Reduce the risk of accidents

Content:

Store all chemical products out of reach and sight of children. This reduces the risk of children being harmed by the products.

Keep out of reach of children

• All chemical products marked with hazard symbols.
• Button cell batteries and items that contain button cell batteries, such as greeting cards with audio features, watches and thermometers. Batteries can cause severe chemical burns if a child swallows them.
• Liquid-filled items with different coloured liquids, such as lava lamps and glowsticks.
• Oil lamps.
• Any other things that can lead to accidents with children and chemicals, such as medicines, e-cigarettes and tobacco.

Advice on hazardous chemical products

• Make sure that children are not in the vicinity when using a hazardous chemical product.
• A good way to reduce the risk of accidents is to consider whether you really need a particular chemical product that you are considering buying.
• Some chemical products, such as caustic drain cleaners, are so dangerous that it can be good not to have them at all in a home where children live.
• All hazardous chemical products must be labelled with hazard symbols that inform about the hazard of using the product. Look for the hazard label and read the instructions on the packaging before you buy the product from a store or online, so that you know how to handle the product safely when you get it home.
• Only use chemical products as intended. For example, do not use glue as an ingredient in home-made slime, as glue is not manufactured in a way that takes into account that children are particularly sensitive to chemical substances.
• Do not pour hazardous chemical products into jugs, soda bottles or similar containers. This increases the risk of someone ingesting the product.
• Do not rely on the so-called child-resistant closures. Children are still able to open these closures. It just takes longer. Remember to screw on the cap securely after use.
• Products that are fitted with a skull-and-crossbones hazard label are so hazardous to health that they are usually not allowed to be purchased or used by private individuals. This can be especially good to remember when shopping for products online, where it may be easier to access such products.
• If you would like to purchase mosquito repellent, insecticides and other pesticides on the internet, you need determine whether they are approved for use in Sweden.
• Look for age restrictions when applying mosquito or tick repellent to young children. It can be good to apply repellents to children’s clothing instead of on the skin.
• You are required to sort your waste according to the laws regarding waste disposal. Read the packaging on the chemical products to determine how to handle the products and their packaging once the products become waste. Return the products as hazardous waste to a recycling centre.

In case of accident

Call 112 and request Poisons Information if someone has ingested a substance that can be hazardous to health or if someone gets such a substance on their skin.