Tag: PPE

Eye Safety Checklist

How many jobs in your facility could be performed by someone wearing a blindfold? Even a relatively minor eye injury can send a worker home for the day, so it makes not only safety sense but also business sense to protect workers’ eyes. March is Workplace Eye Health and Safety Month, which makes this an […]

Steps in the Hazardous Waste Decontamination Process

The steps in the decontamination process vary depending on the hazards involved, the equipment available, and the terrain and circumstances. However, this list is typical of what would be set up for a complex decontamination. Station 1: Segregated Equipment Drop Deposit equipment used on-site (tools, sampling devices and containers, monitoring instruments, radios, clipboards) on plastic […]

Hazardous Waste: Permeation Factors and Decontamination Methods

Decontamination is a vital process for employees who handle hazardous wastes because it removes or neutralizes contaminants that have accumulated on personnel and equipment. Decontamination serves the following purposes: It protects workers from hazardous substances that may contaminate and eventually permeate the protective clothing, respiratory equipment, tools, vehicles, and other equipment used on-site. It protects […]

Turn Your Supervisors into Safety Role Models

In the safest workplaces, supervisors aren’t just safety rule enforcers, they’re also safety role models. Employees’ behavior on the job is significantly influenced by the way their supervisors think and act about workplace safety. Studies show that supervisors’ effectiveness in accident prevention is dependent on the behavior they model for employees. If workers believe that […]

A Simple Approach to Computing Incident Rates and Severity

Computing accident incidence rates and severity can help analyze and correct conditions that cause accidents. A simple formula for calculating accident incidence (frequency) is to: Take the total number of recordable incidents for the year from your OSHA 300. Multiply that number by 200,000, which represents the number of hours worked by 100 full-time employees, […]

A Primer on Toxic Substances

Toxic substances are found in many facilities, and employees can suffer a variety of illnesses as a result of unprotected exposures. According to Understanding Toxic Substances, a guide for employers and employees published by the Washington Department of Labor and Industries: "The toxicity of a substance is its ability to cause harmful effects. These effects […]

Are Corrosives Eating Away at Safety in Your Facility?

Are your workers in danger from corrosive chemicals? If so, give them the information they need to protect themselves. Workers may know that corrosive materials can be hazardous to their skin and eyes, but are they aware that these substances are also highly reactive when they come into contact with certain other substances? Or that […]