Fewer people being poisoned — EPA

The number of children being injured and admitted to hospital after coming into contact with hazardous substances, has dropped 40% since 2006.

Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith said the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) report, released at the National Poisons Centre in Dunedin yesterday, showed the number of children being poisoned had decreased from 163 a year to 96 a year.

"We are making good progress in improving the safety of children and young people from hazardous substances.

"Under-5-year-olds are most at risk and their hospitalisation rates have dropped by 30%, from 32 per 100,000 to 23.

"The rate for 5-14-year-olds has more than halved, from 12 to 5.2 per 100,000.‘‘Another good result is in the 15-24-year-old group, where hospitalisations have fallen from 23 per 100,000 to 12.3.''

Dr Smith said the overall number of hospital admissions for poisoning across all age groups had dropped from 578 to 438.

"These improvements show measures to improve the labelling, containment and awareness of the risks from hazardous substances are working, but there are still too many people, particularly children, being injured.

"The greatest risks are from common hazardous substances, such as petrol, soap powder, household cleaners, garden sprays and paint products.

"This issue is quite personal for me, in that I inadvertently used paint stripper as mouthwash when a tradesperson accidentally left the product in the bathroom of my Wellington flat.

"The injury burned my throat and vocal chords, leading to my only ever hospital treatment.''

He said the key was ensuring hazardous substances were stored and labelled appropriately.

"We need people to be careful not to casually leave chemicals around and not to store them in unlabelled containers.

"Toddlers are still the most vulnerable, with injury rates three times that of other age groups.''

He said the next step in the Government's programme to reduce harm was a project between Housing New Zealand and the EPA, aiming to ensure homes had safe storage for hazardous substances and working with tenants to improve the safety of children.

john.lewis@odt.co.nz

Add a Comment

 

Advertisement