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IN THIS ISSUE:
· Keeping an Eye on Safety
· Cancer Prevention in the Workplace
· Scott's Corner
· Your Thoughts, Please
· Try ClarityNet HD® Free for 30 Days!
· Protect Workers from Glutaraldehyde
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September 15, 2006
Volume 4, Number 18 |
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KEEPING AN EYE ON SAFETY
BLS finds men more at-risk for eye injury
Men are more likely than women to experience an eye injury while on the job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
BLS reports that in 2004, male employees accounted for 80 percent of eye injury cases. The majority of these injuries (55 percent) occurred among workers aged 25 to 44 years. Nearly 61 percent of all eye injury cases occurred in manufacturing, construction or trade (wholesale and retail).
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CANCER PREVENTION IN THE WORKPLACE
ACOEM publishes quick tips for employees, employers
Millions of Americans are battling cancer, a disease that can result in adverse or fatal health outcomes, high healthcare costs and reduced workplace productivity. However, with early detection and quality care, patient outcomes are improving, reports the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
In ACOEM's 2006 annual checklist, released this past Labor Day, the association noted that it is important to remember that many cancers are preventable by addressing workplace exposures and individual lifestyle choices.
Here are some tips for employees from ACOEM's checklist:
- Don't use tobacco products and avoid exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.
- If you use tobacco, identify a program that will help you quit.
- Maintain a healthy diet and an appropriate weight.
- Look for healthy food choices in your company cafeteria, break rooms and vending machines. Find out if your company offers nutritional counseling and provides access to weight-control programs.
- Exercise regularly.
- If you are not physically active, design a personal workout program that is appropriate for you. Consider using stairs whenever possible and wearing a pedometer to track your steps each day.
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Click here to download the full checklist from ACOEM. |
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SCOTT'S CORNER
A message from E. Scott Geller, Ph.D.
Benefits of Mindfulness
Being mindful benefits four key elements of effective safety.
- Training
- Leadership
- Teamwork
- Involvement
Understanding mindful versus mindless behavior gives us insight into individual perceptions and interpersonal conflict. When we listen to conversations based on mindless labeling or see mindless behavior, we understand how it leads to nonproductive relationships and at-risk behaviors. By diagnosing a situation more accurately, we can develop an effective intervention process.
Edited from the book, People-Based Safety: The Source.
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Click here or call
1-888-201-1150 to learn more about the next evolution in safety... People-Based Safety™.
Click here to visit the People-Based Safety™ blog!
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YOUR THOUGHTS, PLEASE
OSHA seeking public comment on GHS
Now is your chance to comment on OSHA's efforts to implement the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals. OSHA published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Sept. 12 Federal Register, seeking public comment.
The GHS is a system for standardizing and harmonizing the classification and labeling of chemicals by providing a comprehensive approach to defining the health and physical hazards of chemicals, creating classification processes, and communicating hazard information through uniform labels and safety data sheets.
Adoption of GHS, a system already accepted by the United Nations, will require OSHA to make changes to the agency's Hazard Communication Standard.
Written comments (in triplicate) must be submitted no later than Nov. 13, 2006, to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. H-022K, Room N2625, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.
Click here to submit electronic comments.
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To help those unfamiliar with GHS, the agency has prepared a guidance document that summarizes the GHS requirements.
Click here for the document. |
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TRY CLARITYNET HD® FREE FOR 30 DAYS!
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Register for your FREE trial today—this offer expires 9/26/06! Please allow 7-10 days for Coastal Technical Support to get your site up and running.
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Click here to read about how ClarityNet® is being used to train more than 1,000 employees at Shell Deer Park Refining. |
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PROTECT WORKERS FROM GLUTARALDEHYDE
New NIOSH topic page tells how
Glutaraldehyde, a colorless, oily, liquid-chemical with a pungent odor, is used in many workplaces in a number of applications, from a sterilant in the healthcare industry to a biocide in metalworking fluids to an antimicrobial in water-treatment systems. While useful in these work processes, glutaraldehyde can be harmful to workers if inhaled or if it contacts the skin.
According to a new safety and health topic webpage on NIOSH's website, adverse health effects for exposed workers include:
- Throat and lung irritation
- Asthma and difficulty breathing
- Nose irritation
- Sneezing
- Wheezing
- Burning eyes and conjunctivitis
- Contact and/or allergic dermatitis.
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Click here to read more about glutaraldehyde, including recommended work practices, on NIOSH’s new topic page. |
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