"WASHINGTON -- The government is moving to ban the sale of some popular rat and mouse poisons such as D-Con and Hot Shot in an effort to protect children and pets.

The Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it is taking the step to reduce the thousands of accidental exposures of children that occur every year from rodent-control products.

'Today's action will help keep our children and pets safe from these poisons,' Steve Owens, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said in a statement.

The EPA said children are particularly at risk for exposure to rat and mouse poisons because the products typically are placed on floors and young children sometimes place bait pellets in their mouths."

Stacy A. Anderson reports for the Associated Press June 7, 2011. [2]