According to OSHA, battery acid can be safely neutralized with a dilution of baking soda or soda ash (one pound per gallon of water). For smaller spills, baking soda is sufficient.

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When using any chemical product, it’s wise to increase ventilation. When bringing home new furniture or rugs, “off gas” them outside or in a detached garage before bringing them inside.

If your operation has a large fleet of electric vehicles, occasional battery acid spills are practically unavoidable. However, preventative maintenance can prevent larger spills from occurring.

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Appropriate training is also required by law. To ensure compliance with OSHA (and to limit hazards in the battery room), make sure that your workers understand how to properly don, adjust, and remove their PPE. Your training program should be documented and should include guidance for using eyewash stations and emergency showers.

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VOCs are emitted from a variety of household products, including paints, varnishes, wax, adhesives, cleaning and disinfecting solutions, hobby materials, and cosmetics. VOCs can also be emitted from carpeting, flooring, furniture, and dry-cleaned clothing and draperies.

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It is an extensive list. Most families likely have several, if not all, of these items in their homes. It is important to keep in mind that VOCs become hazardous to health when you are exposed to high concentrations. Eliminating exposure to VOCs in daily life is difficult, if not impossible, but reducing exposure will help keep you and your family safe.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is the most notorious gas that shows up in homes — and for good reason. Carbon monoxide poisoning can cause harm or kill quickly. It occurs when there is a high concentration released into an enclosed space, and your body replaces its oxygen with carbon monoxide. Because carbon monoxide is both colorless and odorless, it is difficult to detect. FYI: Every year more than 20,000 Americans visit emergency departments to get treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning, and more than 400 Americans die1.

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Like carbon monoxide, radon is difficult to detect because it is colorless and odorless. Radon does not kill or cause harm as quickly as carbon monoxide, however, but instead builds up in the body over time, which can lead to long-term damage. That doesn’t make it any less dangerous though. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers and the second-leading cause of lung cancer overall3. The good news is that elevated radon levels in a home are easily mitigated.

Carbon monoxide is present any time you burn fuel in cars, small engines, gas ranges, lanterns, grills, fireplaces, and furnaces. Most exposures to high concentrations, which become poisonous, occur during winter, and the most common source of poisoning is unvented space heaters that use a combustible fuel2. (Read our guide to winter home safety to learn more.)

A person who has been poisoned by carbon monoxide may experience headaches, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, or confusion. If the person is sleeping, however, they can die before experiencing any symptoms, so installing a carbon monoxide detector in your home is critical to your family’s safety.

For most folks, home is our safe place. It is the place we unplug after a long day at work, connect with our family members, and raise our children. It can be unsettling to know invisible dangers like toxic gases may lurk. Toxic gases are harmful to all family members, but vulnerable groups such as pregnant women and children are at the greatest risk.

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that comes from the decay of radium, found in soil and rocks. Radon becomes trapped inside homes and buildings after entering through cracks or gaps in the foundation, so most radon exposure occurs indoors. Radon can be found in the atmosphere, but only in trace amounts, so it’s not dangerous to humans who are exposed to it outside.

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All battery spills are serious chemical hazards. Contact with battery acid can cause chemical burns immediately, but symptoms may take several minutes or hours to appear. As such, employees must wear PPE when performing any neutralization or cleanup activities.

If radon levels are elevated, the next step is hiring a radon service professional to recommend and install the best mitigation system for your home. Most systems can be installed in a day and will reduce radon concentrations by up to 99 percent3.

High-quality equipment in the battery room can reduce the risks of boil-overs and other incidents — and keep workers prepared for spill response. Regardless of the size of your electric vehicle fleet, Solus Group can help your operation find appropriate solutions.

Most importantly, immediately leave your home with any other family members and pets. Breathe in fresh air outside, and then call 911 or find someone to call for you.

To contain the spill as quickly as possible — and minimize the dangers for employees, inventory, and equipment — keep your spill response supplies in a highly visible location. Consider building a mobile spill cart with sorbents, socks, pillows, PPE, and other essentials.

Use appropriate supplies to keep the spill from spreading outside of the containment area. Sorbent socks are effective for creating a perimeter, while pads and pillows can absorb large liquid spills.

Below, we’ll explain how to clean up battery acid while minimizing hazards for employees. However, remember that your operation’s unique characteristics (such as its floor plan or the location of other hazardous materials onsite) may affect your spill response strategy. The safest course of action is to perform a full hazard assessment when planning for disasters.

Instead of purchasing PPE items individually, consider using ready-to-wear PPE kits to improve spill response times. Solus Group's PPE Standard Kit includes a disposable face shield, safety glasses, nitrile gloves, a disposable apron, and a pair of latex overboots.

Additionally, baking soda can neutralize acid, but it can’t stop the spill from spreading. If the spill occurs in a traffic lane or near inventory, fast containment is absolutely essential. Industrial facilities should keep dedicated sorbents on-hand to address battery spills quickly.

AcidSorb is a granular sorbent that changes color to indicate neutralization. By solidifying acids on contact, AcidSorb simplifies cleanup, and its buffered compound reduces toxic vapor emissions by reducing the heat generated during the neutralization process.

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Several mitigation methods are available, depending on your home’s makeup. One common system draws gas from below the house and vents it outdoors through a pipe. Mitigation also includes sealing cracks and openings in the foundation.

