Home is a place where people want to feel safe and secure. But most homes also have a few potential environmental hazards. Household cleaners like ammonia and bleach, garage chemicals like turpentine and gasoline, and even common objects like thermometers and light bulbs are safe when used properly, but they can be dangerous when spilled or broken. Luckily, there are easy ways to keep your home safe, especially from common hazards like lead, carbon monoxide, and mercury.

Lead is a toxic metal that was used for many years in household products. Eating or breathing lead particles can cause a range of health problems, from behavioral disorders and learning disabilities to seizures. Children under six are most at risk from the effects of lead. The most common sources of household lead are flaking lead-based paint, lead plumbing pipes, and lead-contaminated dust and soil.

You can take some immediate steps to reduce your risk of lead poisoning. If you live in a house built before 1978, when lead was phased out of household paint, you should immediately clean up any paint chips you find. Clean floors and woodwork (baseboards, doors and door frames, and window frames and sills) weekly, using warm water or an all-purpose cleaner. (Never mix ammonia and bleach together, as this releases toxic gases called chloramines.) Children should not be allowed to chew on windowsills, doors, or other surfaces that contain lead paint. In addition, eating a healthy diet that includes adequate amounts of calcium and iron can help protect against lead poisoning.

Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas that is produced by the combustion of fuels (such as wood, gasoline, oil, or coal). Heating systems, ranges, grills, generators, fireplaces, and cars can all be sources of carbon monoxide and require proper ventilation when in use. If carbon monoxide builds up in an enclosed space, people who breathe that air can be poisoned. Carbon monoxide poisoning causes a variety of symptoms (including headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and confusion and can lead to death.

You can prevent carbon monoxide poisoning by being aware of sources of the gas and by practicing safe operation habits. For example, do not use devices such as portable generators and grills indoors, and make sure fuel-burning appliances are properly vented and serviced by a qualified technician every year. In addition, it is advisable to install carbon monoxide detectors that monitor the level of carbon monoxide and sound an alarm before it accumulates to a dangerous level.

Mercury is a toxic metal found in some household objects, like thermometers, thermostats, light switches, and fluorescent light bulbs. When a device containing mercury breaks, the mercury can release an invisible, odorless, toxic vapor. Exposure to high levels of mercury can harm the nervous and immune systems as well as cause other health problems, including damage to the heart, lungs, and kidneys.

If you break a thermometer or other object containing mercury, don’t panic. Don’t touch the liquid beads or powder residue. Open a window to ventilate the room, and leave for at least 15 minutes. (Make sure you take other people and pets with you, and don't let anyone walk through the spill on their way out.) Then call the fire department or poison control and ask for the best way to clean up the mercury.

To learn more about lead in the environment and its dangers to human health, check out Environmental Justice in Dallas and Unintended Chemical Exposures.

To learn more about mercury in the environment, including which fish are safe to eat, check out Mercury Calculator and Fish Kids.

To learn about the long-term consequences of childhood lead poisoning and how to avoid them, check out Childhood Lead Poisoning.

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