The Consumer Council has published the results of a survey on household cleaners to investigate if their labels provide sufficient safety-related information to enable timely medical treatment in the event of accidental poisoning.
The survey shows that vital product information such as active ingredients and their concentrations is lacking in many cases, hampering the efforts of health care professionals to treat victims of accidental poisoning.
Nearly one-third (23 out of 79) of the samples were found without any ingredient labeling whatsoever. The main offenders included cleaning solutions for floor and drains, and multi-purpose disinfectant cleaners (sometimes referred to as "green water").
But even those with ingredient information were labeled in various degrees of details only. For instance, some had their ingredients fully listed but gave no indication of their levels of concentration.
Some simply used such general generic terms as surfactants, fragrances and disinfectants, giving no clue as to the exact nature of the content. Doctors need to know the exact ingredients and concentrations to administer the most effective cure swiftly.
Equally important is information for contact of the manufacturer or agent in case of emergency. The survey found over half of the household cleaner samples (43 out of 79) did not give even a telephone number, although 23 of them did provide a local address.
The survey did show up an area of improvement since 1998 when the Consumer Council conducted a survey on the application of bilingual safety information i.e. warning and caution statements on household chemicals. In that survey it was found that 22.5% of samples carried no such bilingual safety information.
In the latest survey, all except four samples (which provided safety warnings in Chinese only) were in compliance with the statutory requirements in the provision of labeling in respect of safe storage, consumption or disposal of the goods in both Chinese and English for the information of consumers.
The lack of adequate labeling on household cleaners is a matter of growing concern to medical personnel in light of the rising mortality rate due to poisoning by substances other than drugs in recent years.
Ready access to product information is of utmost importance to medical personnel in an emergency of poisoning by household cleaners - it could mean a difference of life and death, or serious harm due to delay in medical treatment.
Statistics have shown that an average of 4,000 to 5,000 people were hospitalized each year due to poisoning of all kinds; and 400 to 500 people died from it subsequently, though there are no separate statistics to show the extent to which household cleaners were involved.
Between 2001 and 2005, statistics released by the Hong Kong Poison Information Centre (HKPIC) from the United Christian Hospital showed that 79 cases of poisoning were recorded involving bleaching agents (25), volatile cleansing agents and corrosives (22), multi-purpose cleaners (17), and cleaning solutions for floor, toilet and kitchen (15).
They represented 39% of all poisoning cases involving household cleansing and hygiene products which include also antiseptics, insecticides, detergents, shampoo and soap, mothball and camphor, etc.
The Consumer Council is calling on all manufacturers and suppliers of household cleaners to provide better informative labeling. If for any reason, they are reluctant to do so, it is recommended that they must at least disclose it to a central database to be managed by an agency such as the HKPIC, which is accessible only to health care professionals in an emergency.
Consumers are advised to read the labels, follow instructions and directions with care, and take necessary sensible precautions - wear gloves, work in well-ventilated areas, keep products in their original package, and do not mix cleaners. And always keep household cleaners beyond reach of children.
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