Ladder Safety 101 - Video

This is the video that accompanies the Ladder Safety article.

12 Fire Prevention Tips for Workers

Fire safety is an important workplace topic throughout the year. Death and injury are the greatest risks and the ones with which most workers are familiar. But fires also destroy jobs. Many of the workplaces that are destroyed by fire are never rebuilt. In the hard economic times being experienced across much of the globe, this message is likely to resonate. Here are some general tips for a fire-safe workplace, as well as a Fire Safety Checklist you can adapt in the TOOLS section.

12 Ways to Prevent a Workplace Fire

Preventing fires is everyone’s job. We all need to be alert to anything that could cause a fire, and take responsibility to report any problem areas so they can be corrected. Here are some reminders about fire prevention:

1. Practice good workplace housekeeping. Clutter contributes to fires by providing fuel and by preventing access to exits and emergency equipment.

2. Place oily rags in a covered metal container. This waste must be properly disposed of on a regular basis.

3. Maintain machinery to prevent overheating and friction sparks.

4. Report electrical hazards. Many fires start in faulty wiring and malfunctioning electrical equipment. Never attempt electrical repairs unless you are qualified and authorized.

5. Maintain free access to all electrical control panels. Material or equipment stored in front of the panels would slow down the shutting down of power in an emergency situation.

6. Use and store chemicals safely. Read the label and the Material Safety Data Sheet to determine flammability and other fire hazards. Provide adequate ventilation when using and storing these substances.

7. Use all precautions to prevent ignition in potentially explosive atmospheres such as those containing flammable liquid vapors or fine particles. Use non-sparking tools, and control static electricity as required.

8. Help maintain building security to prevent arson fires. Lock up as instructed; report suspicious persons; and don’t leave combustible rubbish where it can be set afire outside the building.

9. Smoke only in designated areas, and extinguish smoking materials safely. Never smoke in storerooms or chemical storage areas.

10. Never block sprinklers, firefighting equipment or emergency exits. Observe clearances when stacking materials.

11. Post emergency telephone numbers as well as the company address by the telephone in your station for quick access if a fire were to start in your work area.

12. Learn how to properly use a fire extinguisher.


What To Do in Case of Fire

It’s also important that you have a clear idea what to do in case a fire does occur.

• Know your company’s emergency procedures and your role in them.
• Sound the alarm so the building occupants can escape.
• Proceed to the designated assembly area outside the building.
• If you are trained to do so, you might be able to fight a small fire with a portable extinguisher. Choose the right extinguisher for the type of fire, and keep a clear escape route.
• As you leave, shut down machinery or process equipment according to your company’s emergency plan.
• Take fire drills seriously. They are organized to save lives and property in case of the real thing.

Conclusion


A workplace fire is an experience you don’t want to have. In addition to injury and loss of life, the outbreak of a fire can lead to job losses. Rebuilding a workplace after a fire is very expensive and many companies can’t afford to do it. Don’t let a fire threaten you, your co-workers and your job. Work safely to prevent fires, and know what to do if one occurs.

Ladder Safety Awareness

Injuries in the workplace because of ladder are commonplace. Falls from ladders can be as painful as a fall from a roof; about a third of all reported falls are falls from ladders. Many of the fall related injuries result from the improper use or the use of a defective ladder. Step/extension ladders are made to access/egress upper levels, not to be used as work platforms. There are specifically designed ladders for use as work platforms such as order pickers. These ladders are constructed with a small platform and guardrail. The following safe work rules should be observed when working with ladders.

Inspection

• Look for missing or loose cleats at the bottom.
• Look for loose or missing screws, bolts or nails on job made ladders
• Look for cracked, broken, split, dented or badly worn rungs, cleats or side rails.
• Splinters on wood ladders.
• Corrosion on metal ladders.

Ladder Use

• Always use the right ladder for the right job.
• Don’t set your ladder in a walkway or door opening.
• Keep the area at the top and bottom of the ladder clear of tool cords, tools, material and garbage.
• Always set the ladder on solid footing.
• Use a twenty-five percent (4:1)  angle on the slope of the ladder.
• When using extension ladders, the three (3) top rungs must extend beyond the landing platform. (Or the top of an extension ladder must be 36” (3 feet) above the landing.
• Don’t lean to the side when on a ladder or you may tip over.
• Do not carry tools or materials on a ladder. Use both hands when climbing a ladder to grab onto the side rails. If it is necessary to move material or tools up a ladder, first climb up, then pull up the work with a hand line.
• Only one person on a ladder at a time (unless the ladder is double cleated).
• Always secure the top of the ladder to prevent it from sliding.
• Never lean a step ladder; always fully open a step ladder.
• Always face the ladder. 

