Researchers at a local hospital say the number of American kids being poisoned by laundry detergent packets has increased over the last two years. Jim Letizia reports.
Researchers at Children's Hospital in Columbus say from January 2013 to December 2014, U.S. poison control centers fielded over 22 thousand calls about the problem. 450 calls were in central Ohio. Cases increased by 8 percent last year, with 305 reported in central Ohio. On average, a child was hospitalized every day. Their study published in the journal Pediatrics examined more than 62 thousand cases of kids under the age of 6. It shows poisonings through the detergent packs rose faster than cases involving regular detergents. Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble is one of the companies that make the products that are gaining in consumer popularity. The companies volunteered to implement standards that included applying bitter agents to the film of the pods, as well as new packaging that’s harder for a child to open. Procter & Gamble pods will soon include a child-resistant zipper. Researchers say children see the shiny packages and think the pods are candy.
