September is National Preparedness Month

National Preparedness Month is a nationwide effort held each September to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses and schools. National Preparedness Month 2006 is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The goal of the month is to increase public awareness about the importance of preparing for emergencies and to encourage individuals to take action.

Throughout September, Homeland Security will work with a wide variety of organizations, including local, state and federal government agencies and the private sector, to highlight the importance of family emergency preparedness and promote individual involvement through events and activities across the nation.

The theme is “Get a Kit, Make a Plan, Be Informed, and Get Involved”

October is Eye Safety Month

More than one million people suffer from eye injuries each year in the United States. Spread the message of eye safety to your community this month because 90 percent of these injuries could have been prevented with protective eyewear. The American Academy of Ophthalmology has prepared materials about eye safety and protection at their Web site.

OSHA provides an overview of work-related eye safety issues and numerous eye safety resources, including toolbox talk information and links to eye injury workplace evaluations, injury statistics, safety guidelines, and OSHA eTools.

Eye injuries can happen when doing chores at home as easily as