CPSC NEISS · code 956

Bleaches (noncosmetic)

Bleaches (noncosmetic): danger rank #213 of 838 is not ER-volume rank #122 of 838 (19,510 estimated ER visits a year; roughly flat over the last five years).

Home Workshop Tools & Equipment CPSC NEISS through 2024

Danger score versus ER volume

Danger score versus ER volume

According to CPSC NEISS 2005-2024, Bleaches (noncosmetic) ranks #213 of 838 by danger score (39/100) at ER-volume #122 of 838 (19,510/yr). They are not the same ranking.

#213
danger rank of 838
#122
ER-volume rank of 838
39/100
danger score
19,510/yr
estimated ER visits (avg)

Danger score combines injury volume, hospitalization, fatality, and five-year trend. ER volume is the average annual NEISS estimate alone. Rank 1 is highest on each list.

Where this category's danger score sits nationally

Danger score (39/100) across 838 scored CPSC product categories

39 Around the middle lower than 25% of 838 product categories

scored CPSC product categories, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more product categories. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source CPSC NEISS, PlainSafety danger-score model · 2024

Composite verdict

Composite Safety Score: 52/100

One verdict blending 4 independently-sourced dimensions from two separate CPSC systems, each benchmarked against all 838 scored product categories by percentile rather than raw value, so no single huge-volume category can dominate the scale.

C
Dimension Value National percentile Weight applied Source
Injury severity (hospitalization + fatality blend) 4 37th 35% CPSC NEISS 20-year severity index
Annual ER injury volume 19,510 81st 30% CPSC NEISS estimated annual ER-treated injuries
5-year injury trend -7% 54th 15% CPSC NEISS 5-year % change in ER-treated injuries
Consumer incident reports 5 34th 20% CPSC SaferProducts.gov public incident report count

Methodology: each dimension is ranked against the full population's p10/p25/p50/p75/p90 breakpoints and interpolated to a 0-100 percentile; the composite is the weighted average of available percentiles. See methodology for the full benchmark table.

Where 390,201 estimated ER injuries land on the body

Body-part shares from the same CPSC NEISS injury_types extract for product code 956. Segments sum to 390,201 - a body-map mix, not a danger score or ER-volume rank.

Two danger lenses

Same-group peer scores and this product's dial

The bars compare PlainSafety danger scores inside the Home Workshop Tools & Equipment group (same CPSC NEISS extract). The dial is this product's score alone on the Low/Moderate/High bands. Do not read a peer bar as an ER-visit count.

Home Workshop Tools & Equipment danger scores

1. Gasoline47/1002. Methyl Alcohol (solvent)45/1003. Caustics43/1004. Lye42/1005. Gasoline Cans41/1006. Paints, Varnishes Or Shel…41/1007. General Purpose Household…41/1008. Bleaches (noncosmetic)39/100
Higher score = higher composite danger in this group. Peer set is other scored products sharing the same CPSC group.
0/100100/10039/100
PlainSafety danger score · Bleaches (noncosmetic)

Source: CPSC NEISS danger-score model As of 2024

How this 39/100 score is built

The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for bleaches (noncosmetic) - no opinion, no editorializing:

  • Injury volume 19,510 ER visits/yr High volume
  • Severity (hospitalization rate) 4.3% Below median admission rate
  • Fatality rate 0.00% No recorded fatalities
  • 5-year trend-7%

Band labels compare this category against the corpus of 838 scored CPSC product categories, see the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.

What the CPSC Data Shows

Across the 20-year NEISS window from 2005 to 2024, injury counts for bleaches (noncosmetic) are roughly flat over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2017 (23,628 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2007 (15,409 estimated visits). The single most common ER diagnosis is poisoning to the all parts body, accounting for approximately 214,189 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by burn, chemical to the eyeball (38,569 cases). The 0-4 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 92,180 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 4.3% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.

Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 5 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how bleaches (noncosmetic) fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.

Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)

14K16K18K20K22K24K26K 20052008201120142017202020232024 21K
Estimated annual emergency-room visits for Bleaches (noncosmetic), CPSC NEISS

Source: CPSC NEISS national injury estimates As of 2024

Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only

Who Gets Injured?

Age Group Male Female Total
0-4 55,671 36,509 92,180
5-14 11,032 11,341 22,373
15-24 15,804 30,046 45,850
25-34 16,437 37,369 53,806
35-44 17,421 36,952 54,373
45-54 17,383 30,868 48,251
55-64 15,235 24,248 39,500
65-74 7,832 14,440 22,272
75+ 3,604 7,964 11,568

Most Common Injuries

Body Part Diagnosis Est. Injuries
All Parts Body Poisoning 214,189
Eyeball Burn, Chemical 38,569
Eyeball Derma/conjunct 35,996
Eyeball Other 20,552
Eyeball Contusions, Abr. 7,646
Hand Burn, Chemical 5,562
Hand Derma/conjunct 5,230
Upper Trunk Other 3,827
Face Burn, Chemical 3,287
Face Other 2,963
Foot Burn, Chemical 2,942
Face Derma/conjunct 2,928
All Parts Body Other 2,772
All Parts Body Anoxia 2,701
Lower Arm Burn, Chemical 2,240

Severity Breakdown

Treated/examined And Released 91.2% (355,817)
Treated And Admitted/hospitalized 3.5% (13,598)
Left Without Being Seen 3.0% (11,763)
Held For Observation 1.4% (5,346)
Treated And Transferred 0.9% (3,661)
Unknown, Not Stated 0.0% (16)

ER Visit Narratives

Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.

Age 10 · Female · All Parts Body · Poisoning · 2024

10YOF TOOK A SIP OF BLEACH INTENTIONALLY SHE THOUGHT SHE COULD POSSIBLY DIE FROM DOING THIS. SHE RECENTLY WAS STARTED ON *** AND *** APPROX 6 WEEKS AGO AND HAS HAD IMPULSIVE ACTIONS SINCE THAT TIME. DX: SUICIDAL IDEATION, INTENTIONAL INGESTION

Age 31 · Female · All Parts Body · Poisoning · 2024

31YOF PRESENTS TO ED FOR COUGH. PT STATES SHE HAS HAD A COUGH FOR 2 WKS. PT CONCERNED SHE FOUND MOLD IN BEDROOM BEFORE CHRISTMAS AND INHALED IT. PT ALSO CONCERNED INHALED BLEACH WHICH SHE WAS TRYING TO CLEAN THE MOLD WITH. PT WORKS NIGHTS AT HOSPITAL AND UNABLE TO GET TIME OFF TO SEEK CARE. DX: URI

Age 3 · Male · Face · Derma/conjunct · 2024

3YOM PUT IS HAND IN THE MOP BUCKET THAT HELD BLEACH AND ***, DX RASH TO FACE

Age 72 · Female · Not Stated/unk · Other · 2024

72YOF PRESENTS TO THE ED WITH SLIGHT BLURRINESS TO LEFT EYE. REPORTS POURING BLEACH AND SPLASHING SOME INTO HER LEFT EYE. RINSED IMMEDIATELY. DX: NONE (AMA)

Age 24 · Female · Finger · Derma/conjunct · 2024

24 YOF C/O RASH ON RIGHT 5TH FINGER AFTER CLEANING SHEETS WITH BLEACH RECENTLY. DX: RASH, DRY SKIN

Age 30 · Male · Eyeball · Contusions, Abr. · 2024

30 YOM ACCIDENTALLY SPLASHED BLEACH INTO HIS FACE AND EYES, DX; CORNEAL ABRASION

Age 52 · Male · Lower Arm · Contusions, Abr. · 2024

52YOM WITH PARANOIA AND THOUGHT THERE WERE BUGS ON SKIN AND BLOOD AND HAS ABRASIONS ON FOREARM FROM CUTTING HIMSELF TO GET THE BUGS OUT . PT ALSO POURED BLEACH ON THE SKIN AS WELL . UNKNOWN WHICH OBJECT PT USED TO CUT HIMSELF . PT DID NOT CUT HIMSELF TO HURT HIMSELF DX: DX: SEPSIS

Age 23 · Female · All Parts Body · Poisoning · 2024

23YOF ACCIDENTALLY DRANK BLEACH INSTEAD OF WATER AT WARMING SHELTER, REPORTS BLEACH WAS IN WATER BOTTLE DX: BLEACH INGESTION

Age 50 · Female · All Parts Body · Poisoning · 2024

50YOF, DROPPED A GALLON OF BLEACH ON THE BATHROOM FLOOR THEN WAS CLEANING IT UP, EXPOSED TO THE FUMES AND DEVELOPED SHORTNESS OF BREATH, HISTORY OF ASTHMA, DX: EXPOSURE TO CHEMICAL INHALATION; MODERATE PERSISTENT ASTHMA

Age 33 · Female · All Parts Body · Poisoning · 2024

33YOF WAS CLEANING THE BATHROOM AT HOME WITH BLEACH AND DEVELOPED COUGHING AND WHEEZING AFTER INHALING THE FUMES DX: WEEZES

Age 42 · Male · All Parts Body · Poisoning · 2024

42YOM, CLEANING THE FLOOR WITH BLEACH AND SUDDENLY FELT LIGHTHEADED, WHILE WAITING TO BE SEEN HIS SYMPOTOMS RESOLVED, DX: EXPOSURE TO CHEMICAL INHALATION

Age 37 · Male · All Parts Body · Poisoning · 2024

37YOM WAS CLEANING HIS TOILET WITH SOME BLEACH CONTAINING TOILET CLEANER WHEN HE INHALED THE FUMES AND DEVELOPED SHORTNESS OF BREATH DX: INHALATION OF NOXIOUS FUMES

Consumer Incident Reports

Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.

