Environmental, Health & Safety Update
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Safety
OSHA is focusing on ladder safety as March is Ladder safety month. They have put into motion a national outreach campaign to educate on the use and condition of ladders. In our industry ladders such as step ladders and fixed ladders are used quite extensively. Having a ladder inspection program at your facilities will help catch ladder defects and in addition to maintaining compliance with OSHA regs on the subject.
Many in our industry use temporary workers at one time or another. These workers are many times not familiar with our work processes they are at greater risk of injury and illnesses when on our job sites. Without question we are responsible for their safety just as we are for our own employees. So it is important to make them a part of your training process and they should be included in tool box discussions. Additionally, a thorough understanding of what the temporary worker is to be doing on your jobsites should be communicated to the Agency from whom the worker is being hired. More information on this is available from OSHA at the link below.
Environmental
Reminder: March 31, 2017 is the deadline for submitting air emission inventories for affected facilities. This date is also the deadline for submitting Discharge Monitoring Reports and Benchmark reports for those facilities that have storm water permits and had storm water discharges from those sites in 2016.
You might want to keep in mind that TRI reporting for affected facilities will be due on July 1, 2017.
For those facilities using recycled fuel oil (RFO) or diesel for their dryers remember to get chemical analyses of the fuel per your air permit requirements as there are limits on substances such as sulfur, heavy metals and other compounds in the fuel. If inspected by the TCEQ they will want to see that data. ‘
Health
It’s coming up on mosquito season and with the mild weather that we have been experiencing the pesky critters may be out in force sooner than later. Diseases that are spread to people by mosquitoes include Zika virus, West Nile virus, Chikungunya virus, dengue, and malaria...the last three being pretty nasty.
Employers should educate workers on the hazards of mosquitos and workers should protect themselves from diseases spread by mosquitoes. Tool box talks and intra-company discussions on how to protect themselves against being bitten should be started. Although most people do not become sick after a bite from an infected mosquito, some people might experience a mild, short-term illness or (rarely) severe or long-term illness. Severe cases of mosquito-borne diseases can cause death.
The National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) recommends that employers take a look at their facilities and eliminate where possible, standing water in such places as old tires, sumps, open tanks, open barrels, buckets, etc. Also employers should encourage workers to wear long sleeves and pants and use repellant when needed. A good source of information is available from NIOSH using the following link. It also includes information on ticks (lyme disease and spotted fever disease).
