Health Canada Offers Environmental Health Resource
The four-year Hazardcheck campaign unveiled on March 1 builds on the Government of Canada's Chemicals Management Plan and Clean Air Agenda.
Health Canada on March 1 unveiled a new environmental health campaign and a related Hazardcheck online resource that will inform Canadians about hazards in their homes and workplaces. Leona Aglukkaq, minister of Health, said the four-year educational campaign is aimed at Canadian families.
"Our government is working to help keep Canadian families safer," she said. "As part of this campaign I'm pleased to introduce Hazardcheck, a guide that provides simple advice that parents can take to keep their homes safer and healthier for themselves and their children." The agency said the campaign builds on the Government of Canada's Chemicals Management Plan and Clean Air Agenda.
The site includes links for information about the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), which is Canada's national hazard communication standard, as well as information about drinking water, indoor air quality, chemical substances, and the National Dosimetry Services, an agency that since 1951 has provided medical surveillance services to Canadian workers exposed to ionizing radiation.
Another link takes visitors to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, which recently posted free posters in English and French to acquaint workers, managers, supervisors, trainers, and safety committee members about the changes in WHMIS that will occur when the Globally Harmonized System for Classification and Labeling of Chemicals is adopted in Canada. All of the existing WHMIS hazard classes will continue, but there will be some new classes, including an explosives class and an aspiration hazards class for materials that can enter the lungs and cause serious toxic effects.