10/24/2016 It is hard to believe that one of the world’s worst industrial disasters happened over thirty years ago. It was on December 3, 1984 in Bhopal, India: a city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Because this incident occurred in 1984, it is very likely that a whole generation of Americans never heard of this tragedy. While it has been over 30 years since this event, its story needs to be told Read more…
10/3/2016 Even to this day, after numerous unfortunate incidents, stories persist where a person would arbitrarily grab a fire extinguisher (F/E) without understanding its specific purpose, limitation or proper use, and try to extinguish a fire only to succumb to the heat, flames and poisonous gases. The problem is that so many people do not understand how crucial it is to know the specific characteristics of the fire extinguisher that one is about to use. Read more…
4/24/2017 It happened in December, 2008, at an organic chemistry lab at UCLA. That was when a research assistant was working at a laboratory hood, using a syringe to transfer about 50 mL of tert-butyl lithium, a pyrophoric chemical (a substance that catches fire spontaneously once exposed to air), dissolved in pentane (a flammable solvent) when the plunger of the transfer syringe came apart, causing the material to spew onto the researcher. Because the substance Read more…
12/12/2016 Acids: these are a group of chemicals known for their caustic nature. Most acids encountered in everyday life are aqueous solutions, or can be dissolved in water. Acid comes directly from the Latin acidus, which means sour. Probably the most obvious example of understanding this “sour” characteristic is through tasting vinegar – a dilute form of acetic acid. Acids are often used to remove rust and other corrosion from metals: a process known as Read more…
10/17/2016 Ethyl and Skyler walked out of their meeting with the Site Supervisor, Walt. Walt was discussing an injury sustained by one of their site workers, Jesse. As it happened, Jesse, quite innocently, tweaked his back while walking down some steps from the break trailer. Ethyl, the Site Safety and Health Officer (SSHO) and Skyler, the project’s union representative, were both quite concerned. Walt expressed his thoughts with an intense trepidation, as, according to the Read more…
1/30/2017 It was back in December 14, 1984, at the then new Limerick nuclear power plant in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, where, as the story goes, a construction engineer was on his way to work and set off the facility’s radiation monitoring alarms. Because the plant was still under construction (the plant went “critical” a few days later) there was no nuclear fuel at the plant. This information coupled with the fact that he was entering Read more…
1/23/2017 Something very subtle appears to be taking place in the United States. That is, our workforce is aging. This “maturing” just didn’t happen overnight. Rather, through a number of paradigm shifts involving the US economy, we have seen the median age of the American worker rise. The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics reports that one in five people in the workplace are over the age of 55. In 1994, the median age of Read more…
3/6/2017 It is quite common that various types of hearing loss and hearing impediments are discussed during Hearing Conservation Program training. One of the topics brought up, but all-to-often only skimmed over, is tinnitus. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that nearly 15% of the general public; that’s over 50 million Americans, experience some form of tinnitus. Roughly 20 million people struggle with burdensome chronic tinnitus, while 2 million have extreme and debilitating cases. Read more…
1/9/2017 On December 2, 2016, at approximately 11:20 p.m. PST a fire broke out in a warehouse in Oakland, California. This warehouse was known as Ghost Ship and functioned as an artist collective, called Satya Yuga. Even though the facility was designed and originally operated as a warehouse, it was converted into living quarters for musicians and artists. At the time of the fire, the warehouse was hosting a concert which was promoted by the house Read more…
2/13/2017 Whether at work or just hiking on our own time, many of us find ourselves in remote locations exploring paths and unique terrain. Without a doubt, we have heard about the importance of carrying first aid supplies in our vehicles as well as during hiking expeditions. And when we find ourselves in secluded locations, should a medical emergency arise, prompt action is all the more critical as a medical facility may be several miles Read more…