Facts about Poison Ivy

Facts about Poison Ivy

How do you get poison ivy?

From touching it, or touching something that has touched it, like your clothes or your dog. You normally get it from touching the leaves, but yanking the vine out by the roots - even in winter - will give you a rash.

And there are more unusual ways to get it, like breathing smoke from firewood burning with poison ivy on it.

What about immunity?

Some people appear to be immune, others become immune. HOWEVER, you can gain or lose immunity, so to assume you can't get it if you never have before is foolish. People change as they age. Never assume that you are immune at any time no matter what your past experience was.

 What it is like to get it?

At first you get a slight itchy spot, which gets worse and worse. It can be a small itchy area that will annoy you, or it can cover your whole body with giant red sores.

 What if you know you've been exposed to it?

Within a hour or so you should rinse with lots of cold water - like a garden hose. Hot water will open your pores and let the oil in.

For up to about 6 hours washing with alcohol may still help remove the oil.

The next day is too late. Check with your doctor to see if early treatment can prevent the rash before it really starts.

 What can you do once the itching starts?

Not too much without seeing a doctor. Drugstore remedies may help, but for severe cases you have to see a doctor for a heavy duty remedy.

 Is it contagious?

Once you have the rash the oil has been absorbed and you probably can't spread it to others or elsewhere on yourself. If you get big blisters filled with liquid it is mostly water and will not spread the rash even if they break.

 What causes the rash?

There is an oil, called urushiol, that causes an allergic reaction after the first sensitizing exposure. The oil is in the leaves, vines, and roots. That's why tearing out the vine is so dangerous - it releases lot of urushiol.

 How to protect against it?

 If at all possible don’t go near it (Leaves of Three, Let Them Be).  If you must work around it, wear rubber boots and gloves that can be easily rinsed off.  Also utilize barrier cream.  Once the job is done rinse your boots, gloves, and any exposed skin with cold water.

Poison Ivy has a three leaf configuration.  The three leaflets, around 2" to 4" in length, may be shiny or not (usually are) wavy-edged or slightly toothed, and are sometimes slightly lobed. The young leaves are green, often with a reddish cast that they lose as they mature.

Poison Ivy in Spring

Like many spring leaves, poison ivy leaves start out bright red, which seems to fend off insects.
New leaves can always be reddish even when they sprout in mid summer.

Poison Ivy in Summer

Classic poison ivy in full swing. Some leaves are notched, some leave are not.
New leaves are shiny and still somewhat reddish. Older leaves are duller.

Poison Ivy in Fall

Poison ivy turns all sorts of colors in the fall: yellow, red, orange. And you can still get itchy from it in the fall.

Poison Ivy in Winter

You can get poison ivy from working with the vine in winter and you can get it in your lungs if you burn it and breathe the smoke. 

Creeping Poison Ivy

It creeps along on the ground - usually at the edge of the forest or edge a field or road.
It's almost impossible to get rid of it, since the roots are very well established under the ground. 

Poison Ivy Grows at the Edges

You can almost count on poison ivy growing at the edge of every field within it's range.
And at the edge of every road, and the edge of every forest.
And wherever man has bulldozed a stable environment - like a new shopping mall or a housing subdivision.

Climbing Poison Ivy

Sometimes it's hard to tell poison ivy from the tree it's climbing on - it can branch out two or three feet.
When you cut down a tree for firewood you can get a good case of poison ivy from the vine stuck to the tree - even in winter.

Bucket Truck Safety and Awareness

Bucket Truck Safety and Awareness

Health risk posed by the Browntail Moth Caterpillar

Browntail Caterpillar

Just a quick post for those that reside in Maine , regarding the health risk posed by the Browntail Moth caterpillar.

The browntail moth caterpillar has tiny poisonous hairs that cause dermatitis similar to poison ivy on sensitive individuals. People may develop dermatitis from direct contact with the caterpillar or indirectly from contact with airborne hairs. The hairs become airborne from either being dislodged from the living or dead caterpillar or they come from cast skins with the caterpillar molts. Most people affected by the hairs develop a localized rash that will last for a few hours up to several days but on some sensitive individuals the rash can be severe and last for several weeks. The rash results from both a chemical reaction to a toxin in the hairs and a physical irritation as the barbed hairs become embedded in the skin. Respiratory distress from inhaling the hairs can be serious.

