Monthly Focus
Overview and pep-talk
You’re almost half way there! In the words of REO Speedwagon, “Keep Pushing On” or “Riding the Storm Out”… whatever your case may be.
New focus Items
Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Reporting (SARA, 313) –If you have:
- Taken the EPA’s Online TRI Thresholds Determination Tutorial; and
- Gathered your chemical inventory (MSDS) that contain any of the Specific Toxic Chemical Listings along with your 2009 annual quantities for those products...now it’s time to complete the process by accessing EPA’s TRI-MEweb and submitting your reports on or before July 1st.
NOTE: If you determine that your facility should have been reporting for previous years and has not, you should read the EPA’s Self-Disclosure Policy.
2nd Quarter Safety and Environmental Survey -
Safety surveys are an important way to monitor your safety status. Completing regular surveys can help you stay in compliance and the information can be used for accident prevention purposes. It is recommended that you conduct safety surveys at least quarterly and possibly more frequently than that depending on your employee/facility size and the hazards associated with your industry.
Below are some items from the topics covered in this month’s focus that we recommend including in your second quarter’s safety survey.
General Worksite
- Are OSHA and state required posters displayed in a prominent location?
- Are safety signs/warnings posted where appropriate?
- Are emergency telephone numbers posted where they can be found readily?
- Is a first aid kit available and adequately stocked?
- Are all work areas clean and orderly?
- Are combustible scrap, debris, and waste stored safely and removed from work areas promptly?
- Are adequate toilets and washing facilities provided?
- Are toilets and wash areas clean and sanitary?
Ladders
- Are ladders inspected and maintained in good condition?
- Are non-slip feet provided on each ladder?
- Are ladder rungs and steps free from grease and oil?
- Are employees trained in the proper use and operation of ladders?
- Is it prohibited to place ladders on boxes, barrels, or other unstable bases to obtain extra height?
- Are ladders with broken, missing steps, rungs, or cleats, broken side rails, or faulty equipment removed from service?
- Are employees instructed to face ladders when climbing and descending?
- Are employees instructed not to use the top two steps of stepladders as steps?
- When in use, do ladders extend at least 3 feet above elevated surface?
- Are metal ladders legibly marked with signs cautioning against using them around electrical power sources?
- Are rungs of ladders uniformly spaced at 12 inches, center to center?
Walkways
- Are aisles and passageways kept clear and clean?
- Are wet surfaces covered with non-slip materials?
- Are pits and floor openings covered or guarded?
- Is aisle clearance provided for motorized or mechanical handling equipment operation?
- Are walkways properly marked?
- Are aisles and walkways passing near moving or operating machinery, welding operations, or similar operations arranged to minimize potential hazard exposure?
Elevated Surfaces
- Are signs posted showing the surface load capacity?
- Are surfaces elevated more than 30 inches above the floor or ground provided with standard guardrails?
- Are elevated surfaces that expose people or machinery to falling objects provided with standard 4-inch toe boards?
- Is permanent means of access and egress provided to elevated storage and work surfaces?
- Is material on elevated surfaces piled, stacked, or racked in a manner to prevent it from tipping, falling, collapsing, rolling, or spreading?
- Are dock boards or bridge plates used when transferring materials between docks and trucks or railcars?
Respiratory Protection Program – Respiratory Protection 29 CFR 1910.134
Respirators protect workers against insufficient oxygen environments, harmful dusts, fogs, smokes, mists, gases, vapors, and sprays. These hazards may cause cancer, lung impairment, other diseases, or death.
Employers are required to develop and implement a written respiratory protection program with required worksite-specific procedures and elements for required respirator use.The program needs to be kept up to date with the changes in workplace conditions that affect respirator use. The items (as applicable)thatare required by the standard include:
- Identifying a program administrator.This suitably trained person is responsible for implementation of, and adherence to, the provisions of the respiratory protection program. The administrators training, experience or both should match the magnitude of the program. It is usually a good idea to also designate a person who is responsible for enforcement of the procedures at each job site.
