In the News

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The Safety Story on Static

E-mail just circulated through our organization, warning people of the dangers of using a cell phone when refueling their car. Apparently, someone's cell phone rang while he was filling up his car with gas, causing a spark, which created an explosion that badly injured him. Can this be true and if so, why haven't there been more cases? Is there even a risk of this happening?

That story first made the rounds in 1999 and continues to circulate through the Internet. The truth is, there have not been any documented cases of cell phones causing these fires. However, it is possible for a spark to ignite vapours of volatile gases at a refueling site. That's why there are signs around gas pumps warning you in no uncertain terms not to smoke, or run your car engine while taking on gasoline. These are obvious safety precautions.

In response to public concerns, possibly like the one circulating via the Internet, the American Petroleum Institute and the Petroleum Equipment Institute have issued precautions for avoiding static electricity - the key source of hundreds of documented gas fires. Static is capable of producing sparks and these sparks can trigger an explosion. Their warning lists make no mention of cell phone use although in Canada most gas stations have a sticker near the pumps depicting a cell phone with an X through it. Cell phone manufacturers are also cautioning against cell phone use around explosive atmospheres. A spark igniting fumes and causing an explosion is rare but nonetheless something that can be avoided.

What causes static? It is a perfectly natural occurrence. Everything, including you, is made up of atoms, which have negative and positive charges. Most of the time these are balanced, making you neutral - no charge. When materials come in close contact with each other, as when you scuff your feet along the carpet, positive electrons are lost to the rug, and in order to rebalance this state, your positive ions seek some negatives ions. When you touch a sensitive conducting surface, such as a metal doorknob, static is transferred, you get zapped, and feel a small electric shock.

So how do you avoid static discharge while refueling? The Petroleum Equipment Institute, a U.S.-based industry group, offers three key points.

When refueling:

1. Turn off the engine
2. Don't smoke.
3. Never re-enter your vehicle.

There are also many documented cases of fires when filling portable fuel containers. The best ways to "ground" the static:

1. Use an approved model/container.
2. Leave it on the ground to avoid static build up.
3. Don't fill it inside a truck, on the bed of a pickup or the floor of a trailer.

Other advice from the Petroleum Equipment Industry:

1. Disable cooking units or pilot lights in campers or trailers.
2. Don't overfill the tank and cause spillage.
3. If there is a fire, leave the nozzle in the gas tank. Alert the attendant who will cut off the supply. If you are on your own, switch the emergency shut-off on the gas pump.
4. Discharge your static electricity before fuelling by touching a metal surface away from the nozzle.
5. Do not allow children under licensed age to use the pump.

While it is unlikely that a spark would cause a large explosion in the small amount of vapour around the tank, even a small fire can cause serious damage and injury. In any case, the Internet story, true or not, has sparked interest in gas pump safety, and that can only be a positive.

Hazard Alerts

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Narrow escape for elevator apprentice

A young elevator apprentice was bruised on the front and back of his torso after being squeezed into a six-inch space to avoid a descending elevator.

The accident is the subject of a Hazard Alert from WorkSafe BC.

The first year apprentice was working inside an elevator shaft of a building under construction but wasn't aware that an elevator was being tested in the shaft.

The accident investigation revealed that the apprentice, and the elevator mechanic who sent the elevator down from a machinery room did not communicate with each other and did not follow lockout procedures.

The investigation also determined that the young worker hadn't been adequately trained and that the workers were not adequately supervised.

OSH Answers

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Protection against permanent hearing loss

Noisy workplaces can cause more than headaches. Noise can cause permanent, irreversible hearing loss. Often, it's too late by the time the significant effects of continued loud noises are noticed.

A simple check to ask yourself and co-workers is: Do you turn the music up on your drive home from work and turn it back down on the way in to work in the morning?

Reducing the amount of noise at work that reaches the ears - either by controlling it at the source or by using hearing protectors - is key to protecting workers.

Auditory health effects of noise include acoustic trauma, caused by loud, short bursts of noise, like that of a shotgun, tinnitus, the ringing or buzzing in the ear, temporary hearing loss that returns after a worker spends time in quiet, and the most worrisome - permanent hearing loss from continued exposure to unacceptable levels of noise.

