April Safety Spotlight and Featured OSHA Training Center Classes

Industrial Hygiene Helps Detect Worker Exposure and Control Hazards

Industrial hygiene has been defined as "that science and art devoted to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of those environmental factors or stresses arising in or from the workplace, which may cause sickness, impaired health and well-being, or significant discomfort among workers or among the citizens of the community." Industrial hygienists use environmental monitoring and analytical methods to detect the extent of worker exposure and employ engineering, work practice controls and other methods to control potential health hazards.

Click here to view OSHA's informative booklet on Industrial hygiene.

The OSHA Training Center is offering OSHA 521 - OSHA's Guide to Industrial Hygiene at its Irvine, California location on April 11-14, 2016. Topics include permissible exposure limits, OSHA health standards, respiratory protection, engineering controls, OSHA sampling procedures and strategy, hazard communication and workplace health program elements.

OSHA's Construction Industry Standards Aim to Reduce Many Hazards

Construction is a high hazard industry. Construction workers engage in many activities that may expose them to serious hazards, such as falls, unguarded machinery, heavy construction equipment, electrocution and exposure to silica dust and asbestos. The OSHA Construction Standards were developed to assist those in the industry - workers and employers - to identify, reduce and eliminate construction-related hazards.

Learn more about Construction Industry Standards on the OSHA website.

The OSHA Training Center offers OSHA 510 - OSHA Standards for the Construction Industry many times throughout the year at multiple locations. This course covers Federal OSHA policies, procedures, and standards, as well as construction safety and health principles. Topics include scope and application of the OSHA construction standards, with emphasis on the most hazardous areas. Upcoming OSHA 510 classes include:

April 11-14 | Dublin, CA

April 11-14 | Guam

April 11-21 | Phoenix, AZ

April 12-15 | Reno, NV

April 25-28 | Honolulu, HI

Permit Required Confined Spaces Pose Serious Workplace Hazards

Many workplaces contain spaces that are considered to be "confined" because their configurations hinder the activities of employees who must enter into, work in or exit from them. In many instances, employees who work in confined spaces also face increased risk of exposure to serious physical injury from hazards such as entrapment, engulfment and hazardous atmospheric conditions. The terms "permit-required confined space" and "permit space" refer to spaces that meet OSHA's definition of a "confined space" and contain health or safety hazards. For this reason, OSHA requires workers to have a permit to enter these spaces.

Learn more about Permit Required Confined Spaces on the OSHA website.

The OSHA Training Center is offering OSHA 7300 - Permit Required Confined Space Standard on April 22 and June 14, 2016, in Dublin, California, and on July 18, 2016, in Bakersfield, California. This course is designed for small employers or a designated representative (line supervisor or manager) with the responsibility to develop a permit space program. Topics include: scope and definitions, general requirements, permit space program, training requirements and employee roles and rescue.