- Procedures for selecting respirators to use in the workplace.Theemployer has to evaluate respiratory hazard(s) in the workplace, identify relevant workplace and user factors, and make selection(s) based on these factors. The standard also specifies appropriately protective respirators for use in IDLH atmospheres, and limits the selection and use of air-purifying respirators. For more information please visit 1910.134(d).
- Medical evaluations of employees required to use respirators.Using a respirator may place a physiological burden on employees that varies with the type of respirator worn, the job and workplace conditions in which the respirator is used, and the medical status of the employee. The minimum requirements for medical evaluation that employers must implement to determine the employee's ability to use a respirator are found at 1910.134(e).
- Fit testing procedures for tight-fitting respirators. Before an employee is required to use any respirator with a negative or positive pressure tight-fitting facepiece, the employee must be fit tested with the same make, model, style, and size of respirator that will be used. This standard goes on to specify the kinds of fit tests allowed, the procedures for conducting them, and how the results of the fit tests must be used 1910.134(f)
- Procedures for proper use of respirators in routine and reasonably foreseeable emergency situations. This includes procedures to ensure the safety of employees going into IDLH (immediately dangerous to life or health) atmospheres.
- Procedures and schedules for cleaning, disinfecting, storing, inspecting, repairing, discarding, and otherwise maintaining respirators 1910.134(h)
- Procedures to ensure adequate air quality, quantity, and flow of breathing air for atmosphere-supplying respirators.The employer needs to make sure that compressed air, compressed oxygen, liquid air, and liquid oxygen used for respiration accords with the specifications set forth by OSHA.
- Procedures for regularly evaluating the effectiveness of the program.
Respiratory Protection Training - 1910.134(k)
Employers must provide effective training to employees who are required to use respirators. The employer shall ensure that each employee can demonstrate knowledge of at least the following:
- Why the respirator is necessary and how improper fit, usage, or maintenance can compromise the protective effect of the respirator;
- What the limitations and capabilities of the respirator are;
- How to use the respirator effectively in emergency situations, including situations in which the respirator malfunctions;
- How to inspect, put on and remove, use, and check the seals of the respirator;
- What the procedures are for maintenance and storage of the respirator;
- How to recognize medical signs and symptoms that may limit or prevent the effective use of respirators; and
- The general requirements of 29 CFR 1910.134.
- The training has to be understandable to the employee.
- The employer has to provide the training prior to requiring the employee to use a respirator in the workplace
Training shall be administered annually and when the following situations occur:
- Changes in the workplace or the type of respirator require new information;
- Inadequacies in the employee's knowledge or use of the respirator indicate that the employee has not retained the information;
- Any other situation arises in which retraining appears necessary.
In addition, certain program elements may be required for voluntary use to prevent potential hazards associated with the use of the respirator.If the employer determines that any voluntary respirator use is okay, the employer has to provide the respirator users with the information contained in Appendix D of 29 CFR 1910.134. In addition, the employer must establish and implement those elements of a written respiratory protection program necessary to ensure that any employee using a respirator voluntarily is medically able to use that respirator, and that the respirator is cleaned, stored, and maintained so that its use does not present a health hazard to the user. Exception: Employers are not required to include in a written respiratory protection program those employees whose only use of respirators involves the voluntary use of filtering facepieces (dust masks).
Please keep in mind...
Engineering and work practice controls are generally regarded as the most effective methods to control exposures to airborne hazardous substances. OSHA considers the use of respirators to be theleastsatisfactory approach to exposure control because…
respirators provide adequate protection only if employers ensure, on a constant basis, that they are properly fitted and worn.
respirators protect only the employees who are wearing them from a hazard, rather than reducing or eliminating the hazard from the workplace as a whole (which is what engineering and work practice controls do).
respirators are uncomfortable to wear, cumbersome to use, and interfere with communication in the workplace, which can often be critical to maintaining safety and health.
the costs of operating a functional respiratory protection program are substantial — including regular medical examinations, fit testing, training, and the purchasing of equipment.
Train the production friendly way… Take a minute to watch how you could be training...
Safety U Online Training
Respiratory Protection
Content Sample
(1 min. 2 sec.)