EU-OSHA Unveils Online Tool for Managing Stress in the Workplace

As part of the Healthy Workplaces Manage Stress campaign, EU-OSHA launched an e-guide on managing stress and psychosocial risks at work. This free tool offers useful tips and information about work-related stress and psychosocial risks to foster awareness, understanding and management of these issues in the workplace.

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According to the Agency, work-related stress leads to lost work days, incidents and a poor quality of life. The e-guide helps both employers and workers, particularly of small businesses, better understand and manage stress and psychosocial risks. 

The web-based tool is now available in several national versions and will eventually be adapted to the legislation, context and language of 34 countries to accommodate all EU Member States. Each version of the e-guide contains: 

• simple explanations of work-related stress and psychosocial risks;
• effects on businesses and workers;
• practical examples on how to prevent and deal with psychosocial risks;
• references to national legislation;
• information on national resources and practical tools.

Click here to learn more.

Expert ASSE/ANSI Panel Examines Hydrogen Sulfide in Oil & Gas Industry

Members of the committee that developed ANSI/ASSE Z390, AcceptedPractices for Hydrogen Sulfide Safety Training Programs, presented today at the OSHA Oil & Gas Safety Conference in Houston, TX. A standing-room-only crowd was on hand to hear the experts share their insight on best practices and processes that OSH professionals can use to improve H2S safety programs in the oil and gas industry. The group also addressed major concerns and issues related to H2S hazards and exposures in the industry. Panelists included moderator Frank Perry, Chuck Simpson, Dan Brinkman and Gary Childress.

Safety Speaks: Dave Walline & Prevention Through Design

Safety Speaks is a podcast about the latest and greatest in occupational safety, covering contemporary issues in the world of OSH and providing insight from industry leaders.

Our guest for this episode is Dave Walline. He is president of Walline Consulting in Port St. Lucie, FL, and chair of ASSE’s Risk Assessment Committee. He is also the author of Prevention Through Design: Proven Solutions From the Field, a feature article in the November 2014 issue of ASSE's Professional Safety journal. 

If you heard our last podcast you already know the pitch for Prevention Through Design (PTD). In short, it’s designing safety elements into projects preemptively, rather than trying to address them reactively. It is a fairly straightforward concept to grasp, but execution in the real world is a completely different story.

Walline says OSH professionals need to be prepared to sell the concept of PTD to their management to have any hope of implementing it in a workplace. For that to happen, safety professionals need to  start redefining their roles, and eventually, in some ways, start redefining their profession.

You can listen here.

New Health Advisory Details Food Flavoring & Scent Ingredient Manufacturing Concerns

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The new “Occupational Disease Investigation: Food and Consumer Goods Flavorings,” advisory from ESIS examines food and consumer goods flavorings and scent ingredients and recommends several steps manufacturers can take to help protect their workers and mitigate claims and losses. Serious concerns have been raised about the health risks associated with employee exposure to a growing class of chemical compounds used to enhance scents and flavorings. These compounds can result in employee complaints and claims of developing respiratory conditions.

More than a decade ago, diacetyl, an additive commonly known as a buttery flavor in popcorn and other foods was linked with a serious lung condition in workers exposed to it. Since then, food processors have attempted to replace diacetyl with other flavorings. One of these new flavorings, 2, 3-Pentanedione, has also been linked to respiratory health concerns. According to NIOSH, the industry counts at least 1,000 ingredients as potential respiratory hazards. Any consumer goods business that uses scent or flavoring agents may be exposing its workers to similar compounds.

They can be complex and volatile combinations of natural and man-made chemicals, which evaporate from solids or liquids or become powders or dusts during production, and then become accessible for inhalation by workers.

In the advisory, ESIS recommends the following seven-step plan--which should remind OSH professionals of the widely used hierarchy of controls:

1. Substitution. If a compound has proven links to health concerns, consider substituting a less hazardous ingredient with a safer alternative, whenever possible.
2. Accommodation. If a substitution is not possible, consider alternate work assignments for workers who are particularly sensitive to certain chemical compounds.
3. Engineering. Limit exposure by engineering closed production processes that minimize employees’ exposure to potentially dangerous chemical compounds.
4. Education. Implement work practices and training programs to ensure safe handling and storage of these compounds.
5. PPE. Make aprons, goggles, gloves or masks available for workers who remain at risk of exposure. 
6. Exposure Monitoring. Monitor the effects of employee exposure through regular testing of their breathing capacity and air concentration.
7. Partnership. Work with a claims and risk management company to gain access to additional occupational disease management resources.

Give the Gift of Safety

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has issued holiday gift recommendations to help

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recipients protect family and friends during emergencies. 

"A gift to help prepare for emergencies could be life-saving for friends and family," says Janet Odeshoo, FEMA Region V acting regional administrator. "These gift ideas provide a great starting point for being prepared for an emergency or disaster."

FEMA’s recommended supplies for an emergency preparedness kit include:

• battery-powered or hand-crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert;
• flashlight with extra batteries;
• solar-powered cell phone charger;
• smoke detector and/or carbon monoxide detectors;
• first-aid kit;
• fire extinguisher and fire escape ladder;
• enrollment in a CPR or first-aid class;
• books, coloring books, crayons and board games for kids, in case of power loss;
• personal hygiene comfort kit, including shampoo, body wash, wash cloth, hairbrush, comb, toothbrush, toothpaste and deodorant;
• waterproof pouch or backpack containing any the listed items, or with such things as a rain poncho, moist towelettes, work gloves, batteries, duct tape, whistle or food bars.

Holiday shoppers might also consider gifting a winter car kit, equipped with a shovel, ice scraper, emergency flares, fluorescent distress flags and jumper cables.

The gift of preparedness might save the life of a friend or family member. For more information, preparedness tips or more gift ideas, visit www.Ready.gov.