Hazards of Asbestos

 

Overview
Asbestos is a fiber or filament that is used in clothing, automotive parts, and building materials. It may have a fluffy appearance. When mixed, it can be found in forms such as Chrysotile, Amosite, Crocidolite, Tremolite, Anthophyllite, and Actinolite.

Where can asbestos be found?
Asbestos is found in installed products such as shingles, floor tiles, cement pipe and sheet, roofing felts, insulation, ceiling tiles, fire-resistant drywall, and acoustical products. Very few asbestos-containing products are currently being installed. Consequently, most worker exposures occur during the removal of asbestos and the renovation and maintenance of buildings and structures containing asbestos.

Asbestos Symptoms
Should exposure occur, asbestos symptoms may not surface for many years. Acute exposure can cause shortness of breath, chest or abdominal pain, or irritation of the skin and mucous membranes. Chronic exposure can cause breathing difficulty, dry cough, broadening and thickening of the ends of the fingers, and bluish discoloration of the skin and mucous membranes.

How can it hurt me?
Asbestos fibers enter the body by the inhalation or ingestion of airborne particles that become embedded in the tissues of the respiratory or digestive systems. The long-term effects associated with asbestos include:

• Asbestosis (an emphysema-like condition).
• Lung cancer.
• Mesothelioma (a cancerous tumor that spreads rapidly in the cells of membranes covering the lungs and body organs).
• Gastrointestinal cancer.
• The symptoms of these diseases generally do not appear for 20 or more years after initial exposure.

How can I protect myself?
There are several methods of controlling exposure to asbestos.

Personal protective equipment - Only respirators that have been approved by NIOSH can be worn.
Protective clothing, such as full bodysuits, gloves, and footwear, must be worn when asbestos fiber concentrations exceed the permissible exposure limit. Contaminated clothing shall be placed and stored in closed containers that prevent dispersion of the asbestos outside the container.

Signs - Listed below is the wording for an asbestos warning:
DANGER
ASBESTOS
CANCER AND LUNG DISEASE
HAZARD AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY
RESPIRATORS AND PROTECTIVE CLOTHING ARE REQUIRED IN THIS AREA

Are state and local government employees protected?
EPA has recently amended the Asbestos Worker Protection Rule and the Asbestos-in-Schools Rule to protect state and local government employees from the health risks of exposure to asbestos. State and local government employees who are performing construction work, custodial work, and automotive brake and clutch repair work are now protected to the same extent as private-sector employees. The Asbestos-in Schools Rule amendments provide coverage for employees of local public education agencies who perform operations, maintenance, and repair activities.

This information is provided by Assurance Agency https:www.agencyassurance.com

Safe Response to Bloodborne Pathogens

 

Overview
If you are a health professional, a designated first responder, or first aid provider in your company, or if you are involved in maintenance or housekeeping work that could potentially expose you to bloodborne pathogens, you need to know how to protect yourself from potentially infectious material.

What are Bloodborne Pathogens?
Bloodborne pathogens are microorganisms in human blood that can cause disease in humans. Examples are hepatitis B virus (HBV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), malaria, syphilis, and brucellosis.

Bloodborne Pathogens and Needlesticks
OSHA has revised its Bloodborne Pathogens standard to clarify the need for employers to select safer needle devices as they become available and to involve employees in identifying and choosing the devices. Employers have to establish a log to track needlestick injuries.

Engineering and Work Practice Controls
Your company strives to reduce the risk of infection to employees who, in order to perform their jobs, may be reasonably anticipated to come into contact with blood and other potentially infectious materials. The risks can be reduced by following good work practices. Universal Precautions is an approach to infection control where all human blood and certain human body fluids are treated as if they were known to be infectious for bloodborne pathogens.

Follow these precautions when working with human blood and other potentially infectious materials (OPIMs):
• Wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).
• Dispose of sharps properly.
• Properly label and enclose any material contaminated with blood or OPIMs in leakproof red bags or containers.
• Wash your hands after handling contaminated material (even though you were wearing PPE).
• Report any exposure incident to your employer. An exposure incident is any specific eye, mouth, other mucous membrane, non-intact skin, or parenteral contact with blood or OPIM resulting from the performance of an employee's duties.

Hepatitis B Vaccination
Hepatitis B is the greatest bloodborne pathogen risk. Your employer offers you the hepatitis B vaccination series when your job duties could expose you to blood or certain body fluids. If you initially refuse the vaccination, you must sign a declination form, but you can request to be vaccinated later.

This information is provided by Assurance Agency https:www.agencyassurance.com

Walking- Working Surfaces

 

Overview
Slips, trips, and falls account for many industry accidents. Slips, trips, and falls are responsible for 10 percent of all accidental deaths. They are also the fourth leading cause, following motor vehicles, homicides, and being struck by objects or equipment, as a cause of fatalities.

In an attempt to remove potential hazards from the workplace, OSHA developed 1910, Subpart D—Walking—Working Surfaces. Subpart D.

Hazards involved with using walking-working surfaces
The main hazard involved with walking and working surfaces include slips, trips, and falls. Stairways are also taken for granted, and so become a source for accidents in the workplace.

What must my employer do?
Your employer is responsible for providing a safe working environment. That includes reducing or eliminating hazards in walking and working areas by:
- Keeping all employment, passageway, storerooms, and service rooms clean, orderly, and sanitary.
- Maintain floors in a clean and, so far as possible, dry condition. If wet processes are used, drainage shall be maintained. Gratings, mats, or raised platforms must be provided.
- Floors, working places, and passageways are to be kept free from protruding nails, splinters, or loose boards.
- Keeping aisles and passageways clear and in good repair with no obstruction across or in aisles that could create hazards.
- Appropriately marking permanent aisles and passageways.
- Maintaining proper aisle width so as to not limit passage or egress.
- Providing covers and/or guardrails to protect open pits, vats, tanks, ditches, and other hazards.
- Following load rating limits for all floors or roofs.
- Maintain adequate lighting in areas to illuminate walking surfaces.
- Providing handrails as required.

This information is provided by Assurance Agency https:www.agencyassurance.com

Recognize the Warning Signs

 

Overview
In an effort to decrease the number of accidents and injuries in the workplace, OSHA developed two standards on safety color-coding and specifications for accident prevention signs and tags. A sign refers to a surface on prepared for the warning of, or safety instructions of, industrial workers or members of the public who may be exposed to hazards.
The information is located in 29 CFR 1910.144 and 1910.145.

What must I know?
There are a few different means of designating signs and tags. Color and shape work well for the purpose of communicating required information. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has developed the following
color scheme:

Safety colors:
- Red - Fire, danger, or stop
- Orange - Warning
- Yellow - Caution
- Green - Safety
- Blue - Notice

Shapes:
- Triangle - Hazard alerts
- Circle - Mandatory actions
- Square/rectangle - Information
- Circle with slash - Prohibited activity

According to the National Electrical Manufacturer’s Association/American National Standards Institute (NEMA/ANSI), the lettering must be in upper case block letter, and large enough that a person with normal vision can read it. The labels on piping also play a vital role in informing employees and emergency personnel what is contained in the pipes in your workplace. These labels are color-coded and include the substance name.

Labels on piping:
- Yellow - Flammable
- Green - Liquid, non-flammable
- Blue - Gaseous
- Red - Fire quenching material

Adequate lighting should be available for signs so that the message is readable. Your employer strives to maintain the safest workplace possible, and the communication of hazards plays an important role. Knowing the difference between red and green may sound simple, but it could save a life.

This information is provided by Assurance Agency https:www.agencyassurance.com

Mechanical Hazards

 

Overview
Each piece of machinery has its own unique mechanical and non-mechanical hazards. Machines can cause severe injuries: amputations, fractures, lacerations, or crushing injuries. Machines can also cause minor injuries such as bruises, abrasions, sprains or strains, burns, or cuts.

Mechanical hazards
Examples of mechanical hazards that can hit, grab, or trap an operator are:
• hazardous motions.
• points of operation.
• pinch points and shear points.
• There are different types of hazardous mechanical motions and actions:
• hazardous motions such as rotating parts, reciprocating parts, or traversing parts.
• hazardous actions such as cutting, punching, shearing, or bending.

Non-mechanical hazards
There are also non-mechanical hazards that can injure operators, including flying chips, splashes, sparks, or sprays that are created when the machine is running.

Operating instructions
Follow the machine’s operating instructions to ensure that the machine is being run correctly and safely. Understand how the machine works, and you will reduce your risk of injury.

This information is provided by: Assurance Agency https://www.assuranceagency.com

Hard Hats

 

 

The following information is being provided to serve as a basic guideline in the use of Hard Hats.

GENERAL
Head injuries on a construction job site may result from tools or materials being dropped upon them and striking against an object due to low head-room or projections. A serious blow to the head without hard hat projection may cause permanent brain damage or disable the person for life.

CONSTRUCTION
a. Shell
The outer shell of a hard hat are made of rigid, impact resistant, non-flammable materials such as fiberglass or thermoplastics which may sustain damage due to exposure to solvents, paints or extreme heat.

Do not store a hard hat in the rear window of an automobile.

b. Suspension System
The suspension system is comprised of the cradle, headband and sweatband. The suspension absorbs any blow which may be received and keeps the outer shell away from the skull. In addition, the suspension allows for ventilation between the head and the outer shell.

A faulty or broken suspension system will provide no or little protection to the hard hat user.

INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE
a. Never use a hard hat that is visibly damaged or that you suspect is damaged.

This information is provided by: Assurance Agency https://www.assuranceagency.com

Cold Stress

 

The following information is being provided to serve as a basic guideline in the prevention and treatment of frostbite and hypothermia.

Frostbite
The most common injury caused by exposure to cold temperatures is frostbite. Body parts most susceptible to frostbite include the nose, ears, chin, fingers and toes. Frostbite occurs when the blood flow through a body part is restricted due to extreme cold temperatures and ice crystals then begin to form in the body tissue.

Symptoms
The first symptom of frostbite is a slightly flushed skin color. The color of the skin then changes to white or grayish yellow and finally grayish blue. Pain may be felt during the early stages, however, the pain may cease in later stages. The frostbitten area will also feel very cold, numb and the outer layer of skin may feel "hard".

First Aid Treatment
Move the victim to a warm location. Place the frostbitten part into a warm water bath between 100-105 degrees. Do not use hot water. Handle the part with extreme care. Do not rub or massage the area. Avoid exposing the part to hot air or metal objects. The re-warming process may take between 30-60 minutes. Severe frostbite should be handled by medical personnel.

Hypothermia
Prolonged exposure to cold temperature may also cause the cooling of the body's inner core, more commonly known as hypothermia. This loss of body temperature can be fatal.

Symptoms
Hypothermia symptoms include shivering, dizziness, numbness, confusion, weakness, impaired judgment, impaired vision and drowsiness. Later stages of hypothermia include the loss of consciousness, decreased pulse and breathing rate, coma and possible death.

First Aid Treatment
Professional medical treatment should be obtained. Move the victim to a warm area. If available, have the victim change into a set of dry, warm clothing. If the victim is fully conscious, a warm drink may be given. Do not give the victim a caffeinated or alcohol beverage.

This information is provided by Assurance Agency https://www.assuranceagency.com