FYI: We’ve created a comprehensive children’s safety guide. It provides information on everything from trampolines to animal bites to electricity risks.

The Solus Group customer service and technical support teams are available to answer any questions. Contact us by calling 314-696-0200 or click here

VOCs are known to cause damage to the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system. Some are also suspected or known to cause cancer. They can also cause eye, nose, and throat irritation.

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Among the building materials that emit formaldehyde are glues and adhesives, the preservatives in some paints, and pressed-wood products such as particle board, hardwood plywood paneling, and medium-density fiberboard. Formaldehyde also is used to add a permanent press quality to clothing and draperies.

(2022). Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. Johns Hopkins Medicine. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/carbon-monoxide-poisoning

As with other VOCs, formaldehyde exposure can be reduced by increasing the ventilation in your home. Opening your windows every day for even a few minutes can help. The EPA also recommends using air conditioning and dehumidifiers to moderate your home’s temperature and decrease the humidity.

FYI: Every year more than 20,000 Americans visit emergency departments to get treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning, and more than 400 Americans die1.

It may be frightening to know hidden dangers like invisible gases can harm your children and other family members in your home, but, now that you are aware of the hazards, you can take the steps necessary to prevent them. Most of these actions are simple to accomplish, and you may have already put some of them into place. With the right preventative measures, you can rest assured that your loved ones will remain safe in your home.

Disclosure: We are a professional review site that receives compensation from some of the companies whose products we review. We review each product thoroughly and consistently and give high marks to only the very best. We are independently owned and the opinions expressed here are our own.

Exposure to high concentrations of VOCs can lead to a variety of symptoms, including irritation of the nose, throat, and eyes; headache; an allergic reaction on the skin; labored breathing; nausea; fatigue; dizziness; and nosebleeds.

Thankfully, measures can be taken to decrease the risks associated with these four hazardous gases that can rear their ugly heads in our homes. Below we will inform you about the source of each gas and offer suggestions to prevent or decrease their presence. So let’s get right to it!

Remember, PPE isn’t optional. OSHA 1926.441(a)(5) requires that “face shields, aprons, and rubber gloves shall be provided for workers handling acids or batteries.”

With that said, following these five steps should help you prepare your workforce to respond efficiently to lead-acid battery spills.

Installing a CO detector in your home is one of the best ways to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. The detector should be installed in a place where it will wake you if carbon monoxide levels rise during the night. Check or replace its batteries twice per year and replace the detector every five years.

While your goal is to neutralize hazards as soon as possible, you’ll also need to establish a safe working environment for the spill response team. Train workers to take the following steps:

Many dedicated sorbents (such as AcidSorb) change color to indicate neutralization. However, if you’re using baking soda or soda ash, you’ll need to test the materials to ensure that the pH is between 6 and 8 before continuing with cleanup.

Available in sizes ranging from ½ gallon to 55 gallons, AcidSorb improves spill response efficiency and aids in compliance with OSHA regulations.

Available in a range of sizes from 6.5-gallon pails to 55-gallon drums, Solus Group’s Battery Spill Kits simplify neutralization and cleanup. Place Battery Spill Kits wherever employees work with batteries for quicker access to the essentials — and faster spill response times.

Formaldehyde is a type of VOC found in such a wide variety of household items that it deserves its own category. It is a colorless but pungent-smelling gas emitted in cigarette smoke, unvented fuel-burning appliances, building materials, and more. Formaldehyde levels are highest in homes with smokers, homes with new products or new construction, and homes built after 1990. (Newer homes are better insulated, so they have less air flowing in and out. As a result, the gas stays in the air longer.)4

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However, in warehouses and storage facilities, dedicated sorbents are a much better option. Here’s why: Forklift batteries may contain as much as 432 pounds of sulfuric acid. If a major spill occurs, your spill response team will need to contain the hazard as quickly as possible; they may not have time to dilute an appropriate amount of baking soda.

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Battery Spill Kits include loose sorbents, socks, chemical pads, pillows, PPE, and other necessary supplies for responding to battery acid spills.

In modern industry, batteries are a relatively safe technology. OSHA reports only 52 serious injury incidents involving direct handling of batteries in lift trucks and other electric vehicles since 2015. Most of those incidents occurred when moving or watering batteries, and battery acid exposure only caused 3 of the listed incidents.

Reducing your exposure begins with finding and using products with low VOCs. Online databases can point you to safe products. The EPA’s Safer Choice program, for example, provides an online search tool for consumers. You can also look for products labeled “No VOC” or “Low VOC.”

Exposure to formaldehyde can cause burning or irritation in the eyes or throat, difficulty breathing, or a skin rash. It can also trigger attacks in people with asthma, and it is suspected of causing cancer.

Organic compounds — compounds that contain carbon — are used in many household products. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are gases emitted from some of these solids and liquids while in use or even while stored.

However, those statistics don’t include minor injuries or OSHA compliance violations — and major battery acid spills can destroy inventory, damage equipment, or lead to significant production bottlenecks.

Radon is often detected during the buying or selling of a home. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Surgeon General and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that all homebuyers test for radon before buying a house or moving in. A home can be tested by a certified professional or with a DIY home kit.

The bottom line: Every operation that uses industrial batteries should have a detailed spill response strategy. When workers understand how to neutralize battery acid safely, they can act quickly in emergencies without taking unnecessary risks.