9/22/2012 · Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received · S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. · New York

I cleaned my shower and the product burnt my eyes and skin.The area is very well-ventilated, and I've never had a problem with fumes before this. The bleach concentration seems much too high. This is a dangerous product.

8/1/2025 · Incident, No Injury · DELTA BRANDS INC. · Oklahoma

Ultra Concentrated Bleach tablets. Appearance imitates the size and shape of a candy. No child proof cap or other safety measures on packaging. Product sold by national retailer dollar general, so likely is nationwide. Increased potential for child ingestion due to unsafe packaging

5/14/2023 · Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received · AWESOME PRODUCTS, INC. · Alabama

I bought a bathroom cleaner that supposedly contained bleach, but was almost pure ammonia.

12/10/2015 · Injury, Emergency Department Treatment Received · KIK INTERNATIONAL LLC · Virginia

(11/27/2015) The consumer stated that he poured about 1/3 cup or less in the water to wash dishes. He did not use gloves. The consumer stated that he always use bleach in his dishwasher and had used this brand before. While he was washing dishes, he noticed that his hands were getting red and swollen. The consumer put [REDACTED] on his hands. (11/28/2015) The consumer stated on the next day his hands were painful, swollen and raw. He went to [REDACTED]General Hospital ER. The doctor diagnosed second degree chemical burns. (11/30/2015) The consumer contacted Walmart to advise them of what happened. He spoke with [RFDACTED] who took the information and gave the consumer a case number [REDACTED]. (12/2015) The consumer received a message from Walmart advising him that his claim had been referred to the manufacturer. (12/7/2015) The consumer was contacted by [REDACTED] from Kik Custom Products. He was advised that the batch was tested and it was fine. She advised the consumer that the manufacturer would not pay the claim because he did not wear gloves.

11/19/2012 · Injury, Emergency Department Treatment Received · CLOROX CO. · Colorado

(11/10/2012) The consumer stated that she sprayed the cleaner on the shower wall and in the tub of the bathroom. The consumer stated that her eyes started watering and her nose started running profusely. She stated that she wiped down and rinsed the walls and tub with clear water. She stated that this took about 15 minutes. The consumer stated that afterward she could not breath. She stated that she was wheezing and coughing. The consumer stated that the vent fan was on and the bathroom door was open. The consumer stated that she was coughing and had shortness of breath all night. She stated that she went to Associates in Family Medicine Urgent Care on !0/11/2012. The address is [REDACTED] The telephone number is[REDACTED]. She stated that she was seen by Dr. [REDACTED], Urgent care doctor on duty. She stated that she was given an albuterol sulfate nebulizer treatment because she could not breath. The he did an xray. The xray indicated reactive airway dysfunction symptom (RADS). She stated that it was caused from inhaling one of the chemicals in the product. She is being treated for inhaled irritant induced asthma. She was prescribed prednisone and albuterol nebulizer treatments at home. (11/15/2012)The consumer stated that she followed up with her health care provider, [REDACTED]. PA at[REDACTED][REDACTED] She was given an albuterol nebulizer treatment in her office.

Product Recalls

Search for active and past recalls related to bleaches (noncosmetic) on the CPSC website.

Compare beyond Home Workshop Tools & Equipment

Nationwide peers by danger score, ER volume & hospitalization

Three PlainSafety-derived comparison paths for Bleaches (noncosmetic): cross-group products nearest on danger score (39/100), estimated annual ER visits (19,510/yr), and hospitalization share (4.3%). Same-group neighbours stay in Related Products above.

Read with this product

About this data

CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports form the basis of this page. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments.

According to PlainSafety's CPSC NEISS corpus ranking, Bleaches (noncosmetic) ranks #213 of 838 scored CPSC product categories by PlainSafety danger score and #122 of 838 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does bleaches (noncosmetic) rank on danger score versus ER volume?

Among 838 scored CPSC product categories, bleaches (noncosmetic) ranks #213 by PlainSafety danger score (39/100) and #122 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume (19,510/yr). The two rankings come from the same NEISS extract and are not the same order.

What are the most common injuries from bleaches (noncosmetic)?

The most common injury is poisoning to the all parts body, accounting for approximately 214,189 injuries over 20 years.

Are injuries from bleaches (noncosmetic) increasing or decreasing?

Stable over 5 years.

Who is most at risk for bleaches (noncosmetic) injuries?

The 0-4 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 92,180 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.

What happens when someone is injured by bleaches (noncosmetic)?

Of all ER visits involving bleaches (noncosmetic), approximately 4.3% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (95.7%) are treated and released from the emergency department.

How can I report a safety problem with bleaches (noncosmetic)?

You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.

Data on Bleaches (noncosmetic) is compiled directly from CPSC NEISS and SaferProducts.gov records, current through 2024. See our methodology for details.

Disclaimer: This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.

PlainSafety is rendered directly from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall and incident records, no number is typed in by an editor. Product recall timelines and hazard labels are drawn from CPSC recall records for this product. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.