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Poison Prevention
Community Action Kit
National Safety Council
1025 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., #1200
Washington, DC 20036
(202)293-2270
www.nsc.org
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Poison Prevention
Community Action Kit
Introduction
Millions of people are unintentionally poisoned every year.
Children ages 6 through 18 account for 13 percent of the expo-
sure and 3 percent of the deaths. Adolescents and teens are
being exposed to many sources of potential abuse and poison-
ings including:
• illicit drugs;
• prescription and over-the-counter medications;
• inhalants
The research also shows a rise in unintentional poisoning by
adults who comprise 16 percent of the exposures and 97 percent
of the deaths. Some these poisonings are also from drug abuse,
but some have been caused by the interaction of multiple medica-
tions. An increasing number of older adults are misusing medica-
tions. In 2005, adults older than 60 years of age represented 16
percent of poisoning fatalities reported to poison control centers.
The National Safety Council, with funding from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, developed the Poison Preven-
tion Community Action Kit to help communities address issues
involving poisonings within the changing demographics of the
United States.
How to Use the Poison Prevention
Community Action Kit
This Poison Prevention Community Action Kit has been
designed to educate communities on the issues surrounding
poisonings in the United States. The kit includes information on:
• poisonings by hazardous household chemicals
• the use of illicit drugs and inhalants
• the misuse and abuse of medications
• pesticides
• lead poisoning
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• carbon monoxide
• poisonous plants
Use the models and fact sheets provided to develop and
implement outreach programs. The kit will assist in identifying
opportunities where outreach activities can help educate mem-
bers of the community about poisonings. The kit includes activi-
ties for various segments of the community, including children,
parents, schools, gardening clubs, etc. The kit also has tips on
how to engage the local media to help spread the news about
poisoning issues.
Get Started
1. Determine which poisoning issue is of primary importance to
your audience.
2. Read the enclosed fact sheets to become familiar with the
issue.
3. Review the PowerPoint presentation, Outreach Opportunities,
and the Word document, Suggestions for Outreach Activities,
for ideas.
4. Get the word out by engaging the media. Using the samples
provided, newsletter and newspaper articles can be written
and distributed to the appropriate organizations and the local
media.
Materials on the DVD
This kit was designed to raise awareness about the prevent-
able poisonings caused by the improper use and storage of
household chemicals and pesticides, and expanded to address
more poisoning topics.
An Excel spreadsheet, entitled Materials in the Kit, sorts the
available materials by type, format, subject, title, author, pro-
ducer/creator, and language. Once a particular material has been
identified, go to the appropriate Type folder on the DVD and locate
the required piece by its title. The Type classifications listed
below refers to how the material is being presented. Some Type
folders have subject sub-folders for easy sorting when there is a
lot of materials on a particular topic.
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• Audio
• Brochures
• Checklists
• Child Activities
• Fact Sheets
• Games
• Graphics
• Media
• Posters
• Presentations
• Publications
• Resources
• Videos
The materials are also identified by the file formats available
on the DVD. The formats are:
• Word documents and HTML (Web) for the fact sheets,
games, and children's activities;
• TIP, JPG, and BMP for graphics and games;
• MP3 and RAM for audio;
• portable document format (PDF) for brochures, publica-
tions, and posters;
• MOV, WMV, MP4, and ASX for videos,
• PowerPoint for presentations.
The materials can be sorted by subject matter. These
include:
• carbon monoxide
• household chemicals
• illicit drugs
• inhalants
• lead poisoning
• medication
• pesticides
• plants
There are also some special subject categories such as
working with the media, outreach opportunities and activities, and
additional resources which are listed under outreach.
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The kit also provides materials in many different languages.
There is a considerable amount of information in Spanish, and
also some information in Chinese, French, Russian, Farsi,
Slovenian, Portugese, Korean, and Vietnamese.
Resources
A list of contributing organizations, with a brief synopsis of
the organization and a link to their website, is available on the
DVD under Other Sources of Information. Some of these organi-
zations offer free publications while others charge a nominal fee.
Some materials were simply too big to include in the DVD but
are available through their respective websites. Links to the
websites are included under Other Sources of Information. To
order EPA publications in bulk, contact:
National Service Center for Environmental Publications
PO Box 42419
Cincinnati, OH, 45242-2419
Tel. (800) 490-9198
Fax (301) 604-3408
E-mail: nscep@bps-lmit.com
Website: www.epa.gov/ncepihom
Also, many local poison control centers provide materials that
can be used for outreach opportunities. Call the nationwide, toll-
free number 1-800-222-1222 and it will connect you with the
poison control center closest to you.
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National Safety Council
1025 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., #1200
Washington, DC 20036
(202)293-2270
www.nsc.org
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Poison Prevention
Community
Action Kit
National Safety Council
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