OSHA National Emphasis on Workplaces That Release Highly Hazardous Chemicals
     Facilities that could potentially release highly hazardous chemicals resulting in toxic fire or explosion hazards are the focus of a national emphasis program (NEP) developed by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The program establishes policies and procedures for inspecting workplaces that are covered by OSHA's process safety management (PSM) standard.
     The Chemical NEP, a one-year pilot program, outlines a new approach for compliance officers who conduct site inspections. The program's inspection process includes asking detailed questions designed to gather facts related to PSM requirements and verifying that employers' written and implemented PSM programs are consistent. The intent of the NEP is to conduct quick inspections at a large number of facilities that will be randomly selected from a list of worksites likely to have highly hazardous chemicals in quantities covered by the standard.

Click here for more information and to download the program guidelines.

Chemical Skin Hazard Strategy Revised by NIOSH to Provide More Useful, Detailed Notations
     The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) announced a new strategy it will use to help employers, workers, and others to better identify the occupational hazards posed through skin contact with chemicals in the workplace, and to take effective precautions. The strategy is described in a new publication, “NIOSH Current Intelligence Bulletin 61: A Strategy for Assigning New NIOSH Skin Notations.” It revises and updates the framework used by NIOSH for developing notations in the “NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards” to identify occupational skin hazards posed by workplace chemicals. Work-related skin diseases account for an estimated 15 percent to 20 percent of all reported occupational diseases in the U.S., with total annual costs of up to $1 billion. The Pocket Guide is widely used by safety and health professionals, businesses, and workers to identify and safeguard against potential occupational hazards from workplace chemicals.
     Under the new strategy, NIOSH will develop notations for the Pocket Guide to identify whether skin contact with a given chemical can result in direct effects such as skin irritation or skin corrosion, immune-mediated effects such as allergic contact dermatitis or asthma, systemic effects (toxic effects to the body’s biological systems, resulting from the absorption of the chemical through the skin), and/or fatal effects from extreme toxicity. For example, a chemical for which skin contact would result in the direct effect of irritation would have the notation “SK: DIR (IRR).” Also, when numerous hazards are associated with skin contact, notations would be assigned accordingly; for example, a chemical associated with systemic toxicity and corrosion through skin contact would be identified with the notation “SK: SYS-DIR (COR).”

Click here for more information and to download DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2009-147.

Update on "No Fit Test" Respirator Workshop
     The final report of the workshop held last year in now available from the University of Minnesota's website. This workshop focused on the nature and process of product innovation and development in negative pressure half-facepiece respirators to gauge the current "state of the art" and to stimulate new designs or approaches for improved respirator fit. The results of this workshop will lead to a better understanding of how future NIOSH research can encourage on-going development of better fitting respirators without compromising long-term protection.
     The full final report is available together with PDF versions of PowerPoint presentations from the workshop.

• "No Fit Test" Respirator Research Workshop Goals
• Innovations in Respirator Design and Fit Testing
• Experiences from Respiratory Protection Program Managers
• Describing the Problem: Experiences from Users
• Respirator Fit: Experiences And Perspectives Of The AFL-CIO
• Construction Respirator Use
• Respiratory Protection Preparedness at North Carolina Carolina's Health's Departments
• Experiences of Small Business Respirator Innovation
• Current Progress Toward Better Fitting Respirators
• Overview of NIOSH Research for Improving and Understanding Respirator Fit: Past, Present, and Future
• Respirator Projects: Veterans Health Administration (VHA)
• Lew Radonovich, Veterans Administration No Fit-Test Respirator: Thoughts on Future Research in the Materials and Structures Areas
• New Materials and Designs to Improve Respirator Fit
• New Fit Test Methods to Ensure Long-term Fit
• Knowledge Gaps About Fit

Click here for access to these reports.

NIOSH Safety and Health Topic: Occupational Cancer
     Based on well-documented associations between occupational exposures and cancer, it is estimated that approximately 20,000 cancer deaths and 40,000 new cases of cancer each year in the U.S. are attributable to occupation. Millions of U.S. workers are exposed to substances that have tested as carcinogens in animal studies. However, less than 2% of chemicals in commerce have been tested for carcinogenicity.
     Cancer is a group of different diseases that have the same feature, the uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells. Each different type of cancer may have its own set of causes. Many factors play a role in the development of cancer. The importance of these factors is different for different types of cancer. A person's risk of developing a particular cancer is influenced by a combination of factors that interact in ways that are not fully understood. Some of the factors include:

• Personal characteristics such as age, sex, and race
• Family history of cancer
• Diet and personal habits such as cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption
• The presence of certain medical conditions
• Exposure to cancer-causing agents in the environment
• Exposure to cancer-causing agents in the workplace

In many cases, these factors may act together or in sequence to cause cancer.

Click here for more information and NIOSH resource links.
 

News You Can Use

Protect Yourself From Poisonous Plants
     The National Safety Council reminds you to protect yourself from the sun and other summer health risks, such as poisonous plants. Contact with poisonous plants can cause severe allergic reactions and may even require a trip to the emergency room. Serious symptoms include fever; weeping rash; or swelling of the face, mouth or neck. Most rashes from poisonous plants can be treated at home. However, moderate and severe cases should be treated by a doctor, who may prescribe medication to reduce the swelling and itch.

     To avoid exposure to poisonous plants, NSC recommends:

• When gardening, wear heavy ... gloves with shirt sleeves tucked inside. Avoid touching the clothing or gloves while removing them.
• If you work outdoors, garden or regularly spend time outside, learn how to identify poisonous plants, including poison ivy, oak and sumac.
• Treat itchy skin with a paste made of baking soda and water, calamine lotion or topical hydrocortisone cream, and an oral antihistamine, such as Benadryl.
• If your eyes are affected, call your doctor immediately. Wash contaminated clothing, shoes and pets.
• Never burn poisonous plants. Smoke can spread the poison.

Source: National Safety Council
 

Home Safety Guide from the Home Safety Council
     The Safety Guide includes tips to help you make your entire home safe. Whether you follow a room-by-room approach to home safety or are looking to make seasonal safety improvements to your home, the Safety Guide offers step-by-step tips and photos to help.
     Click the link below for safety tips you can use to protect against the leading causes of home injury.

• Falls Prevention
• Poison Prevention
• Fire and Burn Safety
• Choking and Suffocation Prevention
• Water Safety
• Disaster Preparedness
• Baby and Toddler Safety
• Child Safety
• Safe Seniors
• Seasonal Safety
• Safety Room-by-Room

Click here for more information.

Source: Home Safety Council
 

Study Shows Workplace Yoga, Meditation Can Reduce Stress
     Twenty minutes per day of guided workplace meditation and yoga combined with six weekly group sessions can lower feelings of stress by more than 10 percent and improve sleep quality in sedentary office employees, a pilot study suggests.
     The study offered participants a modified version of what is known as mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), a program established in 1979 to help hospital patients in Massachusetts assist in their own healing that is now in wide use around the world. In this context, “mindfulness” refers in part to one’s heightened awareness of an external stressor as the first step toward relaxing in a way that can minimize the effects of that stress on the body. While the traditional MBSR program practice takes up an hour per day for 8 weeks, supplemented by lengthy weekly sessions and a full-day retreat, the modified version developed at Ohio State University for this study was designed for office-based workers wearing professional attire.

Click here for the full report.

Source: EHS Today Magazine

Portable Electronics and Video Game Injury Prevention Tips

To prevent hand injuries while using portable electronics and video games, the American Society of Hand Theraposts recommends the following safety tips: 

• Tell your child to use a neutral grip when holding the controller.  
• Ask your child to take a break every hour or switch to another activity.  
• Don’t let your child sit back on his/her knees.
• Make sure the monitor is at the correct height. 
• If your child is typing, the keyboard should be at a height so that with his/her wrist/hands are straight, his/her forearms are parallel to the keyboard surface. 
• When using a gameboy ( a hand held device), encourage your child to put pillows in their laps and rest arms on pillows.  
• Whenever, possible your child should be sitting in an appropriate chair.   
• When s/he is using a single control device (like a mouse), encourage your child to switch hands frequently. 
• Have your child frequently focus on a distant object (away from the monitor) to help reduce eye fatigue.

Click here for the full report.

Source: American Society of Hand Therapists

1. GOOD (UN)VIBRATIONS - ANSI has adopted as an American Standard the international anti-vibration glove standard now to be known as ANSI S3.40/2002:ISO10819.  Be sure the vibration-reducing gloves you use are in compliance.
2. TIP TOP TOES - Steel toe boots and work shoes meeting ANSI A41 I/75 C/75 standards provide safe toe protection.
3. BREATHE DEEP BREATHE EASY - Gas detection instrumentation is available for single gas and multi-gas hazards.
4. LOCK IT UP - Lockout/tagout procedures and products are simple and convenient to use and assist in OSHA compliance.
5. AND WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS - New standards for first aid kits are based on intended use and hazards and should always be convenient and accessible.

Want more information on any of this month's Saf-T-Tips?  E-mail us for a prompt reply.

Chris Weismann has been with Saf-T-Gard for about 4 1/2  years as an accountant.

• What Chris likes about Saf-T-Gard: "The teamwork within my department and the challenging responsibilities I have."
• What makes Chris' day: "When all my numbers tie out!"
• Chris' outside interests are: "Running my kids to their many activities."