Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
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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At one time, crystalline silica exposures were a concern in construction and mining, and only older workers who had been exposed for long periods of time developed the disabling lung disease called “silicosis.” But workers in new industries and applications—fabricating granite countertops, hydraulic fracturing operations, and denim sandblasting among them—are suffering significant exposures. Also, silicosis […]
At a storage system manufacturing facility in Georgia, two workers suffered finger amputations in two separate incidents within a 3-month period beginning in November 2014. Yesterday, we looked at the first incident; today, we’ll look at the second incident, in which a worker was standing up a fabricated metal rack. The 353-pound rack tipped over […]
At a storage system manufacturing facility in Georgia, two workers suffered finger amputations in two separate incidents within a three-month period. The first worker was using a power press to stamp small parts for metal racks in November 2014. The employer had not ensured that the press was guarded, and the worker’s hands entered the […]
June 24, 2015, was a muggy Wednesday night in north Alabama. At the Federal Mogul manufacturing facility in Athens, 25-year-old Allen Michael Brown was outside the plant, trying to secure an empty barrel when he walked in front of a forklift. Brown was run over and killed by the forklift. Any time you have heavy […]
One of the persistent problems of fleet safety and fleet management is that so much of it is driver-dependent. Putting away cell phones and slowing down are proven ways to reduce the risk of crashes—but once a worker is operating the vehicle, the employer has no direct control over whether the worker actually does these […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
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 […]