Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Facial hair prevents employees from effectively wearing tight-fitting respirators. Experts at Safety.BLR.com® were recently asked who bears the responsibility for paying for alternate options, such as a Powered Air-Purifying Respirator (PAPR). There are both safety and human resources considerations—read on to see the answer.
Any powered equipment is potentially dangerous—even if it’s supposed to be shut down. Many needless accidents occur when somebody turns on a machine that’s supposed to be locked out. Lockout/tagout accidents are not only needless, but serious. They result not in small cuts or scratches, but often cause amputations, serious fractures, or death. Any energy […]
What’s the relationship between labeling under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard (HazCom) and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) labeling requirements? Which label must you use? Can you use both? Today we will help answer these questions, and tomorrow we will offer some placarding tips for shipments of DOT-regulated hazardous […]
Question: Does OSHA require that we train aerial lift operators on a specific frequency?
Are your workers and business protected against the potential dangers of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) exposure? It may surprise you that subjection to the toxic “sour” gas remains one of the leading causes of workplace gas inhalation deaths, and OSHA recently cited a Texas employer after H2S exposure in a confined space resulted in a fatality. There […]
It’s no secret that ergonomics programs often struggle to make an impact. All too often, they start off with a flurry of training and assessments and then fizzle out when people realize that there’s more talking about ergonomics than implementing ergonomics improvements. The ergonomics program starts to feel like more cost than benefit to management, […]
OSHA periodically reenergizes its Focus Four Hazards campaign—an initiative intended to raise awareness about the four leading hazards in the construction industry, described by OSHA as falls, caught in or between, struck by, and electrocution.
Analyses of the 2014 Flint, Michigan, drinking water crisis indicate that the high levels of lead in the public supply could have been prevented if the city had added phosphate corrosion inhibitors to its supply. Adding phosphate to domestic water makes it harder for lead compounds in pipes to dissolve and has been used to […]
Electrical accidents cause countless injuries and claim the lives of hundreds of Americans each year. Injuries could be minimized and many lives saved if proper rescue techniques were used. When an electrical accident occurs, the victim may be incapable of moving or releasing the electrical conductor because of the effect of something called “muscle clamping.” […]
Working as a flight crewmember can put a pregnancy at risk, particularly during the first trimester, notes the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). NIOSH points to three hazards that could imperil a pregnancy—circadian rhythm disruption (jet lag) or shiftwork, physical job demands, and cosmic ionizing radiation.