Environmental Health and Safety Update

Watch this short video on fireworks safety to prepare you and your family this weekend. http://safetyskills.com/fireworks-safety-training

The weather is hot and it’s only getting hotter. There are so many fun things and events that people associate with hot weather -  the sun, the beach, swimming, cook outs and the Fourth of July. Children and the inner child of many adults look forward to Fourth of July because it is one of the only times they are allowed to light things on fire and set up explosive fireworks while the whole family watches. As fun and exciting as it is when you gather the family around to enjoy the display, you also must keep in mind that it can get dangerous. Each year fireworks cause thousands of major and minor injuries mostly to young people. With the proper firework safety training, this year’s Fourth of July can ensure that everyone can have a blast (no pun intended) the safe way!

SafetySkills™ would like to ensure that you and your family have a safe and happy Fourth of July by offering a completely free 15 minute course on the hazards and safe use of fireworks. The course is available at http://safetyskills.com/fireworks-safety-training. To learn more information about SafetySkills™ and other free courses, please visit us at http://safetyskills.com/free-online-safety-training.

It’s that time of year when you have to add lawn mowing onto the never ending list of yard work that needs to be done. Before you bring out the lawn mower and listen to that loud purring that is synonymous with summer, here are a few things to think about to make sure this chore doesn’t mow you down, literally. Did you know that each year more than 70,000 people end up in the emergency room because of a lawn mower accident? Now you may be thinking that you know how it’s done, after all you’ve been mowing the lawn since you were 12. But consider yourself lucky because more than 7,000 injuries are children under the age of 15. (Source: www.ehstoday.com)

Sure, millions of people mow the lawn every day and walk away with only a tan or in some cases, sunburn and a serious need for a shower. But we at SafetySkills™ know that it is important to prepare for the unexpected. So before you pull out that lawn mower or teach your child the necessary evils of maintaining a lawn in the summer, make sure you take a few minutes to go over the basic safety precautions of lawn maintenance. This is a free course and when you have completed the course you can now consider yourself the Grand Master of All Things Lawn Safety Related on your block (if you don’t, we will). All this can be yours even before you finish your nice, cold glass of lemonade. You can view our course at http://safetyskills.com/off-the-job-safety-series/lawn-mower-safety. For more information on other off the job safety courses or workplace safety, visit us at safetyskills.com

Come see Scott and Jill at this year’s ASSE Show in Chicago on Monday June 13. We would love to hear from you on ways that we can improve and suite your needs better. Visit the show’s website for more information on ASSE. http://www.asse.org/education/pdc11/

On May 25 2011, OSHA had issued a news release concerning the US Department of Labor’s fines of over $1.2 million to AMD Industries of Cicero, IL. According to the news release, AMD Industries violated OSHA regulations after 5 unprotected and untrained workers were allegedly required to conduct asbestos removal which had exposed the workers to cancer causing material. This is not the first time that AMD had a run in with OSHA laws. In December 2010 the company was issued 19 willful and 8 serious health citations. At that time, AMD was conducting an in house asbestos removal project using untrained workers. AMD had failed to provide protective respirators or even warn the workers of the risk to their health. (Source: www.osha.gov)

The general public may be exposed to asbestos in small doses daily in the air. Most people who develop asbestos related diseases were exposed to asbestos at their workplace. The greater the exposure to large quantities of asbestos, the greater the risk of developing a related illness. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. To keep employees safe, employers must know the forms and toxicity level of asbestos. SafetySkills™ provides an Asbestos Hazard Awareness course available at http://safetyskills.com/occupational-health-and-safety-series/asbestos-hazard-awareness This course provides information on the basics of identifying asbestos hazards and how to eliminate the hazards in the workplace. For more information on this courses and other safety training courses, please visit us at safetyskills.com

The National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention has designated that today, the Friday before Memorial Day as “Don’t Fry Day”. The goal of this campaign is to encourage sun safety awareness by reminding everyone to use sun protection while enjoying the outdoors. Start this Memorial weekend off by taking the pledge to not fry today or any day. Millions of Americans will be enjoying the unofficial start to summer this weekend and with all the excitement it is easy to forget to pack the SPF. Did you know that more people will be diagnosed with skin cancer this year than breast, prostate, lung and colon cancer combined? (Source: www.skincancerprevention.org) You can still enjoy the outdoors and stay safe by putting on a shirt, wearing sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher, wearing a hat or sunglasses or hanging out in the shade. You also check the UV index in your area to prevent overexposure to the sun by going to http://www.epa.gov/sunwise/uvindex.html. For this year’s “Don’t Fry Day”, go beyond sunscreen to protect your skin.

