fabolousstylez

As of September 16, 2013 , OSHA has announced the latest round of Susan Harwood Training Grant recipients. OSHA awarded $10.1 million to the various recipients. There's a few that the Industrious Hygienist is really excited about. From the " targeted topic " list of recipients: Alaska Marine Safety Education Association, Sitka, AK Ergonomics, award of $105,300 " The grantee will deliver training on ergonomic hazards for workers in the commercial fishing and fish processing industry. The goal is to educate workers on the basics of ergonomics including assessing ergonomic hazards in the workplace, redesigning work space for improved ergonomics, prevention of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and exercises for preventing and relieving symptoms associated with MSDs. Training will be offered in English, Spanish and Vietnamese." Why am I excited? The ergonomics recommendations will be focused on the commercial fishing industry, and  Alaska Marine Safety Education Asso...

In response to the incredible flooding in Colorado earlier this month, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) via their National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) published a new web page with information on emergency preparedness and response in flood situations. See the web page here  on floods. NIEHS emphasized the preparedness factor for responders to flooding, cleanup workers and restoration workers, homeowners, and business owners. The training/information covers safety awareness and post-disaster hazards. On the page, there's also preparedness information about: earthquakes H1N1 (swine) flu, avian flu, pandemics oil spills wildfires resiliency radiological dispersion devices (RDD) a.k.a. "dirty bombs" The Industrious Hygienist is always excited to find new references to explore and share with others! Thanks to NIEHS for the useful tools and guidance from a variety of federal departments. 

The Industrious Hygienist likes to stay abreast of interesting things in occupational health and safety. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) celebrated its second anniversary of N95 Day  on September 5, 2013.  NIOSH spent the day promoting its Epidemiological Global Health Project (Supercourse) , which it developed with the University of Pittsburgh.  NIOSH also promoted their "Know It's NIOSH " campaign, which is dedicated to helping workers understand how to determine if their respirator is NIOSH-approved. The University of Pittsburgh Supercourse has an presentation about the "Know It's NIOSH" campaign, viewable here .  Following my commitment to healthcare occupational health and safety, I quickly downloaded the new (June 2013) " Respirator Awareness: Your Health May Depend On It - Personal Protective Equipment for Healthcare Workers " from NIOSH. In a partnership with California Department of Public Health, NIOSH al...

I was intrigued to see the following news story from Hawaii  about the molasses spill that occurred in Honolulu Harbor (or was first noticed, accounts differ) on Monday. According to the article, approximately 224,000 gallons of molasses spilled into the harbor and the United States Environmental Protection Agency is sending two spill experts to help the state characterize the damage and work towards a sustainable solution. This article from Hawaii News Now explains that the responsible party, Matson Navigation Company, released more than a ton of molasses into the harbor. An investigation was done by Hawaii Department of Health when dead fish started showing throughout the harbor on Monday, about "three days after a faulty Matson pipe discharged 233,000 gallons of molasses into the water, resulting in a mass kill." According to Reuters ,  the release was first noticed on Monday after a ship pulled out to sea, loaded with molasses. On Tuesday, Matson discovered a leak in th...