labor lawAdivision of labor law center

There are around 10,000 deaths in the United States each year from diseases related to asbestos.

This statistic will probably surprise you, as along with most people, you may think that asbestos within the work place is a thing of the past. But a recent worker safety alert that highlights the presence of asbestos in the work place will cause you to think again. This alert specifically refers to the use of asbestos in older models of trucks and cars, in the brakes and clutches. These present a risk to those who work with them in the course of their jobs.

So, all would do well to heed the Ohio worker safety alert. Although most of the newer models of cars and trucks do not contain asbestos, it is impossible to determine those that do from those that do not. As mechanics are called upon to repair all makes, models and ages of motor vehicles, it is likely that they will come into contact with this often deadly material.

Some of the asbestos-related diseases include gastrointestinal cancer, lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis.

All workers need to realize that if they do not work within the specified safety practices, they are putting all the workers in the workshop in danger. This is because when asbestos is disturbed, it breaks into thousands of tiny fragments. These are too small to be seen with the naked eye. Yet they float in the air and are easily inhaled.

Employers are responsible for instigating safety procedures, and putting them down in writing. They must also make sure that all employees are aware of the safety procedures, and that they carry them out every time they work on a vehicle that they suspect may contain asbestos. However, since it is almost impossible to know what vehicles contain the material, workers are advised to carry out each repair as though the vehicle contains asbestos.

Ohio highway worker safety is the subject of a new campaign, and many people may have questions about this program.

What is the new campaign intended to do?

To help reduce the number of highway workers who are killed and injured on the job each year, the first week of April has been named by OSHA as National Work Zone Awareness Week. The campaign being used this year is intended to remind drivers to drive carefully around highway worker safety zones. The campaign is called “Signs for Change.”

Do many highway workers get injured every year?

Sadly, yes. Many highway construction workers are killed each year. In addition, approximately 20,000 are injured. Safety awareness on the part of drivers is vital. According to Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, “Employees who work in highway zones have one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States and these employees need not only OSHA’s support, but the support of everyone who gets behind the wheel on a daily basis. There were nearly 1,100 work zone fatalities last year — that is a tragedy. I am hopeful that campaigns like this will help reduce those numbers.”

How will OSHA approach this campaign?

OSHA is cooperating with the Roadway Work Zone Safety and Health Partners Alliance to improve highway construction worker safety. These two organizations will work to promote public awareness of the problem and the need for drivers to use caution near highway worker safety zones. Moreover, these two organizations will spotlight additional health issues that highway workers face. To help, OSHA has an array of resources available that address the safety of highway workers.

When did this campaign start?

The kickoff for the program this year was held on Interstate 495 in Alexandria, Virginia. The location was a highway construction site, and the event was held on April 3. 

According to the latest Ohio OSHA alert, avian flu and other new forms of the influenza virus is a concern that employers and employees need to prepare a disaster plan for in case these viruses turn into a pandemic.

The recently released OSHA alert addresses the threat that influenza could have on the workplace. It’s a threat few of us consider as fatal. Most of us think of the flu as that unpleasant seasonal illness that’s only fatal to infants, the elderly or those with compromised immune systems.

Most healthy adults can fight off the seasonal flu because they’ve developed immunity to it. If a pandemic were to occur, and there’s no indication of one coming anytime soon, the flu virus would mutate into a form that no one has ever been exposed to or had a chance to become immune to.

It would take months to develop a vaccine. During this time, the virus would create social disruption and wreak havoc on the economy. This is the worst-case scenario. The best-case scenario is that the virus only creates an unusually severe flu season.

The avian influenza virus, or bird flu, has received some media attention in the past. It starts in wild birds and can spread to domestic birds like chickens. Some strains are more severe than others are. There’s also the chance that an avian flu virus could mutate to infect people. Since the flu spreads from person to person contact, and few people are hermits, a mutated avian flu virus could create a pandemic.

Up to 20% of the world’s population was infected by the well-known flu virus that caused the Spanish Flu in 1918. Two-and-a-half percent to 5% of the earth’s population died, often within hours. One million people died every week for 25 weeks. AIDS, to date, has killed 25 million people in 25 million years.

In 1957, another influenza outbreak killed one million people before it was quickly contained.

Two brands of chain saw used widely in the lumbering industry are the subject of an Ohio OSHA alert.

The handles on the saws make break off when they’re used heavily, and the problem can cause bad injuries and even death, according to OSHA.

The saws are used throughout industry, not just for lumbering. They’re also found in landscaping, construction, and other fields.

Manufacturers are voluntarily recalling them. OSHA is telling employers to pull the saws off the worksite until the handles can be replaced. According to OSHA, using the chain saws without the replacement handles can mean either serious injury or death. The agency has in fact already gotten reports of worker injuries. In one case, there were severe cuts. One worker reported getting bad burns from a hot muffler, while another suffered severe bruises and a wrist sprain. In all cases, the handles had broken off and the users lost control of the chain saws.

Employers can get more information about the free replacement handles and instructions for installing it contacting either the manufacturer or Ohio OSHA.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is working with manufacturers to get the chainsaws recalled. At the same time, it has been working with OSHA on the issue. CPSC monitors some 15,000 types of consumer products to protect buyers from unreasonable risks of death or injury. Those deaths and injuries, as well as damage, cost the country $700 billion every year. The mission is to monitor chemical, mechanical, fire, and electrical dangers of the products, and also watch for products that pose dangers to children.

The saws involved are four models of the Troy-Bilt and one of the Craftsman brands. All have two-cycle gas engines, which range from 46cc to 55cc. All are fitted with either a 20-inch or an 18-inch blade. The Craftsman model, called the “Incredi-Pull,” is a 55c two-cycle model fitted with an 18-inch bar.

A recently issued Ohio OSHA alert advises workers that all employers have plans of action covering emergency procedures to be followed in case of any number of emergencies. OSHA warns that one such emergency to be especially aware of is influenza pandemic.

The Ohio Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) considers the possibility of influenza spreading around the world, a pandemic, a real possibility. Given today’s transportation technologies, it’s possible for someone exposed to the influenza virus to travel around the world with it before showing any signs of illness. In such a scenario, everyone the traveler would come into contact with is now exposed and spreading the virus further.

Most of us have suffered through bouts of seasonal influenza and, while not any fun, they aren’t devastating, either. That’s because we’ve already been exposed to the virus causing the seasonal flu so it can’t make us too sick. Our immune system knows this “bug” and has learned how to resist the damage done by the virus.

In order for the influenza virus to wreak worldwide havoc it must be a newly emerged strain of the flu virus. Our immune systems haven’t yet met this bug so they haven’t built up resistance to it like they have to the seasonal flu viruses. If we get exposed to such a newly evolved flu virus, it is expected to spread quickly and spread far.

Fortunately, modern technology is there for our rescue and should be a part of any employer’s emergency plan of action in case of influenza pandemic. Many workers today spend so much time using computers and other telecommunications devices that working from home when sick is a safe and realistic solution. Staying home when sick, whether working there or not, is such a wise practice that it should be widely encouraged on the job and observed at home, too.

Adding distance between sick coworkers by working from home is one way technology makes us safer but there are other options, too. The drive-though windows at your bank and at some restaurants put a physical barrier between you and the public. Windows at doctor’s offices, government buildings, and financial institutions keep workers safe from germs as well as physical threat.