Chemical Hygiene Plan OSHA’s Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories standard (29 CFR 1910.1450), referred to as the Laboratory Standard, specifies the mandatory requirements of a Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP) to protect laboratory workers from harm due to hazardous chemicals. The CHP is a written program stating the policies,...
Insects – Safety Tips for Outside Hazards As summer approaches, you may notice an increase in the number of insects buzzing around outside. People with an allergy to stinging insects will want to take extra precautions this time of year. Up to 5 percent of Americans are at risk for...
Heat is Coming As temperatures begin to rise, so does the risk of heat illness. Heat-related deaths and illness are preventable, yet many people succumb to the effects. Heat-related illness is also an underlying cause of a high percentage of non-fatal incidents. People suffer from heat-related illness when their bodies...
Silica Safety In June 2017, OSHA released a final ruling on the use of silica, discussing all of the dangers that are associated with the consistent exposure of silica, and they noted that it’s been directly linked to more than 900 cases of silicosis, annually—which is a very deadly respiratory...
Fireworks Safety In 2017, at least four people died and about 11,100 were injured badly enough to require medical treatment after fireworks-related incidents, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. And while the majority of these incidents were due to amateurs attempting to use professional-grade, homemade, or other illegal...
Preventing Accidents – Unsafe Acts Consider this statistic: 80 out of every 100 accidents are the fault of the person involved in the incident. Unsafe acts cause four times as many accidents and injuries as unsafe conditions. Accidents occur for many reasons. In most industries people tend to look for...
Confined Space – Atmospheric Testing Atmospheric testing is required for two distinct purposes: evaluation of the hazards of the permit space and verification that acceptable conditions exist for entry into that space. A confined space is one that is large enough to enter and perform assigned work in; it has...
Preventing Accidents – Unsafe Acts Consider this statistic: 80 out of every 100 accidents are the fault of the person involved in the incident. Unsafe acts cause four times as many accidents and injuries as unsafe conditions. Accidents occur for many reasons. In most industries people tend to look for...
Heat Stress Causes Body Reactions Four environmental factors affect the amount of stress a worker faces in a hot work area: temperature, humidity, radiant heat (such as from the sun or a furnace) and air velocity. Perhaps most important to the level of stress an individual faces are personal characteristics...
Laboratory – Chemical Spill Response Many spills in the laboratory work area can be prevented. Development and implementation of good laboratory practices will significantly reduce the likelihood of spills. In spite of our best efforts, spills happen. When they do, it makes sense to respond to them as carefully and...