Consumer Awareness: Home Safety Protection

April 24, 2024

Consumer awareness is about empowering the consumer to make informed decisions regarding products and services in the marketplace. This includes understanding features, important product information, your rights, and how to make a complaint if you are unhappy with a product or service. It also involves being aware of potential safety hazards.

Why consumer awareness is important:

  • Increased Confidence: Knowledge empowers you to navigate the marketplace with confidence, knowing you’re making informed decisions.
  • Protection from Unethical Practices: Knowing your rights helps avoid scams, misleading advertising, and unfair contract terms.
  • Promotes a Fair Market: Consumer awareness fosters a marketplace where businesses are held accountable for fair practices and quality products.
  • Safety: Consumer awareness campaigns often target important safety issues to protect consumers from harm.

Many resources from the Federal government are available to help you become a more informed consumer about home renovation and paint safety. The following are two best-selling publications from the Government Publishing Office Bookstore that offer consumers valuable home safety protection information.

Lead-Safe Certified Guide to Renovate Right. This booklet provides basic facts about lead and your family’s health and how to choose a contractor if you are a property owner. It includes information on preparing for the renovation or repair job and what to look for during and after the job.

Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home describes the hazards of lead-based paint in homes built before 1978, shows how lead gets into the body, the health effects of lead paint, what you can do to protect your family, and where to go for information. It lists State health and environmental agencies, EPA regional offices, and Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) regional offices. Spanish version available here.

By becoming a more aware consumer, you can protect yourself and your family and make informed choices.

The GPO Online Bookstore – Easy Access to Federal Publications

HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE RESOURCES?

Sign up to receive promotional bulletin emails from the US Government Online Bookstore.

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy a vast majority of eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at https://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Order by Phone or Email: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.  Email orders to ContactCenter@gpo.gov

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

Find more than a million official Federal Government publications from all three branches at www.govinfo.gov.

About the author: Blogger Trudy Hawkins is the Senior Marketing & Promotions Specialist in GPO’s Publication & Information Sales Office supporting the U.S. Government Online Bookstore (https://bookstore.gpo.gov).

Leave a Comment » | Consumer Product Safety Commission, Consumers, Environmental Protection Agency, safety | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

National Safety Month: A Time to Celebrate Safety

June 14, 2023

June is National Safety Month, a time to focus on preventing injuries and deaths in the workplace and at home. National Safety Month provides an opportunity to raise awareness of safety hazards and learn how to avoid them.

The National Safety Council (NSC), a non-profit organization, works to save lives through safety education and advocacy. This year, the NSC is focusing on the following four key areas:

  • Emergency preparedness: Make sure you have a plan in place in case of an emergency, such as a fire, flood, or earthquake.
  • Slips, trips, and falls: Be aware of your surroundings and take steps to prevent slips, trips, and falls.
  • Heat-related illness: Stay hydrated and cool during hot weather.
  • Hazard recognition: Learn to identify and avoid hazards in your workplace and at home.

The following are tips for staying safe in the workplace:

  • Wear personal protective equipment (PPE) when required.
  • Follow all safety procedures at work.
  • Be aware of your surroundings and be mindful of potential hazards.
  • Don’t be afraid to speak up if you see something unsafe.
  • Get regular safety training.

Sign up for free email alerts regarding safety-related GPO publications.

In addition to the information above, the Federal government also offers the following resources for maintaining a healthy and safe environment in your home.

The Lead-Safe Certified Guide to Renovate Right from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) includes essential information about the dangers of lead and the potential lead poisoning through home maintenance and renovation work. This handy booklet covers the basic facts about lead and its impact on health.

Everyone Deserves a Safe and Healthy Home provides home safety tips to help vulnerable family members suffering from chronic illnesses who may be at risk when faced with common occurrences in the home, such as mold, dust, toxins from lead, and old embedded asbestos. It also provides guidance on everyday cleaning chemicals and silent and odorless carbon monoxide and radon, which can pose health risks if not effectively treated and kept under control.

Together, we can create a safer world for everyone by following the above tips in this article.

HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE RESOURCES?

Sign up to receive promotional bulletin emails from the US Government Online Bookstore.

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy a vast majority of eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at https://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Order by Phone or Email: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.  Email orders to ContactCenter@gpo.gov

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

Find more than a million official Federal Government publications from all three branches at www.govinfo.gov.

About the author: Trudy Hawkins is Government Book Talk Editor and Senior Marketing & Promotions Specialist in GPO’s Publication & Information Sales Office, supporting the U.S. Government Online Bookstore (https://bookstore.gpo.gov).

Leave a Comment » | Consumers, Family, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, safety | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins