It was the summer of 1981 and I was a newly enlisted U.S. Army Military Police soldier. My basic combat training took place just outside Anniston, Ala., at a now retired Army base known as Ft. McClellan.
Summer is upon us and after the very long and cold winter experienced nearly everywhere this year, not a day too soon. Summer brings with it the age-old question for many safety directors: do you use plain water or electrolyte beverages for hydration?
Every year thousands of eye injuries occur in
the workplace. Throughout the past few years,
stringent regulation and an ever-growing concern
for the health and well-being of employees has
brought advancements in processes, safety procedures,
and first aid protocols to treat the injured.
It is a misconception that hearing-impaired or deaf workers do not have to participate in a hearing conservation program. Like those with normal hearing, these workers still fall under OSHA, MSHA and FRA regulations for occupational noise exposures.
According to the OSHA Technical Manual, which prescribes workloads for workers under temperatures typically experienced outdoors during the summer months, to keep from exceeding the Threshold Limit Value (TLV) when the ambient temperature is above 86° F, the work regimen will consist of 25 percent work and 75 percent rest.
Today, our nation’s workforce is comprised of the highest percentage of workers aged 55 and older since the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) began reporting labor force data in 1948.
For more than 35 years, the ANSI/ISEA Z358.1 standard on emergency eyewash and shower equipment has been the authoritative document for equipment manufacturers, users, specifiers, installers and regulators.
Skin care in the workplace has been moving to the forefront the past several years. Some areas of concern for employers include protecting workers from the sun’s harmful rays; insect carrying diseases such as West Nile virus and Lyme disease; poisonous plants including poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac; and transmittable diseases from body contact such as the H1N1 virus.
Several factors go into the determination as to whether or not any given facility and/or job site requires an eyewash or shower system,” says Michael Pennington of Safety Management Group.
Long recognized as an especially dangerous work environment, farms are particularly hazardous to the children and adolescents who work and live on them.