Safety Currents Express

Click here to view this email in your browser. Safety Currents Express


	IN THIS ISSUE: · The Cost of Workplace Injuries? Nearly $50 Billion · Hear Ye! Hear Ye!: NIOSH, OSHA, NCHA Unite Against Hearing Loss · Scott's Corner · Get More Bang For Your Bucks with Coastal's Trainer's Toolkits^® · Eye-Popping Eye Injury Statistics · Rising Gas Prices Boost Driving Safety			April 15, 2008 Volume 6, Number 8

	The Cost of Workplace Injuries? Nearly $50 Billion Research reveals the high price of poor safety standards A Boston-based insurance company, Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety reports that workplace injuries are costing businesses $48.3 billion, 25% of which are related to pushing, pulling, lifting, holding and carrying. It is a surprising yet alarming find, considering the "harmlessness" of these tasks, as opposed to HAZMATS and other not-so-subtle dangers. The findings were released in the insurance company's Workplace Safety Index, which tallies the 10 major causes of injuries and their immediate impact to industry. Falls on the same level placed second, costing $6.6 billion in 2005. Meanwhile, falls to a lower level climbed the charts and gained the number 3 spot, now well beyond the "injuries from an incident free of bodily motion." Visit the National Safety Council website at here

	Hear Ye! Hear Ye!: NIOSH, OSHA, NCHA Unite Against Hearing Loss Three major agencies create a bang against a safety hazard. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has teamed up with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA) to boost hearing-loss prevention efforts. The alliance, signed last February 21, 2008, is surely set to make a bang, generate a lot of waves and assist the 30 million workers threatened by hazardous noise. This number still excludes the 9 million more exposed to solvents and metals. Indeed, the problem is severe, costing the national workforce an annual $242.4 million in disability alone. Together, the three agencies aim to disseminate information that will identify and prevent occupational hearing loss. They will also participate in local meetings and partner-sponsored conferences. In addition, they will share safety practices and publicize them through training programs, workshops, seminars, lectures and forums. The huge team-up will certainly boost safety initiatives and make more headway in hearing-loss prevention. Indeed, NIOSH Director John Howard M.D "looks forward to successes that we can achieve by working together under this formal agreement." Click here to view the full story.

	SCOTT'S CORNER ANXIOUS ABOUT HAZARDS? Dr. E. Scott Geller, Ph.D. explores the relationship between safety and anxiety. What is anxiety? My American Heritage Dictionary defines anxiety as "a state of uneasiness and distress about future uncertainties." Clearly, anxiety is an unpleasant state we want to avoid. But here, I'm not talking about a state, rather a trait. As a trait, anxiety is a relatively stable personality quality that determines one's motivational and emotional responsiveness to a particular circumstance. High-anxious people are energetic, high-strung, self-conscious, more nervous than average, and generally work under tension. At first, high anxiety seems to be an undesirable personality trait. But this is not necessarily so. Before bemoaning your own proneness toward high anxiety, consider the following reliable research finding. While high-anxious people perform less competently than low-anxious people on novel tasks or jobs they could not prepare for, they typically outperform those with lower anxiety on tasks for which they could prepare. Why? Because their strong desire to avoid the aversive anxiety feelings accompanying failure motivates them to do as much as possible to succeed. With proper proactive preparation, these individuals become success-seekers. The term anxiety carries negative baggage in our culture, so the premise that anxiety is good for safety might be difficult for some leaders to accept. If so, try substituting the analogous term "concern" for "anxiety." The bottom line is that people who have an ongoing inherent concern about the safety of themselves and others are more likely to do whatever it takes to prevent the occurrence of personal injury. Isn't this the kind of personality trait we hope to find among our safety leaders? These are the passionate safety leaders who are most likely to cultivate a state of anxiety or concern for safety throughout a work culture. Strange as it might sound, cultivating anxiety or concern, if you can properly moderate the level, is another way of enriching your culture and making it safer. Exerpted from the book, Leading People-Based Safety: Enriching Your Culture.			Click here or call 888-201-1150 to learn more about the next evolution in safety... People-Based Safety™. Click here to visit the People-Based Safety™ blog!


