Chemicals and Hazards

A-Z Indexes

• ToxFAQs (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry)
• Quickfinder (US EPA)
• Hazardous Substance Fact Sheets (New Jersey Dept. of Health and Senior Services)
• ECOTOX database for plants and animals (US EPA)

Popular Topics

• Air quality
• Anthrax
• Arsenic
• Asbestos
• Automotive fluids
• Carbon monoxide
• Emergency planning
• Flame retardants (PBDEs)
• Formaldehyde
• Hazardous Substance Tax
• Lead
• Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
• Mercury
• Meth labs
• Mold
• Noise
• Pandemic flu
• PBTs (persistent, bioaccumulative toxins)
• Pesticides and fertilizers
• Pharmaceuticals
• Radon
• Recycling
• Rentals and tenants rights
• Toxics Release Inventory (TRI)
• Treated wood
• Vermiculite and insulation
• West Nile Virus
• Worker health and safety

Air Quality

• Indoor Air Quality Program (Washington Dept. of Health)
• Indoor Air Quality (US EPA)

Anthrax

Arsenic

• Purchase a back yard test kit (Environmental Working Group)
• Arsenic in the Environment fact sheet (Washington Dept. of Health)
• Tacoma Smelter Plume arsenic and lead information (Washington Dept. of Ecology)

Asbestos

• Asbestos removal, hiring a contractor, or to file complaints - contact your local air agency (Local air agencies and Washington Dept. of Ecology)

• How to remove cement asbestos-board siding (Puget Sound Clean Air Agency)

• Indoor Air Quality Program (Washington Dept. of Health)

Asbestos Ombudsman and toll-free hotline
1-800-368-5888 (US EPA)

• Asbestos and vermiculite website
• Asbsetos in your home
• Asbsetos in products and buildings
• Asbestos in schools (US EPA)

Automotive

• Automotive Waste and the Do-It-Youselfer brochure (Washington Dept. of Ecology)
• Beyond Waste (Washington Dept. of Ecology)

Carbon Monoxide

• Protect your family and yourself from poisoning (US EPA)

Emergency planning

• Public health emergency preparedness and response (Washington Dept. of Health)
• Preparedness for home, schools, neighborhood, and business (Washington State Emergency Management Division)
• Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA, Washington Dept. of Ecology)

Flame retardants (PBDEs)

• PBDEs - What they are and what you can do? (Washington Dept. of Health)
• BFR (Brominated Flame Retardants) Alternatives (Clean Production Action)

State Plan and PBDE Ban

• PBDE strategy (Washington Dept. of Ecology)
• PBDE Chemical Action Plan: Final Plan (Washington Dept. of Ecology and Washington Dept. of Health)

Formaldehyde

• Formaldehyde fact sheet (Washington Dept. of Health)

Hazardous Substance Tax

• Hazardous substances subject to taxes, regulations, rates (Washington Dept. of Revenue)

Lead

Government Info Centers

• National Lead Information Center (US EPA)
  
  1-800-424-LEAD (5323)
• Lead in paint, dust, and soil (US EPA)
• Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention (CLPP) Program (Washington Dept. of Health)
  
  1-800-909-9898 (Toll free in Washington State)
• Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control (US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development)
• Workplace Safety and Health (Washington Dept. of Labor & Industries)
  
  1-888-66-SHARP
• Lead poisoning webpage (US Dept. of Health and Social Services, National Institute of Health)
• Lead Frequently Asked Questions (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC)

• Lead and its human effects (Seattle-King County)
• Local and State Health Departments

Lead Hazards at Home and School

• Lead Poisoning in Children (Am. Academy of Family Physicians)
• Lead in home and school drinking water (Washington Dept. of Health)
• Tacoma Smelter Plume arsenic and lead information (Washington Dept. of Ecology)
• Kids Page - Lead Poisoning (US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
• Lead in lunchboxes (Washington Dept. of Ecology)
• Laboratories certified in WA for lead and arsenic analysis (Washington Dept. of Ecology)
• Keep Your Child Safe From Lead (So. Nevada Health District)
• Toxic Treats – A guide to lead-tainted candies (The Orange County Register)
• Lead fact sheet (Washington Dept. of Health)
• Lead in Toy Jewelry (US EPA)
• Toy Jewelry and Childhood Lead Exposure ( Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC)
• Home Lead Test Kits Unreliable (US Consumer Product Safety Commission)
• MORE

