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 This health, safety and environment electronic update comes from Chip Dawson and the Rochester Business Alliance as a service to member organizations. |
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 Dangers of Distracted Driving:Traffic Deaths At 60-Year Low
The 2010 report on traffic deaths, just posted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, stood at 32,788 people for the year, a 25 percent decline from 2005 and the fewest since 1949. From these data, one might reach two conclusions. Don't worry about the crazies on the road, things are better or "great work, let's keep up the safe driving effort!" I'll go with the second option and urge stronger corporate efforts to reduce driving risks for employees. To see the NHTSA press release, click here. |
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 Notre Dame Student - "This is terrifying!"
The 20-year-old student who fell to his death from a scissors lift last October tweeted to friends before work that day "gusts of wind up to 60 mph...well today will be fun at work...I guess I've lived long enough." While he was up in the lift videotaping football practice after an hour in the high winds, he sent a message that "this is terrifying." Indiana OHSA conducted the fatality investigation and found numerous issues with the lift and its operation. Tragically, far too many employees accept obvious risks to which they should never be subjected. For more details on the investigation and IOSHA citation, click here for the full IOSHA media kit. |
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Spring Safety Management Courses Coming to RBA in Early May
It's the season of growth and renewal-time to consider bringing management and support staff to the Rochester Business Alliance for a program or two designed to strengthen your safety process and enhance skills. Leading the Safety Process, a day-long interactive program for managers runs on Monday, May 9. On Tuesday of that week is OSHA Recordkeeping in the morning and Safety Committee Operations in the afternoon. Managing the Emergency fills all of Wednesday, May 11. The following week on May 17 is a morning session on Accident Investigation Fundamentals. For details and registration, contact Amy Platenik at Amy.Platenik@rballiance.com or by phone at 256-4632. |
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 Workplace Violence Drops Dramatically Since 1993
The Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U. S. Department of Justice has issued a report on workplace violence between 1993 and 2009 that claims the rate of violent crime against workers has gone from 16 crimes per 1,000 employed persons to 4 crimes per 1,000-a 75 percent drop! With that said, there were still approximately 572,000 nonfatal violent crimes at work during 2009. For a PDF copy of the report, click here. |
 CDC Offers Electronic Buttons and Badges
The CDC has created a wide variety of website buttons and badges to link to important information in the event of public health emergencies. For example, the badge shown here can be used to take readers to material on radiation emergencies. To see the full range of buttons and badges available for your website use, click here. |
 Flammable Liquid Storage
Our friends at Lab Safety Supply have posted an interesting quiz about flammable liquid storage cabinets. See how you do (true or false):
- Everyone is required to have a flammable liquid storage cabinet.
- Self-closing doors on a flammable storage cabinet are a matter of personal preference.
- All safety cans and safety cabinets must be red.
- Metal is the only approved material for a flammable liquid storage cabinet.
To see how you did, click here. |
 Distracted Driving Brochure Available from OSHA
OSHA's new Distracted Driving Brochure explains to employers and supervisors the importance of preventing texting by their workers while driving. Texting while driving dramatically increases the risk of motor vehicle crashes, the leading cause of worker fatalities. Distracted driving crashes killed more than 5,400 people and injured nearly 500,000 in 2009. To download a PDF of the brochure, click here and then scroll down to Distracted Driving, OSHA 3416-2011 where you can also order print copies. |
 Electrical Panel Accessibility Questions Answered
We were recently tipped off to a helpful fact sheet from the federal Office of Compliance that deals with a common workplace question-how much space is required around an electrical cabinet? You can find the fact sheet that answers the question by clicking here. |
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 Workplace Dust Can Kill
An article in ISHN Magazine by Massimo De Pastena paints a grim picture of the workplace dust problem. He begins with "According to OSHA, there have been at least 350 combustible dust explosions in the United States since 1980, resulting in more than 130 fatalities and 800 injuries. In many of these incidents both the employers and the employees were unaware that a hazard even existed or that their workplace was considered a high-risk environment." The article explains that 1/32 of an inch of dust is sufficient to cause a dust explosion when dispersed and exposed to an ignition source. For more information, click here to go to the OSHA Combustible Dust page. |
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