Children being hospitalised with hazardous substances injuries is an issue that leaves a bad taste in the mouth of Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith.

With the release of a new Environmental Protection Authority report over the week, Nick has opened up saying he was once hospitalised after inadvertently using paint stripper as mouth wash when a tradesperson accidentally left the product in the bathroom of his Wellington flat.

A new Environmental Protection Authority report says the number of children being hospitalised with hazardous substances injuries has fallen over the past eight years. File Photo

'The injury burned my throat and vocal chords, leading to my only ever hospital treatment,” he explains.

'The key to lowering risk from hazardous substances is ensuring they are stored and labelled appropriately. We need people to be careful not to casually leave chemicals around and not to store them in unlabelled containers.”

Released over the weekend, Nick says the new EPA report shows good progress is being made to keeping children and young people safe from hazardous substances, with hospitalisations has falling by 40 per cent over the past eight years, from 163 to 96 per year.

Under-fives are still most at risk, but hospitalisation rates have dropped 30 per cent, from 32 per 100,000 to 23. The rate for five to 14 year olds has more than halved, from 12 to 5.2 per 100,000. In the 15-24 year old group where hospitalisations have fallen from 23 to 12.3 per 100,000.

Overall, the report shows the number of hospitalisations across all age groups dropped from 578 to 438. The latest figures are for the 2014 year, and data collection started in 2006.

Nick says these improvements show measures to improve the labelling, containment and awareness of the risks from hazardous substances are working – but there are still too many people, particularly children, being injured.

The greatest risks are from common hazardous substances such as petrol, soap powder, household cleaners, garden sprays and paint products, he adds.

'Toddlers are still the most vulnerable, with injury rates three times that of other age groups. Many injuries occur because products such as petrol, dishwashing powder and oven cleaner are left within reach of young children.

'Making sure such products are immediately unpacked and safely stored when families get home from the supermarket is a simple way to reduce injuries.”

Nick says the next step in the Government's programme to further reduce harm is a partnership project between Housing New Zealand and the EPA.

The programme is targeted at ensuring homes have safe storage for hazardous substances and working with tenants to improve the safety of children, says Nick.

Monitoring the Effectiveness of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 can be downloaded from www.epa.govt.nz/saferhomes

Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith says he was hospitalised after inadvertently using paint stripper as mouth wash that was left in his bathroom