Workers and their supervisors should know that:

• Noise-induced hearing loss is cumulative; level of noise and exposure time are important factors
• It occurs randomly in exposed persons
• Noise-induced hearing impairment is the most common irreversible and preventable occupational hazard worldwide, according to the WHO
• Safety standards suggest hearing protection, and a noise safety program, should be instituted if the sound level exceeds 85 decibels for 8 hours

Air jets, widely used for cleaning, drying, power tools and steam valves, can generate sound levels of 105 dB. The sound levels of woodworking saws can hit 106 dB. In foundries, shipyards, breweries, weaving factories and paper mills, average levels range between 92 and 96 dB. At these hazardous levels, impairment for highly susceptible people may take only 6-12 months.

Workers faced with damaging noise - from such items as rotors, engines, pumps and compressors - need to choose the most appropriate and comfortable hearing protection - earplugs or earmuffs.

Partner News

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A global strategy for OH&S

The World Health Organization (WHO) is turning to the Internet to help distribute occupational health and safety information around the world. This is just one of several hundred projects detailed in the Compendium of Activities of the WHO Collaborating Centres in Occupational Health released in September 2003 and available on the Internet. All of the projects support the priorities of the World Health Organization's Global Strategy on Occupational Health for All, the framework for the WHO's work in occupational safety and health.

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety is one of many partners collaborating to advance the program's objectives by helping with the design of a new web portal, which will spread credible OH&S information throughout the world. A second initiative is to develop a database framework for OH&S organizations to detail and index their best practices as a learning tool for others.

The World Health Organization's Global Strategy lists eight major priorities to combat traditional and emerging health issues and boost prevention:

1. Promoting healthy work environments
2. Strengthening international and national policies for health at work
3. Establishment of appropriate support services for occupational health
4. Developing occupational health standards based on scientific risk assessment
5. Developing human resources
6. Establishing registration and data systems and information support
7. Strengthening research
8. Strengthening occupational health services

More than 300 projects, pursued by 62 of the WHO's 70 collaborating partners, are to deliver on this strategy over the next three years.

Key projects include:

• Fostering new, intensive partnerships in Africa
• Monitoring and implementing an International Labour Organization Convention to eliminate the worst forms of child labour, including slavery
• Eliminating silicosis
• Improving working conditions of health care workers
• Tackling psychosocial factors at work, such as violence and stress
• Promoting OH&S in small and informal enterprises
• Enhancing preventative technologies

You are invited to review the global strategy and the collaborator projects and consider how you too may participate in this global mission.
Click Here.

CCOHS News

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Informing Canadians and the world

When Canadians have a question about workplace health or safety, they contact CCOHS' Inquiries service. When the world looks for comprehensive occupational safety and health (OSH) information, they turn to OSH Answers, a global Internet service providing answers for the most frequently asked workplace issues.

In 2002, CCOHS staff fielded more than 15,000 inquiries - on everything from ergonomics to workplace violence - and provided written answers to queries, whether sent by mail, fax or telephone. The answers were prepared and reviewed by specialized staff, at the level of detail required to ensure people receive thorough responses.

OSH Answers meets the "instant response' needs of the World Wide Web. More than 3,000 questions and answers, covering 600 topics, are available on the CCOHS website. In the last year, more than one million unique visitors accessed the question-and-answer format in English and French, about 3.5 million times. A wide range of people use OSH Answers, and the corresponding French version, Réponses SST on the CCHST website, including workers, families of workers, employers, health and safety professionals, and government officials. The information can help people to identify hazards, prevent injuries or to control conditions that may affect worker health.

The Inquiries staff field questions on a variety of topics, including chemicals and hazardous materials, ergonomics, manual material handling and indoor air quality. A large number of concerns in recent years have included harassment, bullying and violence in the workplace.

The team gathers information from publications, computerized information sources and an extensive library containing specialized journals, books and microfiche collections. The written and usually mailed answers are provided at the level of detail required and are reviewed by subject specialists at CCOHS. Response times depend on the complexity of the questions however each question is specifically addressed and generally answered within a week.

The service is confidential and free to all Canadians.