Compliance

State Pushes for Worker Safety
State is the first to adopt ergonomics rule requiring employers to protect employees from work-related injuries

Washington’s new ergonomics rule could save the state’s employers and organizations from the long-term costs associated with worker injuries if they spend the time and money on preventing injuries.

The rule requires employers to protect their employees from work-related injuries such as back strain, tendinitis and carpel tunnel syndrome. It does not cover slips, trips and falls.

“This is good news for the workers of the state of Washington who suffer more than 50,000 ergonomic-related injuries every year,” says the Department of Labor and Industries Director Gary Moore. “These are costly injuries and this ruling will save employers money on the bottom line.”

But the state’s organizations will have to re-evaluate the potential hazards of their workers and implement training to prevent injuries.

“We won’t need to improve our training as much as just need to do more training,” says one safety manager at a cancer research center in Seattle. “The rule requires us to evaluate every position at the organization.”

She says employers are required to identify “caution zone jobs” first, through a survey of all jobs at the cancer center. The rule then requires added ergonomics training for workers and supervisors in those positions.

The rule explains caution zone jobs as a job where an employee’s typical work activities include any of the following physical risk factors:

• Awkward posture
  
• High hand force
  
• Highly repetitive motion
  
• Repeated impact
  
• Heavy, frequent or awkward lifting
  
• Moderate to high hand-arm vibration.
  

On the federal level, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released voluntary guidelines for businesses and employers in April.

Washington’s ergonomics rule was adopted in May 2000. The rule took effect July 1 of this year. Enforcement will be phased in, beginning July 1, 2004.

The state’s Department of Labor and Industries is working with businesses and employee groups to conduct comprehensive education and outreach efforts.

More information on Washington’s ergonomics rule.

Anew regulation from the Town of Harvard (Mass.) Board of Health bans the installation of carpets in municipal buildings. The board instituted the regulation to prevent people in schools and other public facilities from inhaling mold spores, which can cause respiratory problems.

Several carpets in a Bromfield, Mass. school became wet recently from burst pipes and leaks. If a carpet is wet for more than 24 hours, it should be replaced, according to the board chair.

The health board indicated it may be willing to grant a variance for the carpets in new construction cases where the carpet already has been ordered, as long as certain conditions are met, including that no water fountains be placed near the carpets, that the carpets not be put near high-traffic entranceways and that manufacturers' guidelines for maintenance and cleaning be provided to the board.

James Beach, spokesman for the Carpet and Rug Institute says carpet alone is not a source of food for mold.

“Moisture and dirt cause mold growth,” Beach says. “If carpet is kept dry and properly maintained and cleaned [mold will not grow]. It doesn’t matter what kind of flooring you have. If it’s wet, mold will grow.”

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced in July that it is focusing its outreach efforts and inspections on specific hazards in nursing and personal-care facilities with high injury and illness rates.

The new program will focus its efforts and inspections on hazards such as:

• Exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials
  
• Exposure to tuberculosis
  
• Slips, trips and falls
  

OSHA will focus its resources on facilities that have 14 or more injuries or illnesses resulting in lost work days or restricted activity for every 100 full-time workers. OSHA is planning to inspect about 1,000 of these facilities.

Precautions to Take During Flood Cleanup

In the wake of the recent central Texas flooding, OSHA released information about safety precautions designed to protect workers during the cleanup process.

Fact sheets are available on the following safety procedures:

• How to Protect Yourself When Cleaning Up After A Flood
  
• How to Protect Yourself from Safety and Health Hazards During Cleanup Operations
  
• How to Clean Up Mold
  
• How to Protect Yourself from Asbestos Hazards
  
• How to Protect Yourself from Fungal Diseases.
  

You can download more information.