Fast Facts on Household Cleaners[1]

• The average American home has 3-10 gallons of hazardous materials.
  (Source: Children's Health Environmental Coalition)

• The average household typically uses and stores more than 60 hazardous products, including household cleaners, automotive products, paints, solvents and pesticides.
  (Source: Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce)

• In 1993, 1.8 million human poisonings were reported to the poison control centers in the U.S. Ninety-two percent of the incidents took place in the home and 60 percent of the cases involved children under the age of five.
  (Source: Children's Health Environmental Coalition)

• A study by the New York Poison Control Center found that 85 percent of product warning labels they studied were inadequate. Some labels list incorrect first-aid information, and others warn against dangers that don't exist.
  (Source: Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce)

• EPA studies of human exposure to air pollutants indicate that indoor air levels of many pollutants may be 2-5 times, and occasionally, more than 100 times higher than outdoor levels. Cleaning products and other household products are among the many culprits.
  (Source: EPA)

• Over 150 chemicals found in the average home have been linked to allergies, birth defects, cancer and psychological abnormalities.
  (Source: Consumer Product Safety Commission, via www.earthwellness.com)

• The Federal Hazardous Substances Labeling Act (FHSLA) (sometimes called the Federal Hazardous Substances Act) requires manufacturers to label active ingredients in household products which are considered "proximate" hazards, but not inert ingredients which have chronic (long-term) effects.
  (Source: Ledie Bond at EarthSafe & Wellness Technologies, Inc.)

• "Remember: the signal words [e.g. "Danger," "Caution," etc.] pertain only to acute or immediate hazards. The labels do NOT indicate the effect chemicals will have on chronic or long-term health. Thus, degenerative diseases or those with a long latency period are not addressed by key words. Product labels are not required to inform consumers of the type of hazard associated with the product." (Source: Yamhil County Solid Waste Division (Oregon) )

• The Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with enforcing the Federal Hazardous Substances Labeling Act (FHSLA).
  (Source: National Archives and Records Administration)

• The Federal Hazardous Substances Labeling Act (FHSLA) defines "hazardous substance" as "any substance or mixture of substances which (i) is toxic, (ii) is corrosive, (iii) is an irritant, (iv) is a strong sensitizer, (v) is flammable or combustible, or (vi) generates pressure through decomposition, heat, or other means, if such substances or mixture of substances may cause substantial personal injury or substantial illness during or as a proximate result of any customary or reasonably foreseeable handling or use, including reasonably foreseeable ingestion by children."
  (Source: www4.law.cornell.edu)

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[1] These facts are recreated from information found at: http://www.ems.org/household_cleaners/facts.html