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Job-One: An essential reference for new workers and the people around them

Pay cheques more often than safety are on the minds of young Canadians tackling their first jobs. In retail sales, for example, the two make for unlikely companions. Who considers the potential respiratory problems from moulds and bacteria from workplace air or the chance of carpel tunnel syndrome or tendonitis from working a cash register?

Other jobs bring hazards that are more obvious. Lawn care may be a good way to spend summer outdoors, but with it comes the dangers of chemical exposure, heavy lifting, equipment accidents and noise pollution.

Young workers, just like their older counterparts, cannot escape the pitfalls that come with the positive aspects of employment. In fact, with 1/3 of all workplace injuries happen to those 15-24, the odds are stacked against them.

It doesn't have to be that way. Young workers can start that first job empowered with enough information to protect themselves.

Enter Job One: An essential, online reference for new workers and the people around them. CCOHS, with the input of youth delegates from every province and the support of the Canadian Association of Administrators of Labour Legislation and the Association of Workers Compensation Boards of Canada, has launched a new website and portal to workplace safety information. It explains job hazards, worker rights and responsibilities, real stories of young workers injured and killed on the job, minimum wages by area and information and extensive links to safety organizations across the country.

The site is directed to workers in their first jobs, as well as their parents, employers and teachers. And, helping boost awareness of the site and its credibility, it received the backing of Canada's Ministers of Labour following a meeting in Quebec City at the end of January.

Hazard Alerts

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New warnings from provincial governments

Prevention and information are the watchwords again this month as provincial governments attempt to save lives with Hazard Alerts and safety bulletins.

NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR
A worker died in Newfoundland after being pinned between two commercial vehicles he was joining with a tow chain. The ensuing investigation pointed out the poor communication between the parties involved. The alert, from the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission, stresses that whenever towing another vehicle, or whenever being towed, extreme caution must be exercised to position all parties safely and that everyone involved understands the plan and the signals to be used prior to proceeding. The commission advises that if there is doubt that such a towing situation cannot be made safe a professional towing company should be hired.  Full text of this alert HERE

MANITOBA
In Manitoba, an employer was slapped with a $4,600 fine for failing to follow the rules regarding the operation of a Bosun's chair near electrical power lines. Manitoba law requires these manual or powered suspended work platforms to have a minimum work clearance of 3 metres (10 feet) from any electrical transmission or distribution system that could endanger the life or safety of equipment operators. If a job requires work within 3 metres, legislation requires that the employer contact Manitoba Hydro for assistance and instruction beforehand. In addition, every employer is required to notify the Workplace Safety and Health Division at least 8 hours before rigging any suspended work platform higher than 3 metres. Full text of this alert HERE.

OSH Answers

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The 'hazardous' office move

So, your office is moving. Get ready for health and safety concerns that you don't face every day.

But let's back up first. An office move marks a great time to conduct a job task analysis. You can use this to decide if new furniture or a new layout would help your staff and help them work better.

Move only items of use or value to your new facility. Sell or dispose of the rest. Staff should be instructed to take home personal items, especially the breakable ones. They can bring them to the new location after the move.

Now, on to the move.

No doubt you are anticipating hazards such as:

• Trips and falls due to clutter from boxes, furniture and trolleys
• Obstruction of thoroughfares, corridors and hallways
• Lifting, shifting, pushing, pulling, packing and unpacking
• Use of cleaning products

But that's not the end of your concerns.

Setting up workstations in a new arrangement or in a different space will require a fresh ergonomic evaluation to ensure a fit for the worker. Take into account the furniture as well as glare from lights or windows.

In addition, you should pay particular attention to books and papers that have been stored for a while. They are a hidden repository of dust, dust mites, mould and book lice.

Dust, dust mites and mould will become airborne when staff handle the papers and may be inhaled. Dust mites are an invisible allergen that can cause itchy, irritated eyes, runny nose, cough and, in more severe cases, shortness of breath or asthma. There are many types of mould, some of which can be extremely toxic. Mould may appear as spots on the cover or exposed pages of books. To check for less obvious concentrations, use a cotton swab to wipe the outside of the book. If the swab picks up what looks like mould, mould is probably present.

Before you start moving any books or papers, make a thorough inspection of the materials.

• Wear gloves (Choose the type to meet the hazard and include the impact of cleaners or bleach.)
• Institute a respirator program
  • If mould is present, all staff should wear disposable half-mask respirators with HEPA filters
  • If no mould is present, only staff having dust mite allergy should wear the disposable half-mask respirator with HEPA filter. All other staff should wear a disposable particulate respirator (N95).

Of course, you should inform your staff of the potential hazards that come along with moving to that new office and how to take the necessary precautions. Here's one last hint. Remind your staff to wear clothes that can be machine-washed.

Partner News

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Dying young: A memorial to preventable workplace tragedy

"Timothy Hamilton did not want to die. He was at work because he had plans. Plans for the weekend, plans for college, plans for his life."

It is a fitting eulogy for the 19 year old from Bragg Creek, Alberta. It also captures the unfulfilled potential befalling the hundreds more young Canadians, and their families and friends, who have died needlessly on the job.

Tim died of electrocution, erecting a party tent in the dark after 12 hours on the job.

Robert Fulbrook, 14, of Welland, Ontario died during a "Take Your Kid to Work" program. The utility vehicle he was riding on crashed into a parked tractor-trailer.

Chris Priestman, 23, Cambridge, Ontario was crushed when a gravel pit caved in on him.

There are more names - too many - and too many stories.

Each year more than 60,000 young workers are injured seriously enough to require time off work. Nearly 100 have died in the last 2 years.

In fact, workers between the ages of 15 and 24 are more likely than any other group to suffer serious injuries, according to statistics gathered by the Workers' Compensation Boards of Canada. Investigations and inquests consistently find a major cause to be the lack of proper health and safety training. And the situation is not going away; it is expected to grow in line with the expected growth of youth employment over the next decade.

Dramatic intervention is called for. One step, initiated by Toronto artist Laurie Swim, takes a visual approach to inspire people to think about what they can do to prevent the loss of a young man or woman to workplace fatality and injury. Swim is creating the Canadian LifeQuilt to honour the lives behind the horrifying statistics.

The LifeQuilt remains a work in progress. Friends of the LifeQuilt, the organization that has developed to support the quilt, is still accepting names of young Canadian workers to include on some of the panels.

The Industrial Accident Prevention Association (IAPA) and the Workers Health and Safety Centre (WHSC) are backing the LifeQuilt. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, along with dozens of other organizations, are supporting the project.

This unique and permanent memorial is to be unveiled at the Health and Safety 2003 IAPA Conference in Toronto.

CCOHS News

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Minister appoints new CCOHS Governor

Allan W. Walker is the newest member of the Council of Governors of the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS).

The representative for Saskatchewan was appointed earlier this month by the Honourable Claudette Bradshaw, Minister of Labour.

Mr. Walker has an extensive background in health and education and is the Executive Director, Occupational Health and Safety Division for Saskatchewan Labour. He is also a sessional lecturer for the University of Regina, Faculty of Education.

CCOHS News

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CHEMINFO updates an established chemical

In 1713, Bernardino Ramazzini first described the health effects of exposure to hydrogen sulfide in his discussion of "Diseases of Cleaners of Privies and Cesspits". For centuries, this extremely toxic chemical has been the subject of much research and the cause of many workplace fatalities. It even has its own occupational health and safety "urban legend". In the recently updated CHEMINFO Review on hydrogen sulfide, the myth that hydrogen sulfide exposure can occur through a perforated eardrum, even while wearing appropriate respiratory protection, is dispelled.

Hydrogen sulfide is commonly known by a number of different names including H2S, hydrosulfuric acid, stink damp, sewer gas and sour gas. Hydrogen sulfide is a colourless, extremely flammable and extremely toxic gas.

Thousands of workers are exposed to hydrogen sulfide. In the United States, over a 10-year time span, there were 80 fatalities resulting from overexposure to H2S, the majority of incidents occurring in confined spaces. H2S is a by-product of many industrial operations, in petroleum refineries, petrochemical plants, natural gas plants, Kraft paper mills, iron smelters, coke ovens, food processing plants and tanneries. It can be found in sewage treatment facilities and in livestock barns and manure. H2S is commonly encountered as an environmental contaminant. It occurs naturally in crude petroleum, natural gas, volcanic gases, and hot springs. It can also occur from the breakdown of organic matter such as human and animal wastes.

Our newly-updated CHEMINFO Review offers more information on the potential dangers of this chemical and on how to protect yourself and your work environment.