Occupational, Industrial, and Safety Shares for your company or organization

Dirty Bombs

2/11/2019 In recent years, a new term in warfare has emerged: Dirty Bombs.  This term made notoriety in America in June 2002, when an al-Qaida terrorist named José Padilla was arrested at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago and charged with assisting in the construction of such a device.  A dirty bomb or radiological dispersal device (RDD) combines radioactive material with conventional explosives.  The design of such a device is to spread radioactive material and contaminate Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Phishing

2/4/2019 It is amazing the impact computers have had on the English lexicon.  Here are some of the terms that are regularly used in today’s conversations. Upload, bits, bytes, blogs, internet, browser, reboot, the cloud, cookie, spam, firewall….it is an endless list.  And of course, from the clandestine side, there’s virus, malware, spyware, trojan, worm and, of course…phishing. People from the 1960’s would be completely lost in a modern-day conversation. Phishing is an example of Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Fall Protection Monitors

1/28/2019 Sometimes we may find ourselves in a bit of a predicament when it comes to complying with OSHA regulations. Such is the case when there is an assigned work activity near an unprotected leading edge on a roof and the standard method to ensure fall protection cannot be accomplished.  Throughout OSHA’s tenure, the residential home construction industry has been a challenge as work is generally temporary and many of the contractors and subcontractors performing Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Office Ergonomics

1/21/2019 According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, ergonomics is an applied science concerned with designing and arranging things people use so that the people and things interact most efficiently and safely. The word “Ergonomics” is a relatively new term which was derived from the Greek words, Ergon; work and Nomos; meaning natural law. The name “ergonomics” was officially proposed at a 1949 meeting of the British Admiralty, although history has recognized that it was first used Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Working in Cold Weather

1/14/2019 Many years ago, I found myself working outdoors in the Upper Peninsula, Michigan (aka the UP) in the middle of Winter. At this time in my life I was living in Southern California and hadn’t experienced snow or cold weather since my youth in New York. What a shock it was to be rudely reminded of the feeling of icicles forming in your nose as you inhaled. After a few months of this weather, Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Our Aging Population

1/7/2019 Not that long ago, my iPhone flashed a news headline about the importance of aging well.  Aging well is a topic that so many Americans seem to be having an increasingly growing interest; probably because so many baby-boomers are reaching that stage where going to see the Rolling Stones or Doobie Brothers means getting around with the assistance of wheel chairs and walkers! Nevertheless, while reality may be staring many of us mature folks Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Face Coverings and Carbon Dioxide Exposures

2/1/2021 Many of us spend time on social media sites engaged in various discussions on a variety of topics.  There is certainly a lot of activity out there. And while the initial intent of these sites was to be an outlet for people to share ideas and opinions on various subjects with others, we have found that the level of passion can easily get out-of-control, resulting in a loss of tolerance and even seeing accusatory Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Coal Ash

12/24/2018 ‘Twas the night before Christmas – well, not quite. It was on December 22, 2008. On that day, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Kingston Fossil Plant experienced a collapsed dike, resulting in 1.1 billion gallons of wet coal ash spilling into the environment. Coal ash? Coal ash is the byproduct of electricity generated by coal-fired power plants. Sometimes referred to as coal combustion residuals or CCRs, this material is produced primarily from the burning Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Heavy Equipment

12/17/2018 Yellow Iron: a term used to describe various types of heavy equipment found in construction. Typical yellow iron includes earth moving equipment, quarrying equipment, and fork lift trucks. The term is also used to describe agricultural equipment, such as tractors. Using heavy equipment can be challenging as their operation is associated with numerous safety considerations. When workers regularly operate heavy equipment and machinery, inherently, their tasks have an increased level of risk. One of Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Dangerous Christmas Toys

12/10/2018 “Ho, Ho, Ho…..Ho, Ho, Ho” Ah, the infamous line from the movie “Christmas Story” where all little Ralphie wants for Christmas is the Red Ryder air rifle.  He sees his chance and visits Santa in the big department store and as Santa places his boot into Ralphie’s face, forcing him down the slide, he rumbles, “You’ll shoot yer eye out kid!” this is followed by another “Ho, Ho, Ho.”  For the past twenty years Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago