My Home Assessment

The Home Environmental Health and Safety Assessment Tool was very useful in assessing the general safety of my home. The assessment prompted me to (for the first time...yikes!) walk around my apartment to inspect appliances, smoke detector, etc. as well as do some research into the quality and safety of my water supply. For the most part, I was pleased by the results. The one area I am most concerned about, but can easily address moving forward, is emergency preparedness. I realized I do not have a disaster plan or emergency phone numbers. Additionally, I have some emergency supplies but they can definitely be better organized and supplemented. I was most surprised to see questions regarding air fresheners and tuna fish, but it became clear why these questions were asked after watching Dr. Sattler's video explanation. This goes to show that harmful exposures can exist in many things, even things least suspected.

Home, Work, School, Community Exposures

After discussing chemical, biological and radiological exposures in class last week, I was overwhelmed by the number of exposures that exist at home, work, school and in the community. As a class we came up with a good, long list, but by no means was it an exhaustive list. It personally frightens and concerns me that I do not know of all the harmful agents that exist in my environment. I was surprised that the majority of exposures we came up with can be found in the home. Though this is disconcerting, the home is a place where we have the most control over our personal environment. I am hopeful that I will be more informed and have the tools to make better decisions regarding my cleaning supplies, personal care products, detergents, etc. by the end of this semester. This was an eye-opening activity and I look forward to (with some unease) learning more.