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May 31, 2020Recent discussions about the possibility of contracting the virus through our eyes are beginning to buzz. Scientists are still studying the virus for the answer, but here’s what experts have to say about the likelihood of eye-contraction and if goggles are necessary.
After virologist and epidemiologist Dr. Joseph Fair recently got ill with COVID-19, he believes he contracted it through his eyes. Fair told NBC that he had been on a crowded flight two weeks earlier, and though he wore a mask and gloves and wiped down his seat, he didn’t have any protection over his eyes.
“You can still get this virus through your eyes, and epidemiologically, it’s the best guess I have of probably how I got it,” Fair said. He said his symptoms started three or four days later, though his four tests for the virus were negative.”
But is this true? Was this a fluke situation? How possible is it to contract the virus through your eyes? Should we be wearing goggles, too? One -
May 31, 2020California employers now must protect worker from both COVID-19 infections and heat illness as the National Weather Service (NWS) has issued extreme heat warnings for several parts of the state. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) reminded employers they must assess each worksite and protect their workers from heat illness while also taking steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. COVID-19 currently is widespread in the community and considered a workplace hazard.
California’s heat illness prevention standard applies to all outdoor workers, including those in agriculture, construction and landscaping. The standard also applies where workers spend a significant amount of time working outdoors such as security guards and groundskeepers, as well as delivery and transportation and drivers who spend time in non-air-conditioned vehicles.
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May 31, 2020Claudio Dente is a 40-year veteran of the safety industry, and he’s never seen anything like the crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. In a matter of months it’s wreaked havoc with the PPE market.
Claudio is the president and founder (in 2004) of Dentec Safety Specialists, headquartered in the Toronto suburb of Newmarket, Ontario. Dentec’s manufacturing facility is in Lenexa, Kansas. In 2014 Dentec expanded by acquiring a respiratory protection business.
It’s a cliché -- “Necessity is the mother of invention” – but it describes Claudio’s response to the crisis. When COVID-19 broke out in January of this year, China cut off Dentec’s supply of N95 respirators. The challenge: to help workers continue to work using respiratory protection when needed while allowing frontline healthcare employees access to disposable respirators, where emergency demand was huge.
Claudio sought out alternative solutions for industrial workers to replace N95 disposable respirators. -
May 31, 2020In these soul-trying times of COVID-19, it’s good to have something familiar that reminds us of those not-so-long-ago days when the world didn’t revolve around hand sanitizers, face masks and social distancing. Most of the customary harbingers of spring and early summer have been shelved or postponed this year, including religious services, graduation ceremonies, blockbuster movies, major sporting events… it feels so unnervingly weird to me to not have MLB box scores from the previous night’s games to obsess over every morning.
So yes, it is somewhat comforting when annual events are still going forward, even if they were never in-person events, as an acknowledgment that the more things change, the more they just take on a slightly different appearance.
Case in point: The annual reveal of the country’s “Dirty Dozen” employers, presented by the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH). This year’s “Bottom 12” list was tagged as a “Special -
May 24, 2020Few of us know that the current N95 mask was the brainchild of a single woman called Sarah Turnbull who while tending to her ill relatives went to the 3M company and suggested a safer mask.
Never have masks played such an important role in our lives. They are even making designer masks now and you have to pay top whack for them.
My introduction to masks was the Lone Ranger and as kids we would cut out our own and paint them black. Then came the broader Zorro mask and you could buy them in the shops.
The word mask comes from the Latin "mascus" and "chew" which means ghost. In Arab, "maskharah" literally means jester and man with mask. That is why comedy and tragedy are traditionally depicted through masks. So much for the phantom of the opera.
The main reason that masks were worn was for theatrical purposes, and Greeks and Romans used them to change -
May 24, 2020Washington — A new OSHA safety alert lists measures employers in the manufacturing industry should take to protect workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The alert calls on employers to encourage workers to stay home when sick, as well as report any safety or health concerns. The agency recommends limiting duration of work activities when physical distancing isn’t feasible. Other suggestions: Move or reposition workstations to create more distance, or consider installing barriers (e.g., plexiglass shields) between workstations.
The alert states employers should “monitor public health communications about COVID-19 recommendations for the workplace and ensure that workers have access to and understand that information.” Workers should be educated on the proper ways to put on, take off, maintain and use/wear protective clothing and equipment.
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May 24, 2020The number one question on the mind of business leaders today is how to keep their employees safe. When you work for an agriculture company that is part of the world’s critical food infrastructure, that question becomes even more important. In addition to worrying about productivity, profitability and business continuity, you must also be cognizant of the impact that any disruption could have on the global food supply.
As the COVID-19 pandemic struck, my team and I were able to transition over 4.000 people to new ways of working while remaining operational and keeping a continued focus on the health and safety of every worker. We did this by developing tools and procedures that allowed agility in a rapidly changing and new environment. This approach resulted in our ability to make fast and effective decisions that have kept our teams safe and delivered on our commitments to our customers. While we recognize that we will continue to face new challenges in the weeks and months -
May 24, 2020Atlanta — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released guidelines intended to help businesses, as well as schools and mass transit operations, safely reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 60-page guidance document outlines a three-phase approach that includes six “gating criteria” to move forward, including decreases in newly identified COVID-19 cases, decreases in percentage of positive tests and a robust testing program.
CDC advises employers to consider a variety of measures for keeping people safe, such as practices for “scaling up” operations, safety actions (e.g., cleaning and disinfection, and physical distancing), monitoring possible reemergence of the virus, and maintaining health operations. Workers who are at high risk for severe illness (i.e., anyone over the age of 65 or with existing health conditions) “should be encouraged to self-identify, -
May 17, 2020The market witnessed the highest levels of adherence to the guidelines since the market reopening with zero fines.
Shops in Dubai continued to maintain full compliance with Covid-19 guidelines on Friday, the Dubai Economy has said.
The market witnessed the highest levels of adherence to the guidelines since the market reopening with zero fines, zero shutdowns, and zero warnings issued on Friday. All 224 businesses inspected on Friday were fully following the precautionary measures put in place to stymie the spread of coronavirus.
Dubai witnessed 100 per cent compliance rate by the commercial outlets during the daily inspections carried out on Wednesday.
Dubai Economy called on consumers to report any non-compliance with the Covid-19 precautionary guidelines via the Dubai Consumer App available on Apple, Google, and Huawei stores; by calling 600545555, -
May 17, 2020Industrial hygiene may not be a household name, but our knowledge base is exactly what is needed to help win this fight. The American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH) defines the discipline as (emphasis added):
“Industrial hygiene is the science of protecting and enhancing the health and safety of people at work and in their communities. Health and safety hazards cover a wide range of chemical, physical, biological and ergonomic stressors. Those dedicated to anticipating, recognizing, evaluating and controlling those hazards are known as Industrial Hygienists. They are professionals dedicated to the well-being of people – at work, at home and in the community.”
A major responsibility of Industrial Hygienists (IHs) is to educate both the workforce and management about the hazards in their workplaces. We know how to evaluate hazards and use all the controls available to
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