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

Breast Cancer Facts

10/11/2010 October has been designated as “National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.” Communities around the country have been organizing fund raising events so that research may continue and hopefully, we may find a cure for this disease. In recent years, there have been remarkable life-saving treatment advances against breast cancer, bringing new hope to all that have been affected by this illness. Instead of only one or two options, today there’s an overwhelming menu of treatment Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Natural Gas and Explosive Limits

9/20/2010 Because many of us have sat through an OSHA HAZWOPER class or similar safety and health instruction course, the terms lower explosive limit (LEL) and upper explosive limit (UEL) should conjure up some recollection. In simple terms, these are chemical-specific air concentrations that, when subject to an ignition source, can result in an explosion.  Just about every substance has its unique LEL and UEL.  Airborne concentrations of specific materials that are less than its Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Noise Exposures and Exchange Rates

4/5/2021 The risk of noise that may impair our hearing is based upon two factors: noise intensity level (loudness) and the duration of exposure. From an occupational perspective, persons working around loud noise sources, such as heavy equipment and machinery during a typical 8-hour day, are most susceptible to hearing loss.  In addition to regular 8-hour work shift exposures, impulse noise – those quick bursts of high-intensity noises coming from such equipment as pile drivers, Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Ligaments, Tendons, Tommy John Surgery and Office Ergonomics!

6/13/2011 Last week the sports world announced that another baseball pitcher, reliever Joba Chamberlain of the New York Yankees has sustained a torn ligament in his elbow and will need Tommy John Surgery.  “Tommy John Surgery?” I asked myself.  “What is that?”    Tommy John Surgery is a medical procedure in which a ligament in the medial (or middle) elbow is replaced with a tendon from elsewhere in the body.  Often the tendon is taken from Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Mercury

5/20/2011 In Greek mythology, Mercury is the fleet-footed messenger of the Gods. He was the cleverest of the Olympians, patron of translators and interpreters. He ruled over wealth, good fortune, commerce, fertility. . . and thievery. He brought the souls of the dead to the underworld, and was honored as a god of sleep. As a physical substance in the living organism, however, mercury is the antithesis of the fleet-footed messenger’s finer qualities. In the Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Exotic Animals as House Pets

3/29/2021 Many of us humans are animal lovers and having a pet is just a “must” in our lives.  And while many of us have a dog or a cat, some have more than one and in certain instances, multitudes. And yet, there are those of us that, rather than having the traditional pet, have a desire for a more exotic animal. Exotic often refers to a species which is not native or indigenous to Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Chain Saw Safety

3/22/2021 We recently had some “grubbing” that needed to be performed on one of our projects. Grubbing is the process of removing brush and their roots as well as clearing land due to heavy plant growth. This activity is typically performed so that other activities can be conducted and usually requires using a chain saw, hacking away tree branches and other flora. On this day, we watched the facility maintenance crew perform their work and Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Poly Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Environment

3/15/2021 The reasons for remediation activities across the country are as varied and diverse as there are environmental projects. Yet, if we were to take these activities and roll them up into a single category, we would see a common thread. That is, years ago, environmental rules and regulations did not exist. And that resulted in waterways and lands in every state being used as dumping grounds: no matter what the environmental and health consequences Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Indoor Air Quality

5/2/2011 During the late 1970’s, when America experienced its first major energy crisis, and we saw lines of cars wrapped around city blocks waiting over an hour to fill up their cars with precious gasoline (they had leaded in those days!), a number of initiatives (I am hesitant to use the word “solutions”) were instituted. For reducing the long lines at the gas pumps, alternating days were assigned as either odd or even, so that, Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Substance Abuse

4/25/2011 This past week in Santa Fe New Mexico, a person that was involved in a multi-fatality car collision and cited for driving under the influence (his blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit) was found not guilty of manslaughter charges.  This is not to say that he was innocent; the jury, based on evidence determined that, although he was drunk, did not cause the accident. While this may be true, one has to wonder Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago