Auburn, March 19, 2002---Every year, poison control centers field more than a million phone calls from near-hysterical adults whose children have been accidentally exposed to poisonous substances – most often poisons stored around the home.

Some 30 of these children die from this exposure.

To highlight the risks associated with pesticides and other common products, the federal government has set aside March 17-23 as National Poison Prevention Week. First authorized by Congress and signed into law by President Kennedy in 1961, National Poison Prevention Week is an annual event aimed at raising public awareness of the risks associated with unintentional poisonings and promoting prevention measures.

The basic theme of Poison Prevention Week is "Children Act Fast…So Do Poisons!"

Indeed, many poisonings happen when adults are distracted for just a few minutes answering the phone or doorbell or dealing with some other routine task. However, it takes only a few moments for a small child to grab and swallow something that could be poisonous.

Many of these risks, such as pesticide poisoning, could be easily prevented merely by taking a few steps, experts say.

"The key to pesticide safety is keeping pesticides stored under lock and key," says Dr. Wheeler Foshee, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System pesticide education specialist. "Research shows that 5-year-olds and younger children are the most vulnerable to exposure to pesticides, so the farther these chemicals are away from them, the better."

As a rule, he says, pesticides should be stored away from the house, preferably in a locked storage shed, when possible. Home storage should be avoided at all costs.

In addition, pesticides should never be placed in any container other than the ones in which they were sold.

"Putting pesticides in cups, glasses or bowls often puts children at risk," Foshee says, "because they see these and assume it’s something they can eat or drink."

Even so, experts say, the risks associated with pesticides are no excuse to discard them entirely. Every year, many children throughout the Southeast are needlessly exposed to another form of poisoning -- stings from wasps, fire ants and other common pests -- often because their parents refused to use any pesticide product in and around the home.

"There is no need for people to overreact and assume that all pesticide products are unsafe merely because they are poisonous to pests," says Dr. Xing Ping Hu, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System urban entomologist. "Some of these products used to kill pests are perfectly safe to humans and other mammals so long as consumers follow labeling directions."

Fortunately for consumers, pesticide use will be even safer in the future, thanks to a new generation of products that will be widely available within the next decade.

Still, even though these pesticides are safer, it is no excuse not to follow labeling instructions, she says.

"The manufacturers put everything on that label for a reason and not just because they love paying lawyers," Flanders says.

"It’s on there because it reflects plain common sense."