Environmental Science
EVR1001C- Lab: Resource / Waste – Home Chemicals
Identify one product that you use for each of the categories on the Home Chemicals activity sheet. If you do not use a particular category of product, simply enter the phrase “do not use” and explain why. For example, if you do not use pet care products, enter “do not use” in the “Product Name” column and “do not have a pet” in the “What the Warning Says” column.
For each product identified that you do use, indicate the following:
The product name
What the product does, also known as the product “service”
Whether there is some type of warning about using the product.
What the warning says.
Answer questions 1 & 2 on the activity sheet when you have completed the inventory.
After doing this, select three products from your household product list which you think may be “hazardous” based on the warnings listed on the products. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines hazardous as any material that is ignitable, corrosive, explosive, or toxic to humans, plants or animals. List the three products on the Activity Sheet.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) maintains a database that contains a wide variety of information on over 5,000 consumer products. Information contained in the database includes the chemical ingredients, the manufacturer and contact information, as well as any possible acute and chronic effects associated with the chemicals that make up the products.
Go to the NIH Household Products Database. In the Quick Search box on the right side of the screen. Look up the first potentially hazardous product you have listed. Scroll down the page until you come to the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) link and click on the link. Follow the directions on the remainder of the Activity Sheet and answer the questions
NIH Household Products Database: https://www.whatsinproducts.com/