Caterpillars are active from April to late June. Hairs remain toxic throughout the summer but get washed into the soil and are less of a problem over time.

Browntail Larvae

Maine summary: 

The Maine Forest Service is receiving increased reports of caterpillars and their webs. Maine has known populations of browntail moths in Bowdoinham, Bath, Topsham, West Bath, Woolwich (Sagadahoc County) Brunswick, Freeport and Harpswell (Cumberland County) this year. The infestation is expanding south into Yarmouth and Cumberland (Cumberland County) and east into Wiscasset, Edgecomb and Boothbay (Lincoln County) and beyond.

The Maine Forest Service has seen pockets of infestation, some of them heavy, in other locations from Turner (Androscoggin County) to Waterville (Kennebec County) to Bristol (Lincoln County) to Kittery (York County).

Browntail moth control may be occurring in certain areas, but the risk to the public remains high in affected areas.

Information for providers:

Be aware of the risk of browntail moth rashes, particularly in areas with known risk.

There is no specific treatment for dermatitis due to browntail moths; treatment is focused on relieving symptoms and eliminating ongoing exposure.

The toxin is extremely stable and can remain a hazard for a long time.

Recommendations to reduce exposure:

•  Avoid places heavily infested by caterpillars
•  Take a cool shower and change clothes after any activity that might involve contact with browntail moth hairs
•   Dry laundry inside during June and July to avoid having the hair become impregnated in clothing
•  Wear respirator, goggles, and coveralls tightly closed at neck, wrists and ankles when performing activities that stir up caterpillar hairs such as mowing, raking, weed whacking, and removing pupal webbing from eaves and boats.
•  Perform these tasks on damp days or wet down material with a hose to help keep the hairs from becoming airborne

 

Skin rash caused by the exposure to the brown-tail larva

For more information:

 Maine Forest Service Browntail moth webpage: Browntail Moth Page

The threat of Lyme Disease

Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that causes an inflammatory disease in many areas of the body.  It is transmitted through an infected deer tick.  These ticks are smaller than the common dog or cattle tick.  They are usually not much bigger than the head of a pin.  The deer tick can attach itself to any part of the human body but especially to more hidden and hairy areas (i.e. armpits, groin, and scalp).

 Deer ticks stay attached to the skin longer than other ticks.  Transmission of the disease from an infected tick is unlikely before 36 hours of attachment.  Infection from the disease usually occurs after two or more days after attachment. 

Symptoms of Lyme disease are similar to the flu.  A “bulls-eye” rash may develop where the tick was attached.  Fever, lymph node swelling, neck stiffness, generalized fatigue, headache, migrating joint aches and muscle aches may also occur.  If Lyme disease is suspected, antibiotics are used to treat the disease.  Lyme disease that is left untreated results in severe, chronic, and disabling symptoms such as chronic, inflammatory arthritis, chronic muscle pain, heart disease, and brain and nerve disorders.

Avoiding tick bites is of utmost importance in the prevention of Lyme disease.  Avoid brushy, overgrown, grassy, and wooded areas, particularly in spring and early summer.  Also, remove leaves, tall grass, and brush from areas surrounding work or residential areas, thereby reducing tick, deer, and rodent habitat.  There are also tick-toxic chemicals that can prevent tick attachment to skin.

Using personal protection can also decrease the probability of tick bites.  Several measures have been recommended for personal protection, and have been used, including:

1.  Wearing light-colored clothing so that ticks can be easily seen and removed before attachment   occurs;

2.  Wearing long-sleeved shirts and tucking pant legs into socks or boots to prevent ticks from   reaching the skin;

3.  Wearing high boots or closed shoes that cover the entire foot;

4.  Wearing a hat;

5.  Spraying insect repellents (containing DEET) on exposed skin, excluding the face, in accordance with   EPA guidelines.  Using  permethrin on clothes to kill ticks on contact;

6.  Showering, and washing and drying clothes at a high temperature, after outdoor exposure;

7.  Checking the body carefully for ticks; once found, promptly removing them with tweezers   and   cleansing the skin area with an antiseptic.

Typical Bulls Eye Rash Associated With Lyme Disease