Nearly 12,000 children aged 1-5 went to a hospital emergency room because they drank, touched or were sprayed with household cleaners in a single year, according to a new study that analyzed data from 1990-2006.

The good news is that the number of annual emergency room visits for household cleaner injuries is down 46% since 1990, primarily because child-proof containers are now required, and parents are better educated. But the bad news is that the actual number of children hurt by household cleaners is likely to be significantly higher than the reported number, and at least 744 children poisoned by household cleansers suffered life-threatening or permanent injuries in the last year studied, according to the authors of the study, three prominent Ohio pediatricians, Lara B. McKenzie, Nisha Ahir, Uwe Stolz and Nicolas G. Nelson, who published their research today in Pediatrics. The study relied on data from about 100 emergency rooms from around the country.

More:

Toxic Home Cleaning Products Facts - Home Cleaning Products - The Daily Green.