July 2006
- 2006-2007 Buyer's Guide
- West Nile Virology
- Developing Performance-Based Goals and Outcomes
- Five-Gas Comes of Age
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Features
By Bill McCann, CSP
THE supervisor is on his daily walkthrough inspection when he notices damaged products staged to be shipped that morning. Upon inspection, it is clear a forklift caused the damage. There is no report of damage or injury from the prior shift, and of course the operators on duty have no idea how it happened. Relieved the product was found prior to being shipped, the supervisor separates the damaged product, knowing it will mean short shipping the customer.
By Cindy Baldwin, CIH
ACCORDING to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans spend an average of 90 percent of their time indoors. Approximately 50 percent of that time is spent in the work environment. Experts estimate that nearly 30 percent of office buildings nationwide experience some form of indoor air quality (IAQ) problems. Employers, building managers, and building owners are faced with complaints, worker's compensation claims, and even lawsuits.
By Michael C. Wright, Moniqua Suits, Thomas M. Green, Esq.
By Douglas Durney
SINCE Sept. 11, 2001, there has been an ever-increasing demand for civilian escape masks that are capable of protecting untrained users from chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) inhalants. The anthrax attacks around the country also furthered this demand. To respond to this concern and demand for personal protection, a number of companies began to market escape mask products to the general public and other untrained user populations.
By Michael Beckel
IN the world of hazardous materials, the Internet is the emerging tool of choice for providing material safety data sheets to employees and product purchasers downstream in commerce. Incorporated with an MSDS database, the Internet can be a cost-effective and efficient tool for Hazard Communication compliance and enhanced employee safety.
By Ronnie Rittenberry
MOSQUITOES suck. In the process, they inject a chemical that inhibits the body's ability to stop any bleeding that might begin. This chemical is mixed with the mosquito's saliva and, depending on whom or what the mosquito visited before you, other things can be mixed in, too. At best, a sated mosquito will leave you minus a few micrograms of blood and with perhaps a temporary itch. At worst, it will leave you dead within weeks.
By Joe Beck, Worley Johnson
CORPORATE America is often accused of focusing only on the bottom line, making profits. As anyone who has ever operated his own business will tell you, without profits, your business organization will soon cease to exist and a major void of earned income that supports families, businesses, and charities will result, causing them to suffer major impacts that threaten their very survival, as well.
By Jim Bolger, Myron Schwartz
FOR 30 years or more, industry and government managers have relied on injury statistics to rate the performance of safety programs and forecast the cost of worker's compensation insurance. While metrics such as Incident Rate and Lost Time Days are accurate measures of what has happened in the past, they are trailing indicators, do little to ferret out the cause of most accidents, and are of little use in understanding how well-trained, experienced machine operators manage to put their hands between immoveable objects and unstoppable blades.
By Katie McCarthy
CHEMICALS and a bustling workplace can lead to a lethal combination. Keeping track of what is being used, how it is being used, and the disastrous effects that may occur if it is used incorrectly can seem overwhelming. Chemical hazard communication is a difficult topic to manage, but there is hope out there.
By Marty Sharp
WE sometimes hear the expression, "His life is hanging by a thread." This becomes true literally for those who fall while protected by a "fall arrest system." By definition, this "system" consists of an anchorage connector, a body harness, a lanyard, deceleration device, lifeline, or a suitable combination of these.
By Matthew Marc Henry, EMT
WHAT exactly is "OSHA First Aid," and what do you need to do to comply with regulations for your industry?
By Karen D. Hamel
PERHAPS sparked by the devastating natural disasters and terrorist attacks the nation has experienced in the recent past, a renewed emphasis has been placed on ensuring that decontamination procedures are established and that they are a documented component of emergency response plans.
By Werner R. Haag, Ph.D.
MULTI-GAS detectors designed for use in confined space entry (CSE) are often not enough to protect against all chemical vapor hazards in the workplace. In their standard configuration, these meters have sensors for oxygen depletion, combustible gases (lower explosive limit or LEL), carbon monoxide (CO), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Such sensors cover the most common hazards--such as fires from natural gas, propane, or gasoline leaks, and asphyxiation in confined spaces due to lack of oxygen.
By Bob Henderson
CARBON dioxide is the fourth most common gas present in the earth's atmosphere, with an average ambient concentration (in fresh air) of about 350 ppm. Carbon dioxide is one of the most common byproducts of living organisms. With every exhaled breath, we produce and release CO2 into the atmosphere (with an average concentration in exhaled breath of about 3.8 percent).
By Mark H. Stromme
ONE of your employees--let's call him Joe Supervisor--is working on a job site where a backhoe is digging the foundation for a new office building. The soil is being loaded into large dump trucks. As you can imagine, the noise level from the backhoe and the trucks is almost deafening. Of course, Joe knows all about the consequence of hearing loss from exposure to noise; that's why he's wearing ear plugs.
By Wayne Elsey
PUNCTURE resistance has become the latest darling in safety footwear features for many manufacturers. Is it really a necessary component, or is it just an extra feature that offers little to no real value?
By Jon Adams
SINCE September 11, 2001, hospitals across the United States have invested in equipment to facilitate safe operations and communication during a crisis involving airborne infections or nuclear/biological/chemical (NBC) contaminants. The extent of this investment varies from one region of the United States to another and from one hospital to the next, but this much is clear:
Departments
By Marc Barrera
SINCE 9/11 and the events that followed, a spotlight has shown on the dangers faced by first responders, which has resulted for many Americans in a newfound sense of appreciation and support for police officers, firefighters, and military personnel for the tireless service they perform on a daily basis, often with little thanks.
By Stephen V. Magyar, Jr., MBA, CSP
AN accident is an unwanted event that is never scheduled or planned. Many factors contribute to accidents' occurrence; significant losses and even bodily injury can result following each incident. These basic facts are well understood, yet accidents continue to occur, property damage accumulates, work schedules remain interrupted, and injuries reduce personal income.