April 14th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
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eric in: Uncategorized
Storms are always a big threat to employees working outdoors. They bring about harsh winds that may cause falling trees, downed power lines, swaying of scaffolds and erosions in trenches.
But there’s another hazard that comes with storms and causes serious fatalities. This is no other than lightning, one of the serious killers of outdoor workers. While anyone can be a victim of this natural phenomenon, it’s a mistake to think that it cannot be avoided altogether.
Here are some guidelines in preventing this electrifying hazard:
- Always monitor weather conditions, especially when going outdoors. Be prepared to shut down the job if thunderstorms are forecast.
- Keep an eye on the weather throughout the day. Stay tuned to the radio for updates on the weather.
- If lightning threatens, seek shelter indooors.
- If a storm is up and you’re caught outdoors, seek the appropriate shelter. Here are examples of safe shelter sites:
* substantial buildings
* low ground — seek cover in clumps of bushes
* fully enclosed metal vehicles with the windows rolled up
* trees of uniform height
- The following are unsafe areas to seek shelter in:
* electric/power poles
* electrical equipment
* heavy and road machinery
* solitary trees
* high ground and caves
* water
* open fields
* all outdoor metal objects, like gates and fences
* high mast light poles
* metal bleachers
- You can determine the distance of lightning by listening carefully to the thunder that accompanies it. If you hear thunder, the associated lightning is at most 6-8 miles away. The distance lightning can strike ahead of a thunderstorm can also be a number of miles. If you hear thunder, immediately suspend activities while allowing enough time to seek shelter.
- If you feel your hair standing on end, and/or hear “crackling noises”, you are in lightning’s electric field and it is close.
- If lightning is extremely close to you and you are caught outside without shelter, immediately remove baseball cap and other metal objects and place them away from you. Put your feet together, duck your head, and crouch down low in baseball catcher’s stance with hands on knees.
- Wait at least 30 minutes from the last observed lightning or sound of thunder before resuming activities.
- Be cautious in following a thunderstorm as the lightning may not be over.
- If a co-worker gets struck by lightning, administer first aid immediately. Remember that it is safe to touch them as they do not carry an electric charge. Seek medical assistance immediately. .
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March 31st, 2009 at 11:51 am
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will be holding a meeting based on the effects of the federal economic stimulus package on the construction industry. The agency’s Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH) will meet on April 14-17, 2009 in Washington, D.C.
The main topic expected to be discussed in the meeting is the impact of the stimulus package on different aspects of construction safety. These aspects include equipment operations, road and bridge construction, green construction, and highway work zone.
The agency’s ACCSH workgroups will meet at the U.S. Department of Labor, Frances Perkins Building, Rooms N-3437 A-C, 200 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210.
Here are topics to be discussed on the two days of workgroup meetings:
- Women in Construction – 8:15 a.m. to 9:45 a.m., April 14
- Rollover Protective Structures – 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., April 14
- Power Fastening Tools (Nail Guns) – 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m., April 14
- Silica – 2:15 p.m. to 3:45 p.m., April 14
- Residential Fall Protection – 3:45 p.m. to 5:15 p.m., April 14
- Regulatory Compliance (Focused Inspections) – 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., April 15
- Education and Training – 10:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., April 15
- Trenching – 12:45 p.m. to 2:15 p.m., April 15
- Multilingual (explores safety issues created by language differences) – 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., April 15
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March 26th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
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eric in: Uncategorized
Health screenings in 13 counties in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia will be provided to miners starting this week. This is a free service provided by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to detect early signs of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis.
The Dark Truth Behind Black Lung
Coal workers’ pneumoconiosis is also conveniently known as “black lung”. While a serious lung disease, it is a preventable condition usually acquired on the jobsite, particularly because of prolonged or frequent inhalation of coal mine dust.
NIOSH says that the disease may present few or no symptoms. But with increased exposure to coal mine dust, the lungs may become scarred and the miner may experience shortness of breath. In severe cases, black lung may lead to disability or, worse, death.
Free and Confidential Screening
Green County, Pennsylvania is among the first counties to have its health screenings as miners can benefit from the free testing as early as this week. Under the Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, every working underground coal miner has the right to undergo the chest X-ray screening for free.
For the 13 counties in the said states, NIOSH will provide not only X-ray screenings but also a breathing test and an interview to identify potential health concerns. NIOSH then provides the miners with results of the screening, which should remain confidential, as dictated by law.
You may directly contact NIOSH for more details on the testing schedule by calling them toll free at 888-480-4042.
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March 18th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Better transportation safety is expected as billions of dollars are allocated for the building and repair of roads, highways and bridges nationwide. President Barack Obama recently released $26.6 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act (ARRA) to states and local transportation authorities.
More Jobs
Not only is this step a leap for transportation safety nationwide, it also translates to more jobs. “This investment in highways will create or save 150,000 jobs by the end of next year, most of them in the private sector,” President Obama said. “The jobs that we’re creating are good jobs that pay more than average; jobs grinding asphalt and paving roads, filling potholes, making street signs, repairing stop lights, replacing guard rails,” he said.
100 Transportation Projects…and More
To date, state highway departments have identified more than a hundred transportation projects across the U.S., which total to more than $750 million in budget. But this figure is expected to multiply as more states submit certifications and start to receive project approvals.
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March 11th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
There’s no better time to drop by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) website than now when the agency just published helpful information about skid-steer loaders safety, cable tray hazards and process safety management. Concerns about the first two subjects were addressed through the latest SHIBs (Safety and Health Information Bulletins) published in the website.
Equipment and Tool Safety
The Skid-steer Loader SHIB emphasizes the safety features of the equipment that are often defeated, bypassed or improperly maintained. The Cable Tray SHIB titled “Safely Installing, Maintaining and Inspecting Cable Trays” discusses the hazards that come with overloading cable trays. It looks into the matter further by identifying specific OSHA and National Electric Code requirements that help avoid these hazards.
Safety with Process Materials
To say that working with or near hazardous chemicals can cause fatalities is an understatement. OSHA recognizes this huge risk that’s why it produced the new resource Process Safety Management Depends on You!. This SHIB, which comes in the form of a poster and a QuickCard, is basically a helpful reminder to employers and employees about how critical it is to properly manage hazards in processing highly hazardous chemicals.
Companies in and near Illinois have the opportunity to learn more about process safety management by attending a three-day seminar on the subject. This will be held on March 16-18 in Naperville, Ill. Just click HERE to begin registration for the course.
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February 27th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
President Barack Obama recently signed a budget blueprint that seeks to increase funding to the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). With the increase, OSHA can “vigorously enforce workplace safety laws and whistleblower protections, and ensure the safety and health of American workers,” the budget blueprint says.
“For the past eight years, the department’s labor law enforcement agencies have struggled with growing workloads and shrinking staff,” the budget blueprint said. “The president’s budget seeks to reverse this trend, restoring the department’s ability to meet its responsibilities to working Americans under the more than 180 worker protection laws it enforces.”
For AFL-CIO safety director Peg Seminario, Obama’s proposal is a welcome change in direction from the policies of President George W. Bush. During his term, Bush repeatedly proposed either cutting or freezing OSHA’s budget.
Randy Johnson, a vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said that instead of spending money to monitor every job site, OSHA should focus more on educating employers about workplace safety.
A New Day
Rep. Lynn Woolsey, a California Democrat and the chairwoman of a workforce protection panel in the House of Representatives said that Obama’s proposal “signals a new day” for workers.
“The health and safety of our workers is absolutely paramount, but under President Bush, enforcement of safety violations had been hindered by out-of-date regulations and inadequate funding,” she said. “Simply put, OSHA in recent years has failed in its obligation to protect our workers.”
Lawmakers also show signs that they will be making OSHA a bigger priority. In fact, there is now a 2009 appropriations bill before Congress that seeks to increase spending for OSHA and requires the agency to perform better in tracking injuries and illnesses. The bill proposes a $27 million increase to the agency’s budget, making it a total of $513 million. The bill requires that the increase not only be used to rebuild OSHA’s enforcement capacity but also to increase the pace at which the agency creates new safety standards.
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February 24th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
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eric in: Uncategorized
A coal mine in Northern China, which for years had taken pride in an exemplary safety record, was the site of a gas explosion blast last Sunday. To date, the death toll has risen to at least 74 miners, while 114 others were hospitalized. It is not clear, though, if all the bodies have been recovered. Besides being China’s deadliest mine disaster in more than a year, this tragedy highlighted the many hazards of China’s mining industry which make it the deadliest in the world.
According to the official Xinhua News Agency, 436 miners were in the Tunlan Coal Mine when the blast occurred at about 2:17 a.m. The agency also said that most of the injured miners were suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning.
One survivor told Xinhua, “Power supply underground was cut off and we had to walk.” He added that he remembered being ordered to flee because their ventilation system had broken down. While he was equipped with an oxygen tank underground, he fainted after walking for 40 minutes.
The Tunlan Coal Mine is owned by Shanxi Coking Coal Group, the largest producer of coking coal, a raw material used in producing steel. Xinhua said besides operating 28 mines, the Tunlan Coal Mine has among the best facilities in China and has not had a major accident in the last five years.
According to a State Administration of Work Safety duty officer they are still investigating the cause of the explosion.
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February 20th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
February 19th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
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eric in: Uncategorized
Good news recently graced the mining industry as the Mining Safety and health Administration released preliminary data showing that mine fatalities in 2008 dropped to 31 percent from 2007. This is the lowest recorded number of fatalities in the mining industry. Since the very first time statistics were recorded in 1910, the lowest recorded fatality rate in the sector is that in metal/nonmetal mines.
“Although these numbers demonstrate continuing improvements at our nation’s mines, they also represent significant loss to the families and friends of 51 miners,” said Richard E. Stickler, acting assistant secretary of labor for MSHA. “We must continue to be vigilant in our efforts to bring all miners home safe and healthy at the end of every shift.”
Stickler also cited some of the agency’s milestones in 2008, which include the implementation of eight final rules and the first completion of all mandated safety and health inspections.
You can visit the MSHA site to check out the detailed summary of the agency’s enforcement and assessment activities, as well as the mining industry’s safety and health performance from fiscal year 2000 to 2008.
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February 18th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
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eric in: Uncategorized
About a year ago, the whole nation was appalled with news of the explosion in the Imperial Sugar Refinery in Port Wentworth, Georgia. The tragedy claimed fourteen lives of workers and injured dozens others. As response to this unfortunate event, the Democratic members of Congress introduced the Worker Protection Against Combustible Dust Explosions and Fires Act, H.R. 849. When approved, this bill would require OSHA to issue rules regulating combustible industrial dusts like those caused by sugar.
Rep. John Barrow, D-GA; Rep. George Miller, D-CA; and Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-CA (chairman of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee) are the sponsors of this measure.
It was both unfortunate and ironic, though, that a day before the bill’s introduction, an explosion occurred in Wisconsin. Six workers were injured when a coal-dust collector in a power plant exploded as it was being cleaned.
“This deadly workplace hazard has been known and understood too long for us to continue to do nothing,” said Rep. George Miller. “I hope that with today’s bill introduction and the arrival of a new administration, our nation will finally help workers and business stop these preventable, and all too often, deadly explosions,” he said.
The proposed act includes provisions to minimize hazards through worker training, engineering controls, improved housekeeping, and a written combustible dust safety program. It would direct OSHA to issue interim rules on combustible dust within 90 days.
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Disregarding Safety Will Cost You Twice
