Since the publication of our first article ("Vision Testing: A Blind Spot in Occupational Safety," February 2009, page 47), we have been asked many questions, and most people wanted references to the research data.
A study in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report is timed to 2009 National Recreational Water Illness Prevention Week (May 18-24) with the aim of educating parents, instructors, pool maintenance workers, and others.
No one can predict when a chemical splash will occur. But we can plan for the possibility, put in place preventive and protective measures, and prepare for a quick emergency response.
As the weather grows cold and people start planning for the holidays, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have released two new research videos that illustrate the benefit of having sprinkler systems in homes. Scientists exposed two dry Christmas trees to an open flame in a living room mock-up built inside their laboratory and recorded the results.
It has always amazed me how a simple thing such as a lack of communication can not only lead to less-than-optimal results, but also that the sub-par performance can sometimes continue for decades! No example of this phenomenon is more readily apparent than the traditional approach used to irrigate injured eyes in commercial or industrial facilities.
The agency posted 14 letters of interpretation last Friday on topics ranging from HazCom to emergency eyewash, safe sharps, and construction safety training.
Workplace safety professionals who want the ability to interact with each other more than just once a year at trade shows and conferences now have a new resource.
When Keith Cooley, left, ordered a Cease Operation Order to be executed Thursday, it was only the third time the Michigan workplace safety agency had taken this action for a repeated failure to abate hazards.
It is hard to argue against the importance of the need for eyewashes and showers in the workplace, given the reported injuries to and incident statistics of workers who require medical treatment of some kind. Take eye injuries, for example—there are 800,000 reported eye injuries in the American workforce each year, many of which are caused by exposure to chemical hazards.
With 126 million receptors in each retina, our eyes are the primary means by which we experience the world. There's simply no way to put a value on our vision and its impact on our day-to-day activities. Unfortunately, the eyes are also the body part most vulnerable to injury in the workplace.More than 2,000 eye injuries occur on the job every day, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Almost 100,000 each year lead to temporary or permanent vision loss.
GLOBAL economic growth—spurred by the popularity of outsourcing manufactured goods—continues its unprecedented rise. During this period, it’s interesting to note that much of the offshore industrial windfall is focused within warmer, often downright hot, climates. Geographically warm areas in Asia are struggling to keep pace with a mushrooming demand for lower-cost parts, components, and finished products.
AS facility and safety managers have recognized the need for a range of safety solutions across many applications, much has been written about meeting American National Standard Institute (ANSI) requirements and the importance of routine emergency testing. The ANSI standards are mostly black and white, but there are other issues surrounding emergency equipment that are more like fuzzy shades of gray.
DO you remember the days of the typewriter? Correction tape, carbon paper . . . the days when editing usually meant re-composing your thoughts once again from scratch. The word processing capabilities of the modern computer changed all of that forever, and for the better! However, the ease of today's "copy and paste" functions can sometimes make it too easy to duplicate past directions without visiting appropriate changes.
CAPABLE of processing more than 36,000 bits of information an hour and utilizing more than 65 percent of the pathways to the brain, the human eye contributes nearly 85 percent of an individual’s total knowledge. Yet because the eye is often minimally protected, it is particularly vulnerable to injury--especially in the workplace.
OVER the years, great strides have been made in worker safety. Things have changed dramatically from the days when injuries, even deaths, were anticipated "costs" of progress and/or production. The true cost of worker injuries in terms of lost production, medical expenses, and human suffering eventually overtook the "you're lucky to have a job" mentality that pervaded the earlier part of the industrial age.
BACK in the days when it was acceptable to factor loss of life into the planning for major public works projects such as dams and bridges, compliance to safety standards was an afterthought. As personal safety became more of a focus, those unsafe conditions gave way to increasingly stringent current regulations and deviation penalties. Today, there are very clearly defined operational safety protocols and preparation requirements to deal with inevitable accidents due to neglect or other circumstances.
NO one plans to be involved in an industrial accident, but it happens. In Al's case, it was simply a matter of being in the wrong place at the right time. While returning to his work area from the tool crib, a drum of caustic material slipped off a forklift. The drum hit the side of an inventory rack and split open. Al was splashed across his left side, soaking his clothing from head to toe. A significant amount of the hazardous material struck his exposed face and hands.