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The Importance of Labeling Hazardous Containers

Every year, when the statistics are release, it comes as no surprise at all that the top ten safety violations belong to that of OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard. With more than 4,000 violations being issued each year, OSHA makes it very clear that having a nearly empty MSDS book that is carefully forgotten is just not enough. OSHA states that in order to meet HCS standard, it is very important for organizations to have a well-written safety plan and to ensure that all their employees are well-trained with regards to the hazards that exist in their workplace. It also states that every organization should keep certain documents open for employees to view in order to protect themselves. One of the biggest rules of the hazard communication standard is that that every company should establish a process of accurately labeling containers. Like the forgotten MSDS book, a container that is also neglected or has some smudged writing on it will not comply with the OSHA standards. This is why

HAZWOPER Training Requirements vary by Area

Depending on the area of expertise and work required, the level of HAZWOPER trainings requ ired to be taken by workers can vary. There are 9 basic levels of trainings, each having its own specific program. OSHA is also responsible for setting the training time for each area. Find out more: General Site Workers are required to undergo an initial training of 40 hours, a 3 day hand-on training session as well as an additional 8 hours of annual refresher training. Workers on Specific Tasks or working under acceptable hazardous conditions are required to take the 24 hours of training and a day of hands-on training. They are also required to complete the annual 8 hour refresher course. Managers and supervisors are required to undergo the same trainings as their workers, but with 8 extra hours required. Storage, treatment and disposal workers who handle hazardous wastes should opt for the 24 hour courses and then go for the annual 8 hour refresher courses. The First Responder Awareness Leve

Requirements of an Emergency Action Plan

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires every business to have an Emergency Action Plan or an EAP. It is basically a written or oral plan developed by the company that defines the actions of every employee in case of an emergency. While every business is mandated to have an EAP, it is compulsory for those businesses who have more than 10 employees to have a written plan. At minimum, every EAP must contain a method of reporting fire and other such emergency. It should also state all the evacuation procedures with all the emergency routes. The operation procedures carried out by every employee who are in charge of conducting critical operations before evacuating should also be included in the EAP. The identification of the employees conducting medical and rescue duties along with the names and the job titles of all those employees who can provide the additional information and detailed explanation of the plan should be included. Remember that every state has a dif

How to Identify Hazards at the Workplace

Every year, thousands of cases of work related accidents injure and claim the lives of workers across the country. Not only this, such accidents also account for hundreds and thousands of compensation claims, costing nearly every business a lot of time and money. Each year, the figures of work related accidents and fatalities keep rising, and will continue to rise if not staunched. This is where OSHA comes in to play. OSHA has brought about immense changes in workplace safety programs, what with its numerous training sessions that are meant to spread awareness and educate people about the importance of safety at the workplace. OSHA's basic aim is to reduce the number of workplace accidents and fatalities and to do this by enforcing certain safety standards and regulations. By identifying a hazard at the workplace, and training your employees to identify such hazards, you will not only be complying with OSHA's standards, but you will be promoting a safe and healthy working

How to prevent health hazards related to chemical exposure and burns

Health hazards are present in each and every job site. It is the responsibility of the employers to incorporate all the necessary precautions to avoid these hazards. This will help in creating an injury free work environment and eventually would lead to an increase in employee productivity. A personal protective equipment program must be enforced at every work place. A general approach should be adopted for addressing all the workplace dangers. Firstly, all the potential hazards should be properly identified. This should be followed by developing practices to prevent all these hazards and providing workers with the correct industrial equipment for protecting themselves. Health hazards in the form of chemical exposure dominate work sites which are associated with the use of chemicals. These chemicals when used in the liquid form are a major risk when exposed to the body surface. They can easily get splashed on employees when they are being transported or used. Industrial apparel must be

How to Diminish and Eradicate Workplace Hazards

It is an employer's responsibility to look after the health and safety of the workers. At the same time, workers should also be made aware of things and situations that might hold potential hazards. The workers should take up hazwoper courses that are available online. Employers should understand that health and safety hazards are present in almost every workplace. The first way to diminish workplace hazards is to identify them. While the physical hazards (that includes accidents related to unguarded machinery, constant loud noise, scaffolding and toppling of equipments amongst others) are the most common, the chemical hazards hold an equal threat. These occur when a worker is exposed to cleaning products, solvents, vapors, fumes and other such things. The ergonomic hazards occur depending upon the type of work that is done by the worker. These are a little difficult to identify because they take quite some time to reflect the harm that has been imposed upon the worker. Biological