The Poison Terminator Carlo de Olim

High demand for a chemical product in short supply creates a perfect storm for accidental poisoning exposures according to a New Jersey Poison Control Center advisory.  Dr. Diane Calello, MD tells us in this episode how these incidents can occur. She also give us prevention tips. Dr. Calello is the medical and executive director of the New Jersey Poison Control Center.



Podcast notes

New Jersey Poison Control Center website

https://www.njpies.org/

Poison Center phone number (US)

1-800-222-1222

NJ Poison Control Center online chat

https://www.njpies.org/online-chat/

Canadian Poison Centers phone number (Different number for each province)

https://safemedicationuse.ca/tools_resources/poison_centres.html

The majority of recreational water outbreaks occur in public pools, hot tubs or water playgrounds according to a recent CDC report. We discuss the causes and how to reduce the occurrence of Legionella and Cryptosporidium in treated recreational waters with Michele Hlavsa, MPH of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Podcast notes

Michele Hlavsa is the chief of the CDC's Healthy Swimming Program. She has a BSc in Nursing from the College of New Jersey and a Master of Public Health from Emory University.

Interesting links

CDC Healthy Swimming Program: https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/index.html

Article: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7020a1.htm

Model Aquatic Health Code: https://www.cdc.gov/mahc/index.html

12 Steps for the prevention of recreational water illnesses: https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/aquatics-professionals/twelve-steps-for-prevention-rwi.html

Toolkit for controlling Legionella: https://www.cdc.gov/legionella/wmp/control-toolkit/index.html

Disinfection of hot tubs containing Legionella: https://www.cdc.gov/legionella/downloads/hot-tub-disinfection.pdf

Winter is coming soon. This means we will be spending more time indoors. We've invited Dr. Miriam Diamond of the University of Toronto to talk about ways to improve indoor air quality and to reduce the health impacts of indoor air contaminants.

Show notes 

10m55s VOCs are volatile organic compounds. These substances are contained in building materials, cigarette, cleaning products, air fresheners, glues and moth repellants.  People can be exposed to these compounds through inhaling VOC gases or skin contact with products that contain these chemicals. VOCs can induce nausea, dizziness, fatigue, headache and irritation of the respiratory system and eyes.  Long term exposure to these compounds is associated with cancer, kidney and liver problems.

Source: https://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/chemicals-and-contaminants/volatile-organic-compounds-vocs

If you don't want to call the Poison Center with your phone, you can use an online tool developed by the National Capital Poison Center to get information on first aid procedures related to poisonings. Dr. Kelly Johnson-Arbor MD, will tell us all we need to know on Web Poison Control.

Interesting links

Web Poison Control

https://www.webpoisoncontrol.org/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0IC6-7LD4QIVBYbICh2uPA3MEAAYASAAEgKuPfD_BwE

Poison! Podcast

https://www.poison.org/podcast

Julie Weber RPh, CSPI of the Missouri Poison Center is joining us for Poison Prevention Week to talk about how to prevent poisonings associated with cleaning chemicals.

Interesting Links

Missouri Poison Center Spring Cleaning article

https://missouripoisoncenter.org/some-things-just-dont-mix/

American Association of Poison Control Centers Prevention page

https://www.aapcc.org/Prevention

Canadian Poison Control Centres phone number (numbers are different for each provinces)

https://www.aapcc.org/centers Look under Canada 

Statements about Poison Prevention Week 2019 from the Canadian Minister of Health

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/news/2019/03/message-from-the-minister-of-health--national-poison-prevention-week-2019---march-17-23-2019.html

US President's Proclamation on Poison Prevention Week 2019

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/presidential-proclamation-national-poison-prevention-week-2019/

In this episode, we will be discussing a book called the Poison Squad One chemist's single-minded crusade for food safety at the turn of the twentieth century.

My guest today is the author of the book, Deborah Blum. She is the director of the Knight Science Journalism program at MIT and publisher of Undark Magazine.

Interesting links

Author's official website

http://deborahblum.com/

Undark Magazine

https://undark.org/