An occupational safety and health organization is using Facebook as an information clearinghouse for those working to clean up the East Coast after Superstorm Sandy.

The New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) is urging those involved in the post-storm efforts to visit its face book page: www.facebook.com/NYCOSH in order to ask questions, share concerns or report on hazardous conditions.

“Many are already performing heroically in responding to the needs of those affected by Hurricane Sandy; tens of thousands of workers in both the public and private sector will be involved in the clean-up efforts in the months to come,” says NYCOSH. “As we continue to support these efforts, we also want to ensure that no one is injured or made ill from doing this work.  As we witnessed with the September 11 attacks and with Hurricane Katrina, the hazards involved in clean-up work are numerous (click here for NYCOSH factsheet), and workers must understand the risks involved, must receive the training necessary to do the jobs safely, and must have the proper (personal protective) equipment necessary to perform their tasks safely.”  

The group says it hopes the exchange of information will also help to prevent harm to those affected by the storm.

Visitors to the NYCOSH Facebook page will have to log in or sign up in order to ask questions or make comments. Workplace health and safety experts will answer questions via the page. NYCOSH recommends that visitors not name companies in their questions.