Category: Injuries and Illness

Modern safety management goes beyond covering traditional workplace accidents to now being equally concerned with illnesses caused on and even off the job. This section will explain what you need to know to avoid both injuries and illnesses, and to track your progress in reaching this goal.

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Summer Groundskeeping Safety, Part 4: Deadly Insects

Are bees an occupational hazard? In 2007, three workers were stung by bees while harvesting almonds in Texas; one of them was stung more than 60 times and had to be taken to the hospital. In 2008, a worker in California was stung while driving a tractor and died of an allergic reaction. It’s not […]

Summer Groundskeeping Safety, Part 3: Pesticide Hazards

How do you get rid of crabgrass? Or chickweed? Or clover, thistle, dandelion, or any of the other weeds that mar your attractive landscaping? Although hand weeding may be a good option for a well-mulched flowerbed, pesticides may be the most effective solution for lawns. Make sure that if your workers are applying pesticides, they […]

Summer Groundskeeping Safety, Part 2: Leaf Blower Hazards

They’re called “leaf blowers,” but you’ll see them in use all summer long. They can be used to blow the grass off your mower, to blow cut grass off sidewalks and paths—they have, essentially, replaced brooms and rakes for many tasks. They may be time-savers, but leaf blowers also pose hazards. Make sure workers are […]

Summer Groundskeeping Safety, Part 1: Mower Hazards

Summer is in full swing throughout the United States. The familiar growl of mowers and lawn tractors, the howl of leaf blowers, and the whiz of string trimmers echo through the land. If you have employees who are busy taking care of your lawn and landscaping, make sure they know what hazards they face and […]

How Soon Can a Worker Return to Work After Heat Illness?

Protecting workers from the heat is a critical issue during the hot months of July and August—so critical that OSHA is ramping up its awareness and enforcement efforts around heat illness prevention this year. Ideally, employers are supposed to prevent workers from suffering heat illness in the first place, but what happens after a worker […]

Do Your Workers Believe These Heat Illness Myths?

Working outdoors in the heat is extra stressful. There’s the stress from whatever work you’re doing, and then there’s the stress on your body created by the need to shed heat. Your workers may know they need to protect themselves. But some of what they’ve heard about preventing heat illness, identifying heat illness, and treating […]

Water Safety: Prevent Workplace Drownings

Although drowning is primarily an off-the-job hazard, workers are sometimes at risk on the job as well. Here are some common hazards employers should be aware of in order to prevent drownings. One thing employers may not realize is that workers who are not supposed to be in the water at all could be at […]

Water Safety: Is Water a Hazardous Atmosphere?

In warm weather, increasing numbers of divers suit up to perform underwater operations. Diving has its own set of hazards and safety rules, but employers who utilize divers need to be aware that other hazards may exist besides those inherent in the diving operation itself. That’s what Liquivision Technology found out when the employer contracted […]

Independence Day Fireworks Safety

Fireworks injuries are on the rise, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). In 2013, injuries hit a 10-year high, with eight deaths and an estimated 11,400 consumers who sustained injuries related to fireworks. Most of the injuries were caused by device malfunction and improper use. Warn your workers this Fourth of July […]

Independence Day Fire Safety

Americans will spend more than $2 billion on cookouts this July 4 holiday and will eat more than 150 million hot dogs. And they’ll cook those hot dogs on an assortment of gas, propane, and charcoal grills, which means—if they’re not careful—they could be playing with more fire than they mean to. There are nearly […]