Safety 2014 Call for Papers

ASSE is accepting proposals for speakers for Safety 2014. The professional development conference and exposition is scheduled for June 8-11 in Orlando, FL. Presentations should address one or more of the following:

• key issues and challenges facing SH&E professionals;
• skills and knowledge to address key issues and challenges;
• emerging issues and areas of interest to the profession.

Those interested should submit a proposal by July 19, 2013.

Red Cross Promotes Water Safety

As summer vacation season get underway, American Red Cross has produced the Circle of Drowning Prevention and the Chain of Drowning Survival to depict steps that people can take to stay safe in, on and around the water. "The Circle of Drowning Prevention and Chain of Drowning Survival have been created to raise awareness of the most important steps that Americans can take to reduce the number of preventable drownings," says Peter Wernicki, MD, FAAOS, who leads the group's aquatics expert panel.

According to a recent water safety poll, nearly half of Americans say they've had an experience where they were afraid they might drown, yet more than half of Americans plan on engaging in behaviors that put them at risk of future drownings when they take to the water this summer.

The Circle of Drowning Prevention shows the layers of protection that can help prevent potential drownings: provide close and constant attention to children you are supervising in or near water; fence pools and spas with adequate barriers, including four-sided fencing; learn swimming and water survival skills; children, inexperienced swimmers, and boaters should wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets; and always swim in a lifeguarded area.

The Chain of Drowning Survival illustrates the steps they should take when they spot someone in distress in the water: recognize the signs of someone trouble and shout for help; rescue and remove the person from water without putting yourself in danger; call emergency medical services; begin rescue breathing and CPR, and use an AED if available and transfer care to advanced life support, if needed.

Downloadable files of the posters and infographics of the Circle of Drowning Prevention and Chain of Drowning Survival can be found here.

ANSI Publishes Updated Version of Electric Vehicle Roadmap

ANSI has published its Standardization Roadmap for Electric Vehicles—Version 2.0. The free, updated version tracks progress on implementing recommendations published in its version 1.0 and discusses areas where standardization work is needed to provide safe, mass deployment of electric vehicles. ANSI reports the new version includes relevant standards, considers issues integral to consumer adoption of electric vehicles (e.g., safety, performance), and it also discusses conformance and training programs.

Safety Checklists for the Homecare Industry

Home health aides experience more than double the national rate of workplace injuries for all industries, ranking them among the ten highest reported for overexertion by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. To address this, Lori Severson and Robyn Gershon recommend that the homecare industry use checklists to identify hazards posed to home health aides. By identifying hazards through checklists, Severson and Gershon maintain that workers will be safer, healthier and more productive, and employers will earn a reputation for high-quality care, which promotes their sustainability and profitability.

Click here to read Severson’s and Gershon’s article, “Safety Checklists for the Homecare Industry,” from the latest issue of HealthBeat, the Healthcare Practice Specialty’s online technical publication. A sample checklist is available here.

New Research on Surface Spills in the Fracking Industry

The controversial fracking industry has recently raised many concerns about potential safety, health and environmental impacts of the process, including possible contamination of groundwater. To gain a better understanding of adverse effects of gas extraction through hydraulic fracturing, health scientist Heather Avens, Ph.D. and colleagues researched surface spills associated with fracking activities. Their research examined data from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and addressed potential contamination from benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX).

At the 2013 American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Expo in Montreal, Avens shared the following key findings of her research:

•       During the period between July 1, 2010, and July 2, 2011, 77 surface spills that had groundwater impact were recorded in Weld County, which had about 18,000 active wells.
•         Surface spills were experienced at about 0.4% of active wells during the same period.
•         An average of seven barrels of hydraulic fracturing water were spilled during each incident.
•         The average area of a spill was 197m³ and the average depth was 2 meters.
•         Tank battery systems represented a major point of origin for spills.
•         Spills were most often caused by equipment failure.
•         BTEX concentrations were significantly lower outside the excavation area than within the excavated area.
•         BTEX concentrations decreased rapidly as the distance from a spill increased.

Based on these findings, Avens and other researchers offered these recommendations:

• Well operators should conduct comprehensive chemical risk analyses to better understand surface spills.
• Water table depth and other important factors should be carefully considered.
• Equipment safety systems should be examined and enhanced as needed, especially for sites on which human attendants are not consistently present.
• Well operators must effectively communicate safety procedures and risks.

Find more information here.