THIS time of year, it’s often dark by the time we leave our offices. This, together with the upcoming bustle and busyness of the holiday season, makes it a great time to review the security practices at your workplace.

Security company Protection One suggests these tips for keeping your office, employees and inventory secure during this season and year round:

• Make well-lit, access-controlled parking available, and suggest a “buddy” system within the parking area.
• If possible, make security escorts available to and from employee parking.
• Register all guests and accompany them during their visits.
• Never leave your reception area unattended.
• Do not allow entry doors to be propped open if no one is present or nearby.
• Don’t allow unknown service personnel free access to your office space.
• Report broken doors, windows and locks to building security personnel.
• Monitor and report suspicious activity in or near your facility.
• Consider an integrated, monitored security and fire system as well as a remote/IP video system, which allows easy access to facility cameras via the Internet.
• Install an electronic access system, and closely inventory all photo badges, ID cards, etc.
• If you already have a security system, request regular system inspections and evaluations.
• Do not open suspicious packages: Report them to local authorities.
• Employ updated computer security software for your entire network.
• Back up and store sensitive and critical information and databases.
• Shred or destroy old documents containing sensitive business information.
• Keep an inventory of your most critical equipment, hardware and software.
• Develop fire and emergency plans and regularly practice drills.
• Keep facilities well-lit, inside and out, even during non-business hours.
• Form a safety team to help keep safety and security issues a focus.
• Encourage employees to secure valuables, including documents that might contain personal information, in their work areas at all times and especially during company gatherings or breaks.

People live more of their time off-work than on – though some may not feel that way – so why don’t most companies have focused and strong at-home safety interventions?          
You already know that safety is not only for the workplace. An injury suffered off the job keeps an employee away from work as surely as one suffered at work, so wise employers expand the focus of their safety programs to include the hours when employees are away from work.

While no article can replace specific planning and implementation customized to your workforce, culture and exposures, I’ll provide proven guidelines for boosting off-work safety lifestyles.

When you’re trying to create change, it’s always good strategy to:

1. Identify the real blockages to desired new actions so you can plan to minimize these obstacles;
2. Determine and communicate benefits to draw people to adopt new behaviors; and
3. Create a structure to support the changes, including reinforcers. Follow these basic guidelines to develop around-the-clock safety thinking and actions.

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OSHA has announced a final rule on employer-paid personal protective equipment (PPE). Under the rule, all PPE, with a few exceptions, must be provided at no cost to the employee. OSHA anticipates that this rule will have substantial safety benefits that will result in more than 21,000 fewer occupational injuries per year. The rule was published in the Federal Register on November 15.

“Employees exposed to safety and health hazards may need to wear personal protective equipment to be protected from injury, illness, and death caused by exposure to those hazards,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Edwin G. Foulke Jr. “This final rule will clarify who is responsible for paying for PPE, which OSHA anticipates will lead to greater compliance and potential avoidance of thousands of workplace injuries each year.”

The final rule contains a few exceptions for ordinary safety-toed footwear, ordinary prescription safety eyewear, logging boots, and ordinary clothing and weather-related gear. The final rule also clarifies OSHA’s requirements regarding payment for employee-owned PPE and replacement PPE. While these clarifications have added several paragraphs to the regulatory text, the final rule provides employees no less protection than they would have received under the 1999 proposed standard.

 The rule also provides an enforcement deadline of six months from the date of publication to allow employers time to change their existing PPE payment policies to accommodate the final rule.

New information in first update since 2004.
A U.S.-based manufacturer of regulatory compliance products, will print an update of the Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG) - the first available in four years. This important publication is the cornerstone of many emergency response plans and incident management systems, providing a consistent and standardized approach for first responders in the event of an incident involving hazardous materials.

The ERG is developed jointly by the US Department of Transportation, Transport Canada, the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation of Mexico (SCT), and with the collaboration of CIQUIME (Centro de Informacion Quimica para Emergencias) of Argentina.

In its thirty odd years of existence, the ERG has been and will continue to be the “go-to” reference for first responders faced with the possibility of a hazardous materials incident. This guidebook is published in a user-friendly format and is divided into five sections which are color coded to maximize efficiency and ease of use.

The following items are new for 2008:

.   Over fifty amendments to proper shipping names and ID numbers (United Nations numbers)
.   Lists of hazardous materials found in the yellow and blue bordered pages will be updated to reflect those changes
.   New entry for Lithium Ion batteries will be included
.   Ethanol will have new entries and identification numbers added
.   The ”Initial Isolation and Protective Action Distance Table” will be split into two tables to better facilitate initial incident response actions for emergencies involving TIH (Toxic Inhalation Hazards)

The 2008 ERG represents the first publication since the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials programs were merged, so there will be new information introduced regarding pipeline markers.
 
 

Requirements for employers to train employees exist throughout U.S. OSHA standards. However, some employers and, apparently, some OSHA inspectors, are not aware that training must be conducted in a manner that the employee can understand.

OSHA’s general policy is that if an employee receives job instructions in a language other than English, training and information must also be conveyed in that language. Similarly, says OSHA, if the employee’s vocabulary is limited, the training must account for that limitation. Furthermore, if employees are not literate, telling them to read training materials will not satisfy the employer’s training obligation.

“As a general matter, employers are expected to realize that if they customarily need to communicate work instruction or other workplace information to employees at a certain vocabulary level or in a language other than English, they will also need to provide safety and health training to employees in the same manner,” says OSHA.

OSHA adds that its training provisions contain a variety of specific requirements to ensure that employees are comprehending instruction. For example, standards covering lockout/tagout, respiratory protection, and bloodborne pathogens each require that employers take measures to ascertain the level to which the employee has comprehended the safety provisions.

In its instructions to inspectors, OSHA states, “If a reasonable person would conclude that the employer had not conveyed the training to its employees in a manner they were capable of understanding, then the violation may be cited as serious.”

by Jennifer Collins

Many workplace hazards are more easily identified than others. Those who test parachutes for instance, can make a clear connection between workplace hazards and life threatening situations. Some people put their lives at risk each day in military and public safety positions to feed their families or serve their country. There are however, entire classes of workers who have been put in danger without even knowing it. Some of these hard working men and women have been victim to the silent killer known as asbestos.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring element that is present in a number of asbestos containing materials, or those that contain at least 1% asbestos, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Asbestos was first used by early civilizations for a number of factors. They realized that pottery was more heat-resistant when the hair-like asbestos fibers were mixed with the clay. They also used it in their clothing and blankets, noticing an increased durability and warmth to garments woven with asbestos fibers. Up until approximately 1980, asbestos was used in the United States for any number of home and industrial purposes. It is present in pipe insulation and electrical fixture coverings because it is fire retardant and prevents heat transfer. It is mixed with several construction compounds such as floor tiles, roofing shingles, and artificial home siding materials.

Contrary to popular belief, asbestos when left alone, poses little threat to human inhalation though those asbestos containing materials should be replaced as a rule. However it is when it is damaged by heat, weather, or other force which renders it “friable,” when it is most dangerous. When the asbestos fibers become loosened or otherwise disturbed by any number of factors they become airborne and inhaled.

Occupational hazards are the most common origin of asbestos related health complications. Duties which engage asbestos materials are those who are the most likely to disturb the particles and inhale them. This can happen in a myriad of occupational situations but is most common in shipyards, construction sites, and some areas of manufacturing. In shipyards for instance, it is not likely that those work on the ships will be affected but more likely that those who were involved in the construction or repairs of ships. These are professions in which repairs of older fixtures, which contain asbestos, could mean chipping away the insulation and rendering it friable. When these types of repairs or duties are done day after day for many years, the likelihood of developing asbestos related disease is increased.

Asbestos related diseases, such as the lung cancer http://www.mesothelioma.com/ are incredibly painful and debilitating ailments, in which in the absence of a cure the body will eventually asphyxiate itself. Often the symptoms of asbestos related respiratory complications will not appear for several years, even decades after an exposure. This can lead many to be unaware of the causal relationship between a prior occupational exposure and the reality that they now have to deal with. It is a darker chapter of American industry, in which workers were not protected from a known human carcinogen. It is important that if you have been exposed to asbestos, or think you may have been exposed while working in one of the above or related industries that you seek the assistance of a physician. There are medical, emotional, and legal support structures already in place to assist victims of occupational asbestos exposure. Early detection of the disease is the primary variable which can increase treatment and quality of life management options.

