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
• Arsenic
• Asbestos
• Automotive fluids
• Carbon monoxide
• Emergency planning
• Flame retardants (PBDEs)
• Formaldehyde
• Health Departments - Local
• Lead
• Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
• Mercury
• Meth labs
• Mold
• Paints and coatings
• Pesticides and fertilizers
• Pharmaceuticals
• Radon
• Recycling
• Tenants rights
• Toxics Release Inventory (TRI)
• Treated wood
• Vermiculite and insulation
• Worker health and safety

Air Quality

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

Arsenic

• Arsenic in the Environment (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
• Learn about asbestos 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)

Carbon Monoxide

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

Emergency planning

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

Flame retardants (PBDEs)

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

State Plan and PBDE Ban

• PBDE strategy (Washington Dept. of Ecology)

Formaldehyde

• Formaldehyde (Washington Dept. of Health)

Health Departments - Local

• Local and State Health Departments

Lead

Government Info Centers

• National Lead Information Center (US EPA)
  
  1-800-424-LEAD (5323)
• Lead in paint, dust, and soil (US EPA)
• Learn about Lead (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)
• Lead in the 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)

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)
• Lead test kits (US EPA)
• 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)
• Prevent Lead Poisoning (Washington Dept. of Health)
• Lead in Toy Jewelry (US EPA)
• Toy Jewelry and Childhood Lead Exposure ( Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC)
• Testing Your Home for Lead in Paint, Dust and Soil (EPA)

Lead in Paint

• WA Certified Firms for testing and removing lead paint (Washington Dept. of Commerce)
• Lead Paint Safety Field Guide (HUD)
• Guidelines for Working with Lead-based Paint booklet (Interagency Resource for Achieving Cooperation)
• About lead-based paint (US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development)
• Renovation, repair, and painting (US EPA)

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)
• 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

• Drug Labs (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)

Paints and Coatings

• Environmental hazards
  • How Paint Pollution Affects the Environment (Pollution Issues)
  • Impacts, Risks and Regulations (National Center for Manufacturing Sciences)
• Human health hazards
  • How Paint Can Affect Your Family's Health (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle)
  • Paint and Your Health (Environment, Health, and Safety Online)
  • Exposure to Harmful Paint Fumes
• Lead-based paint (Also see links under "Lead" in this A-Z guide)
  • Basic Information (US EPA)
  • Renovation, Repair, and Painting regulations (US EPA)
  • Renovate Right: Important Lead Hazard Information for Families, Child Care Providers, and Schools
  • Lead Paint Safety (US HUD)
  • Lead Hotline: The National Lead Information Center
  1-800-424-5323
• Other coatings
  • The Difference Between Varnish and Lacquer (Do It Yourself)
• Non-toxic paints and paint certifications
  • Non-toxic Paints (Earth Easy)
  • Green Paint Certifications (FacilitiesNet)
  • What the Green Certifications Mean (Consumer Reports)
  • Low & Zero-VOC Paint Certifications & Seals of Approval (Patriotic Painting Blog)
• Paint strippers
  • What You Should Know About Paint Strippers (US Consumer Product Safety Commission)
• Paint safety: Healthy and proper use, disposal, and storage
  • Healthy Indoor Painting (Thurston County)
• Spray painting
  • Aerosol Paint Can Safety (eHow.com)
  • Spray Painting Safety (CA State Compensation Insurance Fund)
  • Spray Painting Safety (Buzzle.com)
  • Spray Painting Safety (Vimeo.com)
• Spray paint sniffing ("Huffing")
  • Huffing and the Abuse of Inhalants (US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine)
  • Intelligence Brief: Huffing - The Abuse of Inhalants (National Drug Intelligence Center)

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)

• Pest Management Resource Service (WSU Cooperative Extension)
• Children's Pesticide Right to Know Act fact sheet (Washington Toxics Coalition)
• Illegal pesticide products (US EPA)
• Hazards of Bug Bombs (Washington Dept. of Health)

Pharmaceuticals

• Where to take back your medicines in Washington

Poison Emergencies and Information

• Washington Poison Center

Radon

• Department of Health (WA State) Radon Information
• 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 in Washington State? (Washington Dept. of Ecology)

Tenants Rights

• Tenants Union of Washington State

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)

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)