Chemical Protective Clothing

 

 

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Overview
Your employer provides you with personal protective equipment (PPE) to help protect you from workplace hazards. Here are some things to check before you wear your PPE to perform a job. Whatever your employer requires as far as care of PPE is concerned, be sure that your PPE is functioning properly and that you wear it as designed so that it affords the protection you need to do your job safely.

Before donning PPE
Before you use protective clothing:
• Determine that the clothing material is correct for the specified task at hand.
• Visually inspect for imperfect seams, nonuniform coatings, tears, and malfunctioning closures.
• Hold up to the light and check for pinholes.

If the product has been used previously, inspect inside and out for signs of chemical attack:
• Discoloration.
• Swelling.
• Stiffness.

What must I do?
While using protective clothing, periodically check for:
• Evidence of chemical attack such as discoloration, swelling, stiffening, and softening (keep in mind, however, that chemical permeation can occur without any visible effects).
• Closure failure.
• Tears.
• Punctures.
• Ripped seams.

Before you use gloves:
• Determine that the glove material is correct for the specified task at hand.
• Pressurize glove to check for pinholes. Either blow into glove, then roll towards fingers or inflate glove and hold under water. In either case, no air should escape.

Before you wear fully encapsulating suits:
• Determine that the suit material is correct for the specified task at hand.
• Check the operation of pressure relief valves.
• Inspect the fitting of wrists, ankles, and neck.
• Check faceshield, if so equipped for cracks, crazing, fogginess.

PPE maintenance
Always be sure to follow company policy for cleaning, decontamination, and maintenance of protective clothing. Your employer may have decided that with appropriate training, each person who wears chemical protective clothing can perform these tasks him- or herself. But some decontamination and  by someone else or at a different location.

This information is provided by: MarshMcLennan Agency 

https://marshmmamidwest.com/

 

Behavior- Based Safety

 

Overview

There are many different views of behavior-based safety. Some consultants’ concepts are based on research; some are based on common sense. Some say behavior-based safety is all you need; others say its only part of the safety effort needed. Some say reinforcement is the answer; others say there are not enough opportunities for reinforcement in the workplace.

But however, your organization looks at it, behavior-based safety is the process of focusing on behavior to prevent/reduce occupational injuries.

Why should your company use behavior-based safety?

• Statistics reveal that 80% to 95% of incidents are caused by at-risk behavior.

• The frequency of injuries can be reduced.

• The entire workforce can participate in the process.

• Safety teams make safety improvements.

• Behavior-based safety requires progressive and proactive thinking.

• When added to a safety program already attempting to comply with regulations, behavior-based safety shows "good faith."

Key elements of behavior-based safety

• Employee/management involvement.

• Identification of safe and at-risk behavior.

• Observation.

• Feedback.

• Intervention (instructional, motivational, or supportive).

What must I do?

• As an employee who is concerned with safety, you can participate in the company safety program.
Follow the work rules and processes that the company develops.
• Use all supplied personal protective equipment.
• Cooperate with the safety manager, superintendent, or safety committee if they observe you at your workplace, or if they request information from you on how you work.

This information is provided by: MarshMcLennan Agency https://marshmmamidwest.com/

Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs)

 

Overview
Nearly 350,000 people die of sudden cardiac arrest each year. Currently, the chances of surviving sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) without the aid of an automatic external defibrillator (AED) are one in twenty.

However, with an AED, chances of survival improve to one in three. The use of AEDs could save 100,000 lives per year!

What is SCA?
The heart normally has a rhythmic beat which causes the blood to move in a consistent, predictable way. When someone has an SCA event, the heart begins to pump irregularly and ineffectively. This is called ventricular fibrillation (VF). VF is not to be confused with the heart attack where blood flow to the heart muscle is blocked. With VF, the blood stops circulating adequately, breathing stops, and eventually the victim will die.

Another SCA event is ventricular tachycardia (VT), when the heart muscles start to “quiver” instead of working together to push blood through the system.

CPR alone does not replace defibrillation in an SCA incident. CPR can only assist the victim for a short time until medical help arrives. However, medical assistance can be many minutes away. According to the American Heart Association, the chances of survival decrease 10 percent with each passing minute that the heart beat is not returned to normal. Very few people have survived SCA after 10 minutes with no medical treatment.

Unfortunately, we don’t know why SCAs occur, nor how to prevent them. We do know, however, how to fix them if they occur—AEDs.

What is an AED?
You’ve seen full-sized defibrillators on television. When the doctor shouts “Clear” and shocks the victim, they are using a defibrillator. The AED works the same—it shocks the heart back into a normal rhythm to restore a pulse.
Manufacturers have developed lighter, smaller, battery-operated, computer-controlled models which nearly anyone can use.

Signs and symptoms of SCA
Symptoms of SCA are very sudden and dramatic. Typically, the victim will collapse, and show no sign of a pulse. At this point, emergency medical help must be summoned, and the AED used.

The victim’s chest is bared, all visible jewelry or medicine patches are removed, and the electrode pads are attached.

Once the electrical pads are attached, the AED is turned on. Many AEDs will prompt the operator through the necessary steps to use it. If the AED does not sense a shockable event, no shock is given. Others will function automatically, applying a shock to the victim after sounding a warning alarm.

Laws and liability
In May 2000, Congress passed the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act to establish a national standard that provides Good Samaritan immunity for cardiac arrest care providers, trainers, and owners of property where AEDs are kept.
A legal trend is starting to appear which suggests that failing to provide AEDs to respond to an SCA incident may be deemed as negligent.

Training Tips
Review the employee handout, and the user’s guide which comes with the AED. Point out the location of AEDs in your facility.

Review with the employees the signs and symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest and heart attack. Explain that in either case, early contact with emergency medical personnel is critical.

Explain how to summon emergency medical help, and the identities of the emergency medical responders at your facility. Explain to the participants how the company trains first aid responders to use the AEDs.

Where To Go For More Information
29 CFR 1910.151—First Aid.
OSHA CPL 2-2.53—Guidelines for first aid programs.
AED User’s Guide
Cardiac Arrest Survival Act (CASA)
Airline Passenger Safety Act
Applicable state regulations

This information is provided by: MarshMcLennan Agency https://marshmmamidwest.com/

Air Contaminants

 

 

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Overview

An air contaminant is any substance that is accidentally or unintentionally introduced into the air, having the effect of rendering the air toxic or harmful to some degree.

Who is covered?

29 CFR 1910.1000 Air contaminants protects employees from occupational exposure to air contaminants. The regulation applies to all workers who may be subjected to workplace air contaminants.

§1910.1000 lists various substances along with permissible exposure limits (PELs) for an eight-hour period. Your employer has a responsibility to notify you of potential hazards in the workplace, including air contaminants.

What must my employer do?

Your employer:

• Is responsible for controlling sources of air contamination by using engineering controls, or, if necessary, by using personal protective equipment (PPE).
• Must let you know what air contaminants are in the workplace and how you can protect yourself from them.
• Will discuss any necessary PPE with you and demonstrate proper use, cleaning, and storage of the equipment.

Must periodically test the air in the facility for the presence of air contaminants. You, or your representative, have a right to see the results of those tests.

If your employer chooses to use PPE in addition to engineering and work practice controls, the PPE must be provided free of charge

This information is provided by: MarshMcLennan Agency 

https://marshmmamidwest.com/