5/6/2019 Several years ago, I worked as a loss control rep for a large insurance company. One day I was called to a factory that manufactured zippers. That’s right, zippers. And the reason why I was called was to perform an accident investigation as one worker had about 70% of his left hand amputated. One of the processes is stitching a continuous length of zipper to fabric. Zippers were continuously fed into this rapid sewing Read more…
4/29/2019 Welding is a common task performed at worksites in the US and around the world. It is a process that joins materials, usually metals, by using high heat to melt parts together, allowing them to cool and fuse. Welding is different from other metal-joining techniques such as brazing and soldering as these operations use low temperatures which do not melt the base metal. The word, weld, is derived from the Old Swedish word valla, meaning “to boil”. Sweden was a large exporter of iron during the Middle Read more…
4/15/2019 Many years ago, I was teaching a HAZWOPER Course to a group of workers from the petroleum industry. The topic was emergency response and while conveying the importance of taking proper precautions during emergency scenarios, one of the participants brought up a situation which really reinforced my message. It was a real-life event which occasionally I reiterate during my current classes, as the story truly drives home a very important message; one that we Read more…
4/8/2019 When people think they are the only one in a public restroom, chances are, they will walk out without washing their hands. And if they do go to the sink after using the bathroom, 95 percent of people fail to wash their hands long enough to kill bacteria. Researchers have found that only two in three people use soap, while 1 in 10 skip the sink altogether; and men get much lower marks for hand hygiene than women. When germs get onto hands and are not washed off, they can be passed from person Read more…
4/1/2019 On May 4, 1988, a fire mysteriously began which then was followed by several explosions occurring at the Pacific Engineering and Production Company of Nevada (PEPCON) chemical plant in Henderson, Nevada, just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. The disaster caused two fatalities, 372 injuries, and an estimated $100 million of damage. A large portion of the Las Vegas Valley within a 10-mile radius of the plant was affected, and several agencies activated disaster plans. The PEPCON plant was Read more…
3/25/2019 Zero Accident Philosophy: ZAP. This is the concept that all accidents are preventable. At the same time, there are many that say the Zero Accident Philosophy is strictly a lofty goal and realistically speaking, can never be achieved. Maybe for a limited time, but the ideal of ensuring a 100% accident-free environment for an unlimited time period is strictly a goal in which we may merely strive for but cannot be realistically achieved or Read more…
3/18/2019 Sometimes I call Las Vegas – my adopted home town – the land of buffets. You can find buffets everywhere. At one time everything was cheap in Vegas…if you were an active gambler, everything was comped; your hotel room, entertainment and food…especially the buffets. Even if you didn’t spend all night in front of a slot machine or sitting down at a black jack table, everything was reasonably priced. But things have changed and Read more…
3/11/2019 Anyone who has attended a HAZWOPER course should be familiar with the three major health hazard categories: carcinogens, mutagens and teratogens. And while all three agents manifest unique health effects, they can all be derived by the same contaminant; be it a radionuclide or chemical. Carcinogens are defined as substances that cause abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled manner and, in some cases, to metastasize (spread). Cancer is not Read more…
2/25/2019 Hand tools are used routinely at work and in the home. And because they are part of everyday life, there is a tendency to forget that these hand-held devices can be hazardous. Screwdrivers, hammers, wrenches, saws, punches, planes, pliers and chisels are just a few of the tools commonly involved in accidents. Improper maintenance and misuse are the typical reasons why people get hurt when working with hand tools. Selecting the right tool for Read more…
2/18/2019 This past October, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) announced its list of the agency’s top 10 violations for fiscal year 2018. The list was announced by Patrick Kapust, OSHA’s Deputy Director of the Directorate of Enforcement Programs. The top 10 violations accounted for an estimated total of 32,266 violations, based on preliminary data for the last fiscal year. While these numbers represent safety and health violations that pertain strictly to Federal OSHA, Read more…