Prevent exposure at work
Many substances used on the job, in office buildings, or in workplace renovation
projects are toxic to reproductive health. By law, you have a right to a safe and
healthy work environment. Your employer is required by law to provide information
and training about workplace hazards, including access to handouts about toxic
substances called Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS).
• Follow guidelines to avoid exposure. Use protective gear. Ask your employer
about substitutes for toxic substances and other ways to prevent harmful
exposures.
• If you live with anybody who works with toxic chemicals, that person should
change and shower after work. The person should also keep work tools and
clothing away from other people and living areas in the home. Work clothes
should be washed separately.
• Get more information or file a complaint with your regional Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) office if you believe that your
employer is violating OSHA standards or that your workplace poses serious
hazards. You can find a directory of regional OSHA offices by calling
800-232-4636 or at www.prhe.ucsf.edu/prhe/tmlinks.html#work.
• If you are a farmworker, you can find information about reducing your
exposure to agricultural pesticides at www.prhe.ucsf.edu/prhe/tmlinks.
html#work.
Prevent exposure in your community
Help create a better environment for your family and everyone around you.
The University of California, San Francisco, has developed community guidelines
for avoiding environmental toxins that are excerpted below:
• Drive less. Carpool, take public transportation, ride your bike, or walk.
• Never burn trash, especially furniture, tires, and plastics.
• Don’t use pesticides. Use organic or integrated pest management techniques
in lawns and gardens.
• Never throw toxic substances down drains or toilets or in the garbage.
Learn more at www.prhe.ucsf.edu/prhe/tmlinks.html#community.
Examples of toxic substances include car oil, gasoline, pesticides, paints, solvents,
and medicines. Contact your local health department to find out how to dispose of
those substances safely. Check the government section of your phone book or call
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at 800-232-4636.
This blog presents opinions and ideas and is intended to provide helpful general information. I am not engaged in rendering advice or services to the individual reader. The ideas, procedures and suggestions in that are presented are not in any way a substitute for the advice and care of the reader’s own physician or other medical professional based on the reader’s own individual conditions, symptoms or concerns. If the reader needs personal medical, health, dietary, exercise or other assistance or advice the reader should consult a physician and/or other qualified health professionals. The author specifically disclaims all responsibility for any injury, damage or loss that the reader may incur as a direct or indirect consequence of following any directions or suggestions given in this blog or participating in any programs described in this blog or in the book, The Building Blocks of Health––How to Optimize Your Health with a Lifestyle Checklist (available in print or downloaded at Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble and elsewhere). Copyright 2021 by J. Joseph Speidel.