OSHA is proposing to revise its Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Recordkeeping regulation to include a column on the OSHA Form 300 Injury and Illness Log (OSHA 300 Log). This revision would require employers to check a column if a case they already are required to record is a work related musculoskeletal disorder (MSD). The proposed rule would also require employers to put the totals from the MSD column on the OSHA Form 300A Annual Summary at the end of the year.

OSHA held a teleconference in April 2011 to gather information from representatives of small businesses about their experience recording work related MSDs and how they believe they would be impacted by OSHA’s proposed rule. The proposed rule would not change existing requirements about when and under what circumstances employers must record any work related injury or illness. The new rule would only apply to cover MSDs that employers are already required to record under the current OSHA Recordkeeping rule. One small business participant of the teleconference believes that the proposed rule will increase the need for a more thorough investigation to correctly classify work related MSDs. OSHA is still taking comments on the topic until June 16th 2011.

SafetySkills™ offers a training course that focuses on OSHA’s current standards of reporting and recordkeeping. This course is available at http://safetyskills.com/occupational-health-and-safety-series/osha-reporting-and-recordkeeping. This course will identify OSHA’s general requirement for injury/illness, identify OSHA’s required reporting forms and identify the types of incidents the OSHA requires to be reported. To learn more about this course and others, please visit us at safetyskills.com

Some of the most talented people throughout history were left handed, but according to several published reports being left handed can be a detriment to your safety. It makes a lot of sense why life as a lefty would be slightly more challenging, having to purchase left handed scissors, more difficulty writing because the binding is on the left, even driving a standard is meant for the right handed.

So how exactly could being left handed be a problem for you in terms of safety? Several studies have found that lefties die younger than righties and also have more accidents. The truth of the matter is that we live in a right handed world and this plays as a significant obstacle for left handed men and women. When it comes to safety, it is common sense that if something doesn’t fit correctly or is not use as intended an accident or injury is more likely to occur. This can easily happen with power tools, scissors, cooking tools, etc. Taking this into account in the workplace is very important to avoid injury. Employers need to take the time to find out which employees are left handed and provide them with the proper materials to perform their job, such as tools made for lefties.

And now for fun, here are some famous lefties from the past and present. Enjoy!

Unless you have been living under a rock, you have heard about the tragic death of SeaWorld San Diego orca trainer, Dawn Brancheau. She was drowned by a 6-ton killer whale named Tilikum when he grabbed her by her ponytail with his teeth and dragged her under water.

The most heartbreaking part of the story is how this type of situation could have been prevented. According to SeaWorld policy, all animal trainers are required to have their hair pulled back as a safety precaution and even train the animals to not pull hair. Unfortunately, this particular whale was not trained on this and was even classified as an animal whose pool trainers were not allowed to enter. It has been reported that SeaWorld is currently working to make changes to its safety protocol, specifically in relation to employees handling killer whales. Hopefully this horrific incident will result in more safety precautions that will help keep these employees safe.

With melamine-tainted milk continuing to be a problem in convenience stores in China, it brings a very important issue up for everyone – how safe are our supermarkets? The U.S. has previously experienced various health concerns with fruits, vegetables and even peanut butter, but do we ever think of how the safe practices of supermarket employees could potential harm us?

Besides how supermarket safety can affect consumers, employees’ are at high risk of injury due to the variety of tasks that must be performed. Cashiers, bakery and deli workers, butchers and stockers all need specialized training to help them safely perform their job duties. SafetySkills™ has developed an online grocery and supermarket safety training series that addresses safety concerns in grocery stores. This series includes the following courses:

• Supermarket Safety – Backroom Safety
• Supermarket Safety – General Safety
• Supermarket Safety – Safe Lifting Basics
• Supermarket Safety – Bakery/Deli Safety
• Supermarket Safety – Meat Market Safety
• Supermarket Safety – Slips, Trips and Falls

According to Tiara Rye, a Homeland Assistant Frontend Manager, felt that the series “was very interactive…it is easy to use and covers all the basic points in safety.” She also encourages other members of this industry to use this training .

Take a look for yourself at http://safetyskills.com/supermarket-safety-series.