SC leaders warn parents of unintentional poisonings through household items

GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - March 20 is the start of National Poison Prevention Week and leaders in South Carolina want families to take extra care to prevent unintentional poisonings.

The Palmetto Poison Center says each year there are more than two million calls made to poison centers nationwide. The CDC says poisoning is the number one cause of injury-related deaths in the United States. Over have of the roughly 32,000 calls made in South Carolina are for exposures in children under the age of six.

The Poison Center wants to help parents and caregivers to prevent events like this by using child-resistant packaging and keeping medicines and household products locked up and out of sight of children.

The Poison Center provided the following tips for basic poison prevention:

Keep all household products and medicines locked up, and out of sight and reach.
Use child resistant packaging properly by closing the container securely after use.
When any product is in use, keep it in sight. Walking away from it only briefly can lead to exposure.
Keep all items in their original containers.
Read the label before using any product or medicine.
Avoid taking medicine in front of children, they love to imitate adults.
Call 1-800-222-1222 for free, confidential information 24 hours a day, 365 days a year!

In Spartanburg County, officials are hosting a free household waste recycling event on Saturday, March 26 from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. It will be held at the County Admin building on North Church Street.

We’re told their goal is to prevent chemicals found in regular items like propane tanks or batteries from going into the environment.

The following items will be accepted at the event: