounts may cause death or serious injury.

10 Safety Tips

1. Read the label before you buy a household chemical product. Consider alternate products that do not have any symbols or that have a lower risk phrase (Caution better than Danger).
2. Always store products out of the reach of children and ensure the lids are securely fastened.
3. Never mix household products together. In some cases, mixing products can create harmful or even deadly gases.
4. Store products in their original container. Transferring to a different container could result in misuse of the product due to lack of the information available on the original container.
5. Store products that can emit fumes or vapour in well ventilated areas, preferably outside of your home. This will minimize release of fumes and reduce chance of a fire.
6. Never pour excess product down the drain unless that is its intended use. Take the unused product to your local hazardous waste depot.
7. Do not use empty containers to store other products.
8. Do not burn empty containers. Hazardous fumes or vapours could be released and/or the container could explode. Empty containers can be rinsed and recycled.
9. Engine oil containers are not recyclable, dispose of them at your local hazardous waste depot.
10. Metal paint cans with less than ¼” of dried paint in the bottom are recyclable. All paints cans that have paint in them should go to your local hazardous waste depot.

Rillea Technologies is the creator of SDS RiskAssist, a web-based software that can be used to help effectively manage hazardous materials to improve occupational and environmental health. Visit them on-line at rilleatechnologies.com.