10 Tips To Prevent Mold in the Workplace 

To avoid risks to health, OSHA encourages building managers, custodians, and others responsible for building maintenance to learn how to avoid, control and remove mold in buildings. The key to controlling mold is moisture.

Here are 10 tips from OSHA:

1. Repair plumbing leaks and leaks in the building structure as soon as possible.
2. Look for condensation and wet spots. Fix source(s) of moisture incursion problem(s) as soon as possible.
3. Prevent moisture from condensing by increasing surface temperature or reducing the moisture level in the air (humidity). To increase surface temperature, insulate or increase air circulation. To reduce the moisture level in the air, repair leaks, increase ventilation (if outside air is cold and dry), or dehumidify (if outdoor air is warm and humid).
4. Keep HVAC drip pans clean, flowing properly, and unobstructed.
5. Perform regular scheduled building/HVAC inspections and maintenance, including filter changes.
6. Maintain indoor relative humidity below 70% (25 - 60%, if possible).
7. Vent moisture-generating appliances, such as dryers, to the outside where possible and vent cooking areas and bathrooms according to local code requirements.
8. Clean and dry wet or damp spots as soon as possible, but no longer than 48 hours after discovery.
9. Provide adequate drainage around buildings and slope the ground away from building foundations. Follow all local building codes.
10. Pinpoint areas where leaks have occurred, identify the causes, and take preventive action to ensure that they do not reoccur.
OSHA offers more recommendations on how to prevent mold growth, the proper use of personal protective equipment, ways to assess mold or moisture problems, and methods to cleanup damage caused by moisture and mold growth with their guide, Preventing Mold-Related Problems in the Indoor Workplace.

Have you ever wondered about what’s inside that box you watch all the time?  Over 40 millions people have at least 1 TV which contain some or all of the hazardous materials listed below.  Many poeple are buying the new LCD or Plasma screen TVs. Hence, the old TV sets are being dicarded into landfills.  The Balitmore Sun recently reported how this could lead to seroius environmental problems. Environmental groups are very concerned about these hazardous materials going into the landfills and our soils.

TV sets and computer monitors are safe when they’re viewed under normal conditions in homes and offices. But when owners discard them, toxic materials inside can leak into the environment if the sets are not properly recycled. Here’s what’s inside:

Lead: Sets with cathode ray tubes (CRTs) contain 4 to 8 pounds. Used in screens and soldered circuit boards. Can cause brain damage, blood disorders, kidney damage and birth defects. Children are particularly vulnerable.

Mercury: Used in lamps of flat-screen liquid crystal displays (LCDs). High levels can contribute to brain and kidney damage, birth defects.

Cadmium: Used in phosphor coating of CRT screens. A carcinogen that accumulates in the body and can cause kidney damage.

Barium: Used inside CRTs. Short-term exposure can cause neurological problems and damage to heart, liver and spleen.

BFRs: Brominated flame retardants are used in wiring. Can disrupt hormones and immune system, especially in children.

PVC: Polyvinyl chloride insulates wires. Can emit toxic fumes when burned in incinerators and can leach out in landfills.

Electronics TakeBack Coalition, Consumer Electronics Association and the EPA are concerned about how this new waste stream will affect the amount of waste and the landfills in the upcoming years. 

What can we do?  Recycle your TV and/or computers properly.  Check with your recycling centers or the EPA to find the best way to keep these hazardous materials out of the landfills.  Be RESPONSIBLE!

LANSING, MI — A recent EPIC-MRA poll of business owners, operators and managers across Michigan shows “lack of time” as the top reason companies are not teaching their employees about workplace safety.

This surprising data comes forward at a time when other studies show business owners ranking “health care insurance costs” at the top of lists of what is most difficult for businesses to pay.
“Fewer accidents and healthier employees would mean lower insurance costs for Michigan businesses,” said Ed Sarpolus, vice-president of EPIC-MRA. “If the owners/managers have no focus on workplace safety and preventive health education, they cannot expect to have these healthier employees or fewer accidents.”

The survey of 700 business owners/operators/managers was conducted April 26 to May 8, 2006, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.0 percent. The workplace safety and health education questions were developed by survey sponsor Accident Fund Insurance Company of America as part of an ongoing workplace safety awareness program.
Respondents were asked which of a list of reasons they would cite as “the greatest barriers to teaching your employees about workplace safety”:

The lack of time               25%
High employee turnover    11%
Availability of information    7%
The cost of training            7%
Other reasons                  11%
Undecided                        38%

In another question, survey respondents were asked to what extent their company had increased its focus on educating employees about health and wellness in the past 12 months. Only about one-quarter of respondents (26 percent), reported any such increase, while the great majority (61 percent), reported “little” or “no” increase at all.
Sarpolus pointed to a study conducted by researchers from Brigham Young University (published in Preventive Medicine, April 2005) that shows health promotion in the workplace to return a dollar-for-dollar cost-saving of almost 16-to-1 in the area of decreased absenteeism.  “Keeping employees healthy and accident-free means the business is not paying for absent employees,” Sarpolus said. “In Michigan’s tight economy, our businesses’ interests should not be ignoring any way to improve their bottom lines.”
 

This site has always tried to present facts about workplace, home and employee safety.  We have included a variety of topics such as, Hazardous Materials, Environmental Concerns, OSHA Compliance and so on. Now there is a great concern to all of us, and that is Global Warming.  Many companies are “Going Green” (read about Aquascapes Design which takes “Going Green to a whole new level), and are taking this issue very seriously.  Even the City of Chicago has become a leader in “Going Green”.

I know Global Warming will not help reduce your OSHA 300 logs or Lost Work Days, but it could help everyone around the world.  Take 10 minutes and watch this video, because we care what kind of world our children and grandchildren will live in.

http://www.youtube.com/user/wonderingmind42

Back in Nov of 2006 I published this article.  Driving incidents are the number 1 cause of employee injury today, and with the weather we are currently having, I think it is important to revisit the article again. 

Winter Car Kit

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, about 70 percent of winter deaths related to snow and ice occur in automobiles. When driving in such conditions is necessary, the agency recommends traveling in daylight and not traveling alone, keeping others notified of your schedule, and staying on main roads. In addition to winterizing your vehicle mechanically and keeping its gas tank full, FEMA advises carrying the following items in the vehicle’s trunk:

• Shovel
• Windshield scraper
• Battery-powered radio
• Flashlight
• Extra batteries
• Water
• Snack food
• Mittens
• Hat
• Blanket
• Tow chain or rope
• Tire chains
• Bag of road salt and sand
• Fluorescent distress flag
• Booster cables
• Road maps
• Emergency flares
• Cell phone or two-way radio

Source: FEMA