Lead in Paint

• WA Certified Firms for testing and removing lead paint (Washington Dept. of Commerce)
• Lead-safe work practices (National Safety Council)
• Lead-based paint in old homes (Washington Dept. of Health)
• Guidelines for Working with Lead-based Paint booklet (Interagency Resource for Achieving Cooperation)
• About lead paint (US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development)

Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)

• List of sources for MSDS (Cornell University)

Mercury

• Mercury quick finder (US EPA)
• Mercury Reduction in Washington (Washington Dept. of Ecology)
• Mercury-containing Light Bulbs/Lamps (Washington Dept. of Ecology)
• FAQs about CFLS and cleaning up a broken light bulb (Energy Star Program, US EPA and US Dept. of Energy)
• Fish Facts for Healthy Nutrition (Washington Dept. of Health)
• Healthy Fish Wallet Card (Washington Dept. of Health)
• Mercury in the environment, health risks, fish advisories, risks to wildlife (US Geological Survey)
• Mercury-added products fact sheets (Interstate Mercury Education and Reduction Clearinghouse, IMERC)
• Mercury in home products (Thurston County Environmental Health)

Meth labs

• Clandestine drug lab program (Washington Dept. of Health)

Mold

• Mold resources (US EPA)
• Mold resources (Washington Dept. of Health)
• Mold Environmental Hazards and Health Effects (National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

• A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home (US EPA)  

• Mold Safety and Health Topics (US OSHA)

• A Brief Guide to Mold in the Workplace (US OSHA)

Noise

• Report noise issues to your local police OR Governor's Office of Regulatory Assistance 1-800-917-0043

Pandemic flu

• Pandemic influenza website has frequently asked questions, home care brochures, and preparedness tips (Washington Dept. of Health)

Persistent, bioaccumulative toxins (PBTs)

• PBT strategy (Washington Dept. of Ecology)

Pesticides and Fertilizers

• National Pesticide Information Center (US EPA and Oregon State University)
1-800-858-7378
• Integrated Pest Management for schools and households (Urban Pesticide Education Strategy Team, UPEST)
• Integrated Pest Management (Seattle Public Utilities)

• Pesticide Management (Washington Dept. of Agriculture)

• Pesticide Program: Illness Monitoring and Prevention (Washington Dept. of Health)
• Report a Pesticide Illness (Washington Dept. of Health)
• Health care provider information (Washington Dept. of Health)
  1-877-485-7316 (M-F, 8 to 5)

• Pest Management Resource Service (WSU Cooperative Extension)
• Pesticides (WSU Cooperative Extension)

• Children's Pesticide Right to Know Act fact sheet (Washington Toxics Coalition)
• Consumer Alerts for Pesticides (US EPA)

• Pest program includes both plants (spartina, etc.) and insects (apple maggot, bees, gypsy moths, etc.) (Washington Dept. of Agriculture)
• Hazards of Bug Bombs (Washington Dept. of Health)  
• Pesticide Information Center On-Line (PICOL) for labels (Washington State University)

Pharmaceuticals

• Where to return your medicines in Washington (Coalition of WA partners)

Radon

• Green Starts by Kicking Radon Out campaign (US EPA)
• A Citizen’s Guide to Radon (US EPA)

1-866-730-GREEN

• Frequently Asked Questions About Radon (National Safety Council)

Recycling

• What and where can I recycle? (Washington Dept. of Ecology)

Rentals and Tenants Rights

• Tenants Union

• Agencies that help seniors (Washington Dept. of Social and Health Services)

• Seniors should contact their local Area Agency on Aging (Washington Assoc. of Area Agencies on Aging)

Toxics Release Inventory

• Toxics Release Inventory - information on businesses that use, store, transfer or release toxic substances (US EPA)

Treated Wood

• Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) and alternatives (US EPA)
• Creosote and Its Use as a Wood Preservative (US EPA)

Disposal of treated wood

• Do not burn treated wood in open fires or in stoves, fireplaces, or residential boilers. Dispose of treated wood per your county waste utility regulations.

Vermiculite and Insulation

• Best practices for vermiculite attic insulation (US EPA)
• How to remove insulation (US EPA)

West Nile Virus

• West Nile Virus in Washington (includes information on mosquito repellent) (Washington Dept. of Health)

Worker health and safety

• Worker health and safety
• Report an emergency work situation to Washington Dept. of Labor and Industries:

1-800-423-7233 or 360-902-5459

• Report a pesticide illness (Washington Dept. of Health)
  1-877-485-7316 (M-F, 8 to 5)