This year, National Safety Month celebrates 30 years of raising awareness about preventing injuries and promoting safety. Held every June by the National Safety Council (NSC), the annual campaign emphasizes how easily many injuries can be prevented, while encouraging organizations and individuals to adopt safer practices. The California Poison Control System, CPCS, supports the month-long observance. National Safety Month focuses on practical topics and implementation tools that can help to greatly reduce or even eliminate statistics like these 2024 estimates from the NSC:
Nearly 200,000 preventable deaths;
About 54 million injuries;
More than $1.3 billion in costs.
“The goal of National Safety Month is to prevent accidents,” said Dr. Rais Vohra, Medical Director for the Fresno/Madera Division of CPCS. “The following tips from CPCS will help you identify hazards and keep your home, workplace, and community safer.”
Ten Safety Tips
Make sure carbon monoxide (CO) and smoke detectors are installed in your home and workplace. If battery operated, make sure the batteries are changed every six months.
Never leave children unattended around items that use button batteries (for example, remotes, calculators, watches, or clocks).
Never put something that is not food in a food or beverage container, such as a soda bottle, cup, or glass.
Make sure to use safety equipment, such as glasses, gloves, and masks when using any cleaning products in your home or workplace.
Learn about the chemicals – like cleaning products, flame retardants, or pesticides – you may be exposed to at home and work, so you can take the proper precautions for their use.
Properly dispose of any expired, unwanted, or unused medicines in your home and workplace.
If you use pesticides in your home or workplace, make sure to use protective clothing and equipment, and make sure to wash your hands right after handling them.
Keep any plants in your home and workplace out of reach of children; and know their names in case a small child accidentally chews on or eats one.
Never leave purses or bags unattended; you want to make sure a child can’t reach them, especially if they may contain medicine, cosmetics, or other poison dangers.
If your work or workplace involves handling lead or lead products – for example, painting, renovation, recycling – make sure to change your work clothes before entering your home.
About CPCS
Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 (number is the same in all states) for questions about poison encounters. Trained pharmacists, nurses and other providers are available to help 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The service is free, confidential and interpreters are available. Follow CPCS on Facebook, on YouTube @californiapoisoncontrol, and on X @poisoninfo. Sign up for The California Poison Safety Post, California Poison Control System’s quarterly electronic newsletter, by visiting calpoison.org/newsletters. CPCS is part of the University of California San Francisco School of Pharmacy and is responsible to the California Emergency Medical Services Authority.