	Get More Bang For Your Training Bucks with Coastal's Trainer's Toolkits^® Special* Get the tools to make your job easier! Coastal's Trainer's Toolkits® deliver a great bang for your training buck with the training DVD, 20 employee handbooks and a poster – all for the price of an individual DVD! And, now for a limited time, you get even more value during Coastal's Trainer's Toolkit Special. Buy 2-9 Trainer's Toolkits^® for $395 each (a savings of $100) Buy 10+ Trainer's Toolkits^® for $295 each (a savings of $200) Hurry, don't miss out on our Toolkit Special* going until 4/30/08! Bonus Offer – Preview any 3 toolkit DVD or video programs by 4/22/08 and get a Stop Distracted Driving t-shirt FREE! Order your FREE 7-day Coastal Trainer's Toolkit^® previews today! Call 1-888-574-8531 or click here to have them shipped directly to your facility. Take advantage of this limited-time offer to add toolkits like these to your training library: Bloodborne Pathogens: Know The Risk Lockout/Tagout: Lightning In A Bottle Electrical Safety: Beware The Bite Fire Safey: Real, Real-Life^® Heat Stress: Don't Lose Your Cool** Special applies to Coastal S&E produced Trainer's Toolkits® only and may not be combined with other specials or used on previous purchases. *One t-shirt per customer while supplies last.

	Eye-Popping Eye Injury Statistics Workers must open their eyes to the risks. March was Workplace Eye Health and Safety Awareness Month, and two organizations provided the general public with eye-safety tips to promote the event. Eyeglass World and The LASIK Vision Institute aimed to bring eye safety to the foreground. The issue has lagged behind other safety concerns somewhat, with people worrying more about protecting their heads and bodies than protecting their eyes. Head injuries may be more fatal, but this is no reason to neglect eye-safety. And no doubt that lack of awareness has been a partial cause of the estimated 70,000 eye-related accidents that are costing the country's businesses $450 billion. The Bureau of Labor Statistics have cited the factors that compromise eye safety: flying objects, chemical contact (around 20% of injuries), improper PPE use (over 30% of injuries), and improper fit (a factor in 94% of injuries). But whatever the cause, people must open their eyes to the risks and practice the following guidelines: Enforce the use of proper PPE: goggles, face shields, visors, etc. Maintain PPE high quality. Choose the best and toughest material, like polycarbonate lenses. Keep PPE clean and functional as well. Customize PPE to ensure proper fit, comfort and convenience Hold regular safety meetings/seminars Provide on-site staff who can render immediate first-aid in case of injury Assess the risks at your workplace Click here for more details.

	Rising Gas Prices Boost Driving Safety A study explores the bright side of the oil price hike. Research by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) suggests that jacked-up gas prices may reduce fatalities linked to vehicle crashes and air pollution. The study, published last month in the ACOEM's Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, states that a 20 percent hike at the fuel pumps will result in 2,600 fewer deaths. To calculate the figures, the researchers created a model based on actual, 2003 gas prices and fatality rates. They know the study's limitations, of course, aware, for instance, that it neglects other factors that might influence the link between gas prices and death statistics. Even so, the findings may have some validity in them. Data from the 70s and 80s reveal that higher gas prices do correspond to fewer automobile-related deaths. But valid or not, the study is timely, especially in the context of "carbon taxes" amidst the global warming debate. Indeed, the authors speculate that "…vehicle crashes and air pollution will figure prominently in future analyses of the effects of gas prices on population health."

Volume 6, Number 8 | © 2008 Coastal Training Technologies Corp.
500 Studio Drive | Virginia Beach, VA 23452 | 888-574-8531 | www.coastal.com

For FREE online previews visit www.coastal.com. To have your FREE 7-day previews shipped directly to your facility, simply call 888-574-8531 or email sales@coastal.com. Please be sure to give your name, facility name, address and phone number.

Please note: Safety Currents Express is a complimentary bimonthly newsletter updating you on the latest trends, news and information. All issues may be forwarded in their entirety via e-mail. Materials in this issue may only be reprinted with permission.

Click here to visit our Safety Training blog!

This email was sent to %%email%% because of your business relationship with Coastal Safety and Environmental.
Privacy Policy
Coastal does not sell or rent your email address to third parties. View our privacy policy here.
Forward to a Friend
Forward this email to a friend or colleague.
Subscribe
Did you receive this email from a friend? Click here to subscribe to Safety Currents Express.
Update Preferences or Change Email Format
Click here to modify your email preferences or opt out of a specific Coastal email list.
Unsubscribe
Click here to be removed from all email updates from Coastal Training Technologies.