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Showing posts with label National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Wearable Technology In the Workplace

We just read the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health's (NIOSH's) Science Blog regarding "The Future of Wearable Technology in the Workplace".  Wearable technology includes things like Fitbit, Jawbone, and things like Google glass or Microsoft's just announced HoloLens.  The potential to use wearable technology in the workplace to provide occupational safety and health information at the moment would be really useful.  Though the potential for distracted workers and some workers having health issues using the technology should give pause in rolling it out too quickly.  Considering all the new technology we've been keeping up with, we are very interested in seeing where wearable technology brings the occupational safety and health field.  Maybe some accidents could be prevented with the wearable technology.

Image of the ZYPAD wrist wearable computer fro...
Image of the ZYPAD wrist wearable computer from Arcom Control Systems (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Honoring Dr. Alice Hamilton For Women's History Month


Alice Hamilton, pioneer of occupational medici...
Image via Wikipedia
Recently saw a tweet by the Young Workers honoring Dr. Alice Hamilton (For Women's history month -- Alice Hamilton (NIOSH video 1988; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E75pST2QTEM&feature=colike).  It still surprises us when we see a video on the pioneers in the industrial hygiene field, discussing issues we are still dealing with today.  Dr. Hamilton was dealing with imigrant labor being mistreated similar to what we see today with undocumented/illegal aliens.  Dr. Hamilton also was dealing with workers being exposed to various toxic dusts and then the workers developing various diseases caused by these exposures.  Today we still see this happening as we've written about in our current newsletter (Toxic Dusts - Demolition Implications).  When will we learn from our previous mistakes?  When will we stop the exposures and the resulting illnesses?  When will we start to care?
 
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Sunday, December 05, 2010

Review of Northeast Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition

This Friday, December 3, 2010, we went to the 64th Annual Northeast Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel New Brunswick, NJ.  The conference was presented by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), New Jersey Section, Inc. and co-sponsored by the Metro New York and Philadelphia Sections AIHA.  The title of the conference was "Welcome to the Future! Evolving Industrial Hygiene Opportunities."  The conference agenda included presentations in Nanotechnology by Dr. Chuck Geraci from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH); Prevention through Design by Ms. Donna Heidel from NIOSH; Managing Risk in the Face of Change by Mr. T.J. Lentz from NIOSH; Industrial Forensics by Mr. Ryan Hall from RJ Lee Group; Bioterrorism Response by Dr. Nancy Connell from University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ); Before and After Measurements of Ergonomic Successes from Mr. Dan MacLeod of Dan McLeod LLC; and then the Bedbugs Invasion Panel that included Mr. Jay Taylor from Chubb and Son, Mr. Roy Viola, Esq. from McGiveny & Kluger, Mr. Rick Cooper of Cooper Pest Solutions, and Dr. Howard Sandler of Sandler Occupational Medical Associates.  The exhibition included AJ Abrams Co.; Analytics Corp., Belfor USA, Bomark Instruments,  EMSL, Environmental Reports, Nilfisk, Sandler Occupational Medicine Assoc., Unitech Services Group, and Zefon International to name a few.
The event like usual is great day for networking and catching up with people you haven't seen in a while.  It was great to see you folks, Mrs. Deborah Gul Haffner, Mr. Ed Olmstead, Mr. Stu Mirowitz, Mr. Jack Springston, Mr. Ed Gertz, Mr. Paul DeBiase, Mr. Ken Burns, Mr. Ron Smith, and Mr. Ken Shaw, to name a few.  As with most conferences, we go in hopes of learning something new or possibly meet someone who will help your business.  Well this conference was duo win on that front for us.  The Bedbug Panel provided alot of information that we will discuss in our next newsletter.  The Prevention Through Design presentation was our favorite.  It discussed "Building Industrial Hygiene into the Plan for Safer and Greener Economy."  Discussing the role of industrial hygiene in the green economy, and the need for industrial hygienist to be at the beginning of the design project.  Interesting statistic, from this presentation, was from an Australian Study that determined that design continues to be a significant contibutor to work-related serious injury.  37% of workplace fatalities involved design-related issues and another 14% of fatalities, design-related issues may have played a role.  If that statistic was not enough for us, the case studies presented emphasized how industrial hygienists involved at different stages of the project affected or prevented risk shifting.  The presentation also discussed whether worker safety and health should be included in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system?  A building could be rated platinum but were their any fatalities during construction, are the occupants happy with indoor air quality, or what are costs involved with operations and maintenance? 
Kudos to the New Jersey section for an excellant conference.

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Wednesday, August 18, 2010

NIOSH Publishes Results of Investigation Into Deutsche Bank Fire

A view of the Deutsche Bank Building fire on A...Image via WikipediaOn August 18, 2007, two firefighters lost their lives while attempting to put out a fire in the former Deutsche Bank building.  This fire has had a significant impact on the construction and the asbestos abatement industries.  Recently revised asbestos regulations were the results of suggested changes by a special committee, set-up by Mayor Bloomberg, to specifically investigate the city agency failings and fixed them.  The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) typically investigates fires that lead to the loss of life of firefighters.  The purpose is to assist fire departments across the country in reducing fatalities and injuries to firefighters.  NIOSH's investigative report is 44 pages long and determined the following "key contributing factors to this incident included: delayed notification of the fire by building construction personnel, inoperable standpipe and sprinkler systems (published in several news articles), delay in establishing water supply, inaccurate information about standpipe, unique building conditions with both asbestos abatement and deconstruction occurring simultaneously, extreme fire behavior, uncontrolled fire rapidly progressing and extending below the fire floor, blocked stairwells preventing fire fighter access and egress, maze-like interior conditions from partitions and construction debris, heavy smoke conditions causing numerous fire fighters to become lost or disoriented, failure of fire fighters to always don SCBAs inside structure and to replenish air cylinders, communications overwhelmed with numerous Mayday and urgent radio transmissions, and lack of crew integrity."
The report also includes several recommendations, and alot of information regarding what happened including a timeline.  So what started the fire?  A burning cigarette discarded by a construction employee in the decontamination shower area on the 17th floor.  Read the report for more information.
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Thursday, March 18, 2010

CDC NIOSH Science Blog: Mad as a Hatter: Mercury and Other Occupational Hazards at the Movies

{{de|Illustration of "A Mad Tea Party&quo...Image via Wikipedia
CDC NIOSH Science Blog: Mad as a Hatter: Mercury and Other Occupational Hazards at the Movies
I recently saw the movie at the Deer Park IMAX theather in 3D, with my family. It was a visually stunning movie and the storyline was excellant and very different from the one most of us are familar with. The CDC NIOSH science blog discusses the occupational issues that led to the term Mad as a hatter hence leading to Johnny Depp's character in the movie. What was the occupational safety and health issue? Well most people probably know by now that it was mercury exposure or mercury poisoning.  Hatters used mercury to change fur into felt.  Since these areas were poorly ventilated the exposure levels must have been tremendous.
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Monday, December 14, 2009

Results of Northeast Regional Industrial Hygiene Conference

United States Mint- Philadelphia, PAImage via Wikipedia
On December 4, 2009, we attended the Northeast Regional Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) sponsored the Philadelphia Section of the AIHA. The title of the conference was "The Business of EHS – A New Team Dynamic" for the list of speakers and their biographies visit http://www.philaaiha.com/Newsletters/2009NEIHCBrochure.pdf. The program was professional and interesting, though the focus of the presenters was on manufacturing and industrial applications. This left very little for someone focused in construction safety or indoor environmental issues. The presentations on the environmental health and safety (EHS) perspectives on the impact of the global supply chain, and business metrics (building EHS value and cost-benefit analysis for EHS) were advanced level presentations. Our favorite presentation was the first one on “Staying Safe While Making Money” by Ms. Maureen Modica, CIH, CSP of the United States Mint.
Mr. Aaron Trippler’s “Washington Buzz” presentation during lunch reinforced what we heard from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) representative at the PDC (see our Wednesday, November 25, 2009 blog). OSHA’s current budget is up 10% leading to hiring of 200 new inspectors for enforcement. Other interesting news was NIOSH’s focus on nanotech, risk management, and aerosol transmissible diseases indicates new research information will be available on these issues in the future.
The vendor exposition hall was very good and we thank 3M for providing us with two pair of safety glasses for our safety classes(one called Lightvision 2-LED Plano Eyewear (debating using this for work around the house) and the other called Nitrous CCS with hearing protection providing a noise reduction rating of 25 decibels, both excellent ideas). We also thank Nilfisk-Advance America Inc. for providing us with a new vacuum cleaner catalog for our asbestos classes.
Though the regional this year was interesting, the lack of a balanced program left individuals with our background in construction safety and indoor air quality with very little to bring back home. Some of you would ask why attend a meeting that had so little to offer, the topics were publicized ahead of time. Well first, Mr. Trippler’s presentation always gives us an idea on the pulse of what is happening in Washington, DC on the environmental safety and health front. Second the vendor exposition hall is always interesting to see what services and products the various companies in the area are offering. Saving the best for last, the most important reason is to network and meet with old friends and acquaintances and meet new people who are in different areas/regions of the industrial hygiene field. It is a lot of fun catching up with people you may only see at this event. It was a pleasure seeing and discussing different issues with Mr. Jack Springsteen, Dr. Jack Caravanos, Ms. Amy Gordon, Mrs. Debra Gul Haffner, and many others. The special treat this year was talking with Mr. Dave Robbins, who was in town from Alaska. Though the regional, this year, did not provide much information for the construction and indoor environment people, the networking opportunities are probably the best reasons to attend the Regional each year.
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That Time of Year! Conferences, Posting Requirements, and OSHA Violations Increased!

It's that time of year again. We're between conferences.  February 15-16, 2024 was the Professional Abatement Contractors of New Yor...