Many of us spend a good portion of their day indoors, and the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) is reminding people that indoor environments may contain a number of hazards. The good news it that many of these hazards can easily be eliminated and/or controlled.

To help with that, the ACOEM has re-released its checklist of “Ten Environmental Hazards You Can Live Without.”

“ACOEM’s environmental checklist provides 10 practical steps that all of us can take to improve the quality of our indoor environment,” said Robert K. McLellan, MD, author of the checklist. “The environment does not stop at the walls of our homes and buildings.”

The checklistfocuses on hazards like tobacco smoke, radon, asbestos, lead, combustion gases, water pollution, household chemicals and pesticides, allergens, and food poisoning. It provides tips on how to avoid and/or control these hazards in the home and includes recommendations and helpful resources from the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, among others.

ACOEM encourages its members to disseminate the checklist to their patients and colleagues and urges the public to implement the recommendations to improve and protect their living environment. The checklist is available on the ACOEM web site at www.acoem.org.

ACOEM (www.acoem.org) is an international medical society of 5,000 occupational and environmental medicine physicians and other health care professionals. The College provides leadership to promote optimal health and safety of workers, workplaces, and environments.