June is National Safety Month, making it a great time to review injury prevention tips

National Safety Month, an annual observance occurring every June, was established by the National Safety Council to help people stay safer. It highlights important efforts to prevent unexpected and unanticipated injuries and death, both in the workplace and outside of it.

In honor of NSM, California Poison Control System offers the following tips to help you keep your workplace a safer place
• If your work or workplace involves handling lead or lead products — for example, paint, repair/renovation, recycling — make sure to change your work clothes before entering your home.
• Make sure carbon monoxide and smoke detectors are installed in your workplace. Test that they are working and, if battery operated, make sure the batteries are changed every six months.
• 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 workplace.
• Learn about the chemicals — like cleaning products, flame retardants, or pesticides —y ou may be exposed to at work, so you can take the proper precautions for their use.
• Properly dispose of any expired, unwanted, or unused medicines around the workplace.
• If you use pesticides in your workplace, make sure to use protective clothing and equipment, and make sure to wash your hands right after handling them.

If your employer has a “take your child to work day” make sure that you take the following extra precautions
• Never leave children unattended around items in the workplace that use button batteries (for example, remotes, calculators, watches, or clocks).
• Keep any plants in your 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 in the workplace; you want to make sure a child can’t reach them, especially if they may contain medicine, cosmetics, or other poison dangers.

If you have questions call California Poison Control System at (800) 222-1222. CPCS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year.

About CPCS
Call Poison Control at (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. Get weekly tips about safety by texting TIPS to 20121 for English or texting PUNTOS to 20121 for Spanish. Follow CPCS on Facebook and on Twitter @poisoninfo. CPCS is part of the University of California San Francisco School of Pharmacy and is responsible to the California Emergency Medical Services Authority.