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

Occupational Noise: A-Weighted Vs. C-Weighted Scales

1/25/2021 Often, I have been asked about the noise designations of A-Weighted and C-Weighted measurements. What do these two classifications mean and how do they each relate to our exposures to occupational noise? A-weighting began with the work of two scientists, Harvey Fletcher and Wilden Munson in the 1930’s when they measured the relationship of loudness to frequencies. In their study, headphones were placed on test subjects while listening to pure tones at various frequencies Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Five Accident Precursors

7/10/2017 It is said that safety doesn’t happen by accident. I know; cute little play on words. The fact is, this is a common safety slogan that can be seen on hard hats, on the door of project trailers or even as a banner as one enters a construction site to remind personnel that it takes a concerted effort to achieve and maintain excellent safety performance. Please note that I didn’t say “excellent safety record,” Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Fener Benders

6/19/2017 While there are millions of traffic accidents every year, only a small percentage can be classified as serious; that is, those that result in severe injuries or fatalities. According to data published by the United States Census Bureau, there are generally over 10 million vehicular accidents every year! And they range from minor fender benders to catastrophic events.  As the name implies, a fender bender is a minor, low-speed accident that involves a car’s Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Coffee to Your Health!

6/12/2017 Coffee has become big money. Companies like Starbucks and Peet’s (made famous by Judge Ito during the OJ Simpson Trail) are Bullish on the NASDAQ stock market. It’s almost like a Renaissance. Communities in South America, Africa and Indonesia, where the coffee plant thrives, now have viable economies where only decades earlier, their plantations were worth only beans.     As the story goes, the discovery of coffee dates back to 11th Century Ethiopia where a Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Coffee!

6/12/2017 Coffee has become big money. Companies like Starbucks and Peet’s (made famous by Judge Ito during the OJ Simpson Trail) are Bullish on the NASDAQ stock market. It’s almost like a Renaissance. Communities in South America, Africa and Indonesia, where the coffee plant thrives, now have viable economies where only decades earlier, their plantations were worth only beans.     As the story goes, the discovery of coffee dates back to 11th Century Ethiopia where a Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

On Broadway

6/5/2017 We generally think of fall protection for industrial settings. However, many of the real-life visual effects we marvel at during a theatrical performance may also require fall protection: specifically full body harnesses, lanyards AND anchor points. Without this equipment, along with training and inspections and maintenance, persons that dazzle us from the stage are very much in harms’ way to the same extent as those who work in construction.   On June 29, 2013, the Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Antimony

4/10/2017 Antimony – during remediation and environmental investigations, it is one of those metals that is frequently on the list of “contaminants-of-concern” or COCs : Yet most of us know very little about this material. Antimony is a chemical element with the atomic number 51.  It’s chemical symbol Sb, which comes from its Latin name, stibium.  Further research shows that the name is derived from the Greek word, stibi, which, in turn, was known to the Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Dangerous Baby Products

3/27/2017 Earlier this month there was an article in US Today that told of the dangers of many products on the market that have caused more than 66,000 children – toddlers – to go to the emergency room.  These products are nursery products, and, based on the latest injury statistics, that means a child is rushed to the emergency room at a rate close to about once every eight minutes. And yet, according to research Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

The Meanest Stings – Bees, Wasps, Hornets and?

6/27/2016 We all know that there are a lot of flying, stinging creatures out there in the summer time. Bees (all varieties), hornets and wasps are the most notable. And while we all acknowledge their stinging capabilities, there are a lot of myths and misconceptions regarding their sting and our reactions to getting stung.  Bees and wasps and hornets are different in the way they sting and the venom they carry.  Hornets and wasps do Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Health Hazards from Fire Extinguishers

6/16/2016 I would imagine that when most of us think of fire extinguishers (F/Es), we automatically picture that red cylinder which we can pick up in our hands, tear off the plastic tie that secures the metal pin, and when removed, allows us to squeeze the handle (gently and firmly), causing the release of the fire extinguishing material. And while we typically view F/E’s as tools to mitigate a hazardous situation, there is a component Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago