Most businesses today know when they are shipping a hazardous material. Some do not. It is your responsibility to know the law. Did you know these items are considered a hazardous material?

• Air Freshener
• Bleach
• Disinfectants
• Drain Cleaner
• Floor Cleaner Wax
• Inks
• Batteries
• Furniture Polish
• Oven Cleaner
• Paint
• Paint thinner
• Toilet Bowl Cleaner
• Motor Oil/Gasoline
• Insect Spray
• Garden Fertilizer
• Fireworks

As a shipper you must maker sure all employees involved with any part of the shipping or receiving of hazardous materials be training according to 49 CFR part 173.1.

PHSMA or Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (part of DOT), has materials you can obtain for free that outline what training you are required to do, how often and what the training must include. One brochure is called Does Your Hazmat Training Measure Up? Part of the brochure includes a Frequently Asked Question section that is very good.

Training is one of the main fined areas of PHSMA. Most companies either don’t complete the training or don’t do it correctly. Fines can range from $25,000 and up.

If you don’t know if you are shipping or receiving hazardous materials you need to find out. Then you need to make sure all the employees involved are trained. Proper training is good for 3 years for ground shipping and 2 years for both air and ocean shipping.

Remember ignorance of law is not an excuse and will still get your fined.

If your organization has hazardous materials in the workplace, there is a site you might want to bookmark and become familiar with.   The Department of Health and Human Services has as part of it’s webpage a report on carcinogens.   The report identifies agents, substances, mixtures, and exposure circumstances that are known or reasonably anticipated to cause cancer in humans.   Since the Hazard Communication standard  is one of the most often sited parts of OSHA, this site may help you inform your employees about carcinogenic substances you have in your workplace.

On June 10 added eight substances, including the industrial chemical formaldehyde, to its Report on Carcinogens.  The report identifies chemicals and biological agents that may cause cancer in humans. According to HHS, research shows high exposure to formaldehyde increases the risk for certain types of cancer, such as nasopharyngeal, sinonasal and myeloid leukemia.  Formaldehyde is used to make resins for household items, as a preservative in medical laboratories and in consumer goods such as hair straightening products. In fact, after receiving complaints from hair stylists, OSHA in April issued an alert about hair smoothing products that may release formaldehyde despite being labeled “formaldehyde-free.”  The other substances added to the list were aristolochic acids, captafol, cobalt-tungsten carbide (in powder or hard metal form), certain inhalable glass wool fibers, o-nitrotoluene, riddelliine and styrene.

If your company ships any type of hazardous materials in commerce you will need to be advised of the new final ruling by the US DOT.  As stated below if will make it mandatory that hazardous shipments are properly packaged and labeled under 49 CFR, parts 100-185.   Failure to follow these regulations, can result in significant delay in the shipment of your package.

Federal hazardous materials transport inspectors will be allowed to open, detain, remove, and divert suspicious packages in transit for further investigation, under a final rule published March 2 by the Department of Transportation (76 Fed. Reg. 11,570).

Recently I was working on updating our respiratory program, and training that both the employee and supervisor could easily understand and still meet OSHA 1910.134. How fortunate that on February 12, 2011 the DOL came out with a new training video.

The 33-minute video explains the major components of a respiratory protection program including fit-testing, medical evaluations, training, and maintenance. The video also discusses the difference between respirators and surgical masks, and features a segment on common respiratory hazards found in healthcare settings, including airborne infectious agents that cause diseases such as tuberculosis, pandemic influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), chicken pox, and measles.

Demonstrations also show how respirator use helps protect workers from exposure to airborne chemical hazards such as formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde, which are used commonly in hospital laboratories to preserve tissue samples for medical analysis. These toxic substances can cause eye and nasal irritation, headaches, asthma, and other symptoms. Additionally, formaldehyde is a carcinogen and has been linked to nasal and lung cancer, with possible links to brain cancer and leukemia.

“Employers can’t rely on respirators providing the expected protection if they don’t train their workers on how to use them properly,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “This video is an important training tool that teaches proper respirator use and discusses employers’ responsibilities under OSHA’s respiratory protection standard.”

Intended for both employers and employees, the 33-minute video covers the main components of a respiratory protection program, the difference between respirators and surgical masks, and common respiratory hazards in health care settings – including airborne infectious agents that cause diseases such as tuberculosis, according to an OSHA press release.

During my time in the military, I spent a lot of time working in the hospital ER.  Each year right around July 4th, we always had injuries when children and adults mishandled fireworks.  Burns, eye injures, missing or partly missing fingers and every once in a while something more serious.  The article below comes from kidshealth.org.  I hope you will follow their advise

With warm weather and family events, the Fourth of July can be a fun time with great memories. But before your family celebrates, make sure everyone knows about fireworks safety.

If not handled properly, fireworks can cause burn and eye injuries in kids and adults. In 2003, six deaths were linked to fireworks and hospital emergency departments treated 9,300 fireworks injuries.

The best way to protect your family is not to use any fireworks at home — period. Attend public fireworks displays, and leave the lighting to the professionals.

Lighting fireworks at home isn’t even legal in many areas, so if you still want to use them, be sure to check with your local police department first. If they’re legal where you live, keep these safety tips in mind:

• Kids should never play with fireworks. Things like firecrackers, rockets, and sparklers are just too dangerous. If you give kids sparklers, make sure they keep them outside and away from the face, clothing, and hair. Sparklers can reach 1,800° Fahrenheit (982° Celsius) — hot enough to melt gold.
• Buy only legal fireworks (legal fireworks have a label with the manufacturer’s name and directions; illegal ones are unlabeled), and store them in a cool, dry place. Illegal fireworks usually go by the names M-80, M100, blockbuster, or quarterpounder. These explosives were banned in 1966, but still account for many fireworks injuries.
• Never try to make your own fireworks.
• Always use fireworks outside and have a bucket of water and a hose nearby in case of accidents.
• Steer clear of others — fireworks have been known to backfire or shoot off in the wrong direction. Never throw or point fireworks at someone, even in jest.
• Don’t hold fireworks in your hand or have any part of your body over them while lighting. Wear some sort of eye protection, and avoid carrying fireworks in your pocket — the friction could set them off.
• Point fireworks away from homes, and keep away from brush and leaves and flammable substances. The National Fire Protection Association estimates that local fire departments respond to more 50,000 fires caused by fireworks each year.
• Light one firework at a time (not in glass or metal containers), and never relight a dud.
• Don’t allow kids to pick up pieces of fireworks after an event. Some may still be ignited and can explode at any time.
• Soak all fireworks in a bucket of water before throwing them in the trash can.
• Think about your pet. Animals have sensitive ears and can be extremely frightened or stressed on the Fourth of July. Keep pets indoors to reduce the risk that they’ll run loose or get injured.

If a child is injured by fireworks, immediately go to a doctor or hospital. If an eye injury occurs, don’t allow your child to touch or rub it, as this may cause even more damage. Also, don’t flush the eye out with water or attempt to put any ointment on it. Instead, cut out the bottom of a paper cup, place it around the eye, and immediately seek medical attention — your child’s eyesight may depend on it. If it’s a burn, remove clothing from the burned area and run cool, not cold, water over the burn (do not use ice). Call your doctor immediately.

Fireworks are meant to be enjoyed, but you’ll enjoy them much more knowing your family is safe. Take extra precautions this Fourth of July and your holiday will be a blast!

PEL and REL are acronyms used by the safety industry to define Permissible Exposure Limits (OSHA term) and Recommended Exposure Limits (NIOSH term).

In 1974, NIOSH joined OSHA in developing a series of occupational health standards for substances with existing PELs. OSHA sets enforceable permissible exposure limits (PELs) to protect workers against the health effects of exposure to hazardous substances. PELs are regulatory limits on the amount or concentration of a substance in the air. They may also contain a skin designation. OSHA PELs are based on an 8-hour time weighted average (TWA) exposure. Together NIOSH and OSHA set limits for 380 hazardous chemicals.

