Skip to main content

MSDS and ToxNet

I currently work for Marriott Hotels and decided to look up the MSDS on Clorox bleach. This is the brand that housekeepers are using multiple times on a daily basis cleaning rooms. I was able to find the MSDS directly from the Clorox Company. 

  • What are the health risks associated with this chemical?
Some health risks include severe skin burns and eye damage and it was listed as a category 1. 

  • Is the chemical a carcinogen?
Under the MSDS, the product isn't listed as a carcinogen, but it is listed in the unknown category. I believe this means it could be carcinogenic, but there needs to be testing done. 

  • What personal protective equipment or special precautions should be taken when working with this chemical?
PPE required when working with this product include wearing protective gloves, clothing, face protection and eye protection. 

  • If this is a chemical found in your workplace, what training/education were you given about any risks associated with this chemical?
Housekeepers are told to wear PPE while using the product and are told to leave the bathroom door open so that the fumes don't concentrate in a small space. Housekeepers are informed to stop if the become light headed or nauseous and are told to report that to the management staff. 

I found the tool to be useful for workers. Although it is readily available at any time for employees to look over, it isn't something that you see on a daily basis and you must ask to see it. Luckily, we have MSDS in English, Spanish, and Cantonese/Mandarin for our employees so the language barrier is less of an issue, but some of the topics can be a bit complex and I could understand if someone may have a hard time understanding what is being stated. 

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 2, 2018 at 3:33 PM

    Hi Jordan,

    It's great that they have those safety guides in different languages. I was reading an article about how immigrant workers had higher workplace accidents, due to some factors like not being able to read safety materials.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Caitlin WintonNovember 3, 2018 at 8:11 AM

    Hi Jordan,

    I think that is great that Clorox has their MSDS in different languages, I know that a lot of people in this industry do not have English as their first language so they might not be able to understand some terms if they had to read them in English

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sewage Treatment Facilities

In San Francisco, there are 3 sewage treatment facilities. There is the North Point Wet Weather Facility located at Bay Street and the Embarcadero. It was built in 1951 and it is important to note that this facility is only active during wet weather, which I find is very interesting since it barley rains in SF. There is also the Oceanside Treatment Plant which was built in 1993. it receives about 20% of the cities flows. The last one is the Southeast Treatment Plant. It was built in 1952 and treats the other 80% of the cities flows. Needless to say, the Southeast Treatment Plant is much larger than the others and does the bulk of the cities wage work for SF residents.
2 comments
Read more

Environmental Justice

After reading up on the information about environmental injustice,  the only thing, and most recent example of this, would be the Flint Michigan water crisis. The United States has a long way to go in terms of equality. This country was basically founded on racism and one can find the evidence even through legislation throughout the years. In terms of Flint, one also has to think that if the water were to be found toxic in a white area, the issue would have been resolved immediately. Since Flint happens to be predominantly black, they still to this day don't have clean water. This is absolutely unacceptable to me. Within the black community, there is a distrust for the government and health officials, and who can blame them? They have been lied to, fooled and mistreated so many times over the years that now it is a cultural thing within the community. The only way to fix this is over a long time while bridging the gap of equality.
2 comments
Read more

Personal Care Products (Ken Cook Video)

After watching the videos and in particular, the one with Ken Cook, I could not help but be angry. Angry at the how greedy corporations can be, all for money. One of the more powerful messages I got from Ken in the video was that there are several laws in place that protect companies, but we need laws that protect people. This could not be more true and why isn't there being more done to protect people. Seeing the incidence of birth defect and diseases continue to rise years after years, one can only come to the conclusion of chemical imbalance. This is the only thing that makes sense. I just hope that people continue to educate themselves, voice their opinions, and influence government with data and knowledge.
2 comments
Read more