However, it is being aware that can help us all. Be knowledgeable about what materials your working with, and what could be potentially harmful. If asbestos is involved, leave it alone or request the proper training from your employer which teaches professionals how to remove and dispose of asbestos products. Knowledge of these materials is the primary line of protection, and knowing is half the battle.
Jennifer Collins
jcollins@mesothelioma.com

Jennifer Collins grew up in Aberdeen, Maryland in the city that is known as the “Gateway to the Chesapeake Bay.” She attended Aberdeen High School and graduated in June of 2001. From there she studied Communications and English at Colby College in rural Maine. Upon graduation in 2005, Jennifer gained her M.A. in communications design at the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University.

She first discovered an interest in asbestos-based health complications while working with a prominent health resource website in a research position. Jennifer worked in several freelance capacities before joining the web design team at Mesothelioma.com in February of 2007. Today she resides in Syracuse, NY and enjoys weekends in the nearby mountains with friends and the small town charm nightlife of upstate New York’s Salt City.
 

The Compliance Resource Center would like to thank Jennifer Collin for contributing her article to our site.  If you would like to write an article for this site, please contact us at allan@thecrcenter.com 

What are the four classes of asbestos work?
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard for asbestos specifies four classes of asbestos activities. These are:

“Class I” asbestos work means activities involving the removal of thermal system insulation (TSI) and sprayed-on or troweled-on or otherwise applied surfacing ACM or PACM.

“Class II” asbestos work means activities involving the removal of ACM which is neither TSI or surfacing ACM. This includes, but is not limited to, the removal of asbestos-containing wallboard, floor tile, and construction mastics.

“Class III” asbestos work means repair and maintenance operations where ACM (including TSI and surfacing ACM and PACM) is likely to be disturbed.

“Class IV” asbestos work means maintenance and custodial activities during which employees contact, but so as not disturb ACM or PACM, and activities to clean up dust, waste, and debris resulting from Class I, II, and III activities.

Courtesy of The EPA

OSHA Eye Protection Regulations
According to OSHA regulations on eyewear, it is the responsibility of the owner or employer of the company to investigate, and guarantee that employees comply with OSHA regulations. The full details of the rules are described in the OSHA regulation 29 CFR 1910.133.

29 CFR 1910.133 (a)(1) states the hazards to the eye, such as chemical gases, acid, or light radiation.

29 CFR 1910.133 (a)(2) is more specific and describes regulation to enforce employees with eye prescriptions be given prescription safety glasses.

The rest of the 29 CFR 1910.133 regulations address compliance with ANSI Z89.1-1989 - “American National Standard Practice For Occupational and Educational Eye and Face Protection.”

According to 29 CFR 1910.106, OSHA defines a combustible liquid any liquid having a flashpoint at or above 100°F (37.8°C). Combustible liquids are divided into two classes:

• Class II liquids include those liquids with flashpoints at or above 100°F (37.8°C) and below 140°F (60°C), except any mixture having components with flashpoints of 200°F (93.3°C) or higher, the volume of which make up 99% or more of the total volume of the mixture
• Class III: liquids with flashpoints at or above 140°F (60° C) and are subdivided into two subclasses
• Class IIIA: liquids with flashpoints at or above 140°F (60°C) and below 200°F (93.3°C), except any mixture having components with flashpoints of 200°F (93.3°C), or higher, the total volume of which make up 99% or more of the total volume of the mixture.
• Class IIIB: liquids with flashpoints at or above 200°F (93.3°C). OSHA’s combustible liquids standard does not cover Class IIIB liquids. Where the term “Class III liquids” is used in this portion of the OSHA regulations, it refers only Class IIIA liquids

 When a combustible liquid is heated for use to within 30°F (16.7°C) of its flashpoint, it must be handled in accordance with the requirements for the next lower class of liquids. This could result in a Class II liquid being treated as a flammable liquid as a result of being heated.