OSHA currently has about 500 permissible exposure limits (29 CFR part1910.1000), while NIOSH has about 700 RELs. NIOSH is able to evaluate them while OSHA PEL limits has not be updated since late 1960’s.

Acting under the authority of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 USC Chapter 15) and the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 USC Chapter 22), NIOSH develops and periodically revises recommended exposure limits (RELs) for hazardous substances or conditions in the workplace. NIOSH also recommends appropriate preventive measures to reduce or eliminate the adverse health and safety effects of these hazards.

The NIOSH Web site features many different types of databases and information collections. The most popular databases include the International Chemical Safety Cards, NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards, and NIOSHTIC-2.

Chemical Databases:

· Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health (IDLH)
Provides the immediately dangerous to life or health air concentration values (IDLHs) for substances and the criteria and information sources that have been used to determine these values.

· International Chemical Safety Cards (WHO/IPCS/ILO)
ICSC cards summarize essential health and safety information on chemicals for their use at the “shop floor” level by workers and employers in factories, agriculture, construction and other work places.

· Manual of Analytical Methods (NMAM)
NMAM is a collection of methods for sampling and analysis of contaminants in workplace air, and in the blood and urine of workers who are occupationally exposed.

· NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards (NPG)
The NPG is intended as a source of general industrial hygiene information on several hundred chemicals/classes for workers, employers, and occupational health professionals.

·  The Emergency Response Safety and Health Database (ERSH-DB)
Developed by NIOSH for the emergency response community, The ERSH-DB contains accurate and concise information on high-priority chemical, biological and radiological agents that could be encountered by personnel responding to a terrorist event.

·Occupational Safety and Health Guidelines for Chemical Hazards
Summarizes information on permissible exposure limits, chemical and physical properties, and health hazards. It provides recommendations for medical surveillance, respiratory protection, and personal protection and sanitation practices for specific chemicals that have Federal occupational safety and health regulations.

· OSHA 1988 Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs)
PELs are OSHA comments from the January 19, 1989 Final Rule on Air Contaminants Project extracted from 54FR2332 et. seq. This rule was remanded by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the limits are not currently in force.

·Specific Medical Test Published in the Literature for OSHA Regulated Substances (MEDTEST)
The MEDTEST database lists the specific medical tests published in the literature for OSHA regulated substances. Updates of OSHA mandated tests (July 1, 2000) and NIOSH/OSHA recommendations are included.

On April 6, 2010, EPA took an important step toward providing communities with additional information about toxic chemicals being released to the environment. The Agency announced that it is proposing to add 16 chemicals to the TRI list of reportable chemicals. The Agency’s proposal is part of its ongoing efforts to examine the scope of TRI chemical coverage and provide communities with more complete information on toxic chemical releases, and is the first TRI program chemical expansion in over a decade.

The chemicals that EPA is proposing to add have been classified as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen” by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) in their Report on Carcinogens (RoC) document. Based on a review of the NTP RoC data, EPA believes that these 16 chemicals meet the EPCRA section 313(d)(2)(B)statutory listing criteria because they can reasonably be anticipated to cause cancer in humans. Additionally, four of the chemicals are being proposed for addition to the polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) category. The PACs category is a category of special concern, because PACs are persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic (PBT) chemicals, and as such, they are likely to remain in the environment for a very long time, are not readily destroyed, and may build up or accumulate in body

1-Amino-2,4-dibromoanthraquinone

2,2-bis(Bromomethyl)-1,3-propanediol

Furan

Glycido

Isoprene

Methyleugenol

o-Nitroanisole

Nitromethane

Phenolphthalein

Tetrafluoroethylene

Tetranitromethane

Vinyl Fluoride

Additions to the Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds (PACs) category:

1,6-Dinitropyrene1,

8-Dinitropyrene,

6-Nitrochrysene,

4-Nitropyrene