Home Safety Guidance for Winter and Beyond

January 13, 2021

Winter season is upon us and COVID-19 cases are continuing to rise. With many families still having to work and manage virtual learning from home, there is no better time than now to evaluate the health of your home. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently released Everyone Deserves a Safe and Healthy Home: A Stakeholder Guide for Protecting the Health of Children and Families.

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 imbedded asbestos. It also provides guidance on everyday cleaning chemicals, as well as silent and odorless carbon monoxide and radon, which can pose health risks if not effectively treated and kept under control. Each topic is fully explained including what causes the problem and how to prevent and eliminate it. The publication provides a room-by-room safety checklist for conducting a complete healthy home assessment for your house or apartment.

Another popular home safety guide from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), The Lead-Safe Certified Guide to Renovate Right, provides important facts about lead and how it can affect your family’s health. If you’re a property owner thinking about hiring a painting contractor or plumber, you will find this publication useful. It explains how best to choose a contractor, and, whether you’re a do-it-yourself type or not, how to prepare for a renovation or repair job. And finally, it tells you where to get more information about lead safety issues.

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: Trudy Hawkins is a writer and senior marketing specialist in GPO’s Publication & Information Sales Division supporting the U.S. Government Online Bookstore (http://bookstore.gpo.gov).

Leave a Comment » | Consumer Product Safety Commission, Consumers, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Environmental Protection Agency, Family | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

Summer 2020: Staying Safe and Healthy at Home

June 23, 2020

Summer celebrations are going to be different in 2020 while the COVID-19 pandemic prevents Americans from enjoying the usual large holiday gatherings and travel. Many families will spend more of the summer at home than ever before. While in our safe havens, we need to make sure that our homes are free from other common hazards, inside and out.

To recognize the importance of our homes as it relates to our health, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has declared June National Healthy Homes Month. According to HUD, most people spend 70 percent or more of their time inside their home, even when not under stay-at-home restrictions. This statistic is reported in the HUD publication Everyone Deserves a Safe and Healthy Home: a Stakeholder Guide for Protecting the Health of Children and Families, available for sale from the GPO Online Bookstore. This book covers a full range of home safety issues including lead paint, allergens, mold, carbon monoxide, radon, unsafe drinking water, household chemicals, pests, and the dangers of slips and falls. Even a single one of these unhealthy housing problems can endanger residents, especially children and the elderly who are more vulnerable. This stakeholder guide is intended to assist health care professionals, teachers, religious leaders, and others who work with families, but it could also be used by anyone wanting to maintain or improve their residence. Each topic is fully explained including what causes the problem and how to prevent and eliminate it. Included is a room-by-room safety checklist for conducting a complete healthy home assessment for your house or apartment.

Everyone Deserves a Safe and Healthy Home: a Stakeholder Guide for Protecting the Health of Children and Families is also available from GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications in Spanish.

There is also a companion publication: Everyone Deserves a Safe and Healthy Home: Protect the Health of Children and Families: a Consumer Action Guide. The consumer action guide provides much of the same information as the Stakeholder Guide in a shorter version for homeowners and renters.

In July, Americans will be mark Independence Day with small, at-home celebrations. Due to COVID-19 precautions, many cities and towns have cancelled traditional Fourth of July fireworks shows. As you plan for the holiday, keep your outdoor activities fun and safe with these publications made available from GPO’s Catalog of Government Publications:

  • Fireworks Fact Sheet (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission). It might be tempting to plan your own fireworks this year, but even legal consumer fireworks can be dangerous. Sparklers burn at very high temperatures and can cause third-degree burns. Illegal fireworks can be deadly. This brochure provides information about using consumer fireworks safely and lists the different types of consumer fireworks permitted in each state.
  • Fireworks Annual Report (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission). For more in-depth study, the Fireworks Annual Report is available for years 2013 to 2018. Each annual issue describes injuries and deaths associated with fireworks during the calendar year, including statistics that break down injuries by age and gender.
  • Grilling Fire Safety (U.S. Fire Administration). This flyer has tips for keeping outdoor cooking in the safe zone. Also available in Spanish.
  • Summer Safety Tips (U.S. Fire Administration). Whether you are camping, swimming, or biking, this flyer will help you do it safely.
  • Summertime Burn Safety (U.S. Fire Administration). This is a quick checklist for preventing and treating the common burn injuries of summer. Also available in Spanish.

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.

For the free resources, click on the links above within this blog post.

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.

Visit our Retail Store: To buy or order a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up(s).

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 contributor Caroline Hassler is a Supervisory Librarian in GPO’s Library Services & Content Management office.

2 Comments | Consumers, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Family, health | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

National Safety Month

June 28, 2019

June is National Safety Month, a great time to think about ways to improve the safety in your home, to keep your family aware of potential hazards, or, to consider possible existing hazards that could be affecting the health and comfort of your loved ones.

One of the most potentially dangerous and often forgotten causes of health-related problems, especially one affecting your children, is lead paint poisoning. And in older homes, lead paint poisoning is considered a high risk due to poor maintenance. It’s easy to forget the room you recently painted with your favorite color has covered over the original paint job that was done when the home was built many years ago. And just because you can’t see it anymore doesn’t mean the lead paint underneath isn’t affecting the places you’re sitting around the dinner table, watching your favorite team play, or catching a well-deserved good night of sleep.

The Federal government offers the following resources for maintaining a healthy and safe environment in your home.

Lead Paint Safety: A Field Guide for Interim Controls in Painting and Home Maintenance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  This booklet addresses the dangers of lead paint and the potential lead poisoning through home maintenance and renovation work. Even better, it is an illustrated hands-on resource. So you’ll have it handy on the next rainy day to review and decide if your home could have lead paint that needs your attention now.

Another resource to help keep your home healthy and free of hazards is the 2019 Healthy Homes Calendar. This colorful calendar filled with children’s artwork provides safety guidance on potential hazards that may be lurking around your home, each month of the year. For example, radon testing is a must for all households. January 2019 reminds you to test for radon and tips on how to do so. Protection against food poisoning and food safety is covered in July 2019. Other important tips include testing water as well as paint and soil around your home to determine the levels of lead that may be hazardous and much more.

A healthy home is a safe home, what better time than National Safety Month to promote the safety and well-being of your loved ones?

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.

Visit our Retail Store: To buy or order a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up(s).

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 contributor Trudy Hawkins is the the Sr. Marketing & Promotions Specialist in GPO’s Publication & Information Sales Division supporting the U.S. Government Online Bookstore.

Home Safety image source rawpixel.com

Leave a Comment » | Consumers, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Environmental Protection Agency, Family | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

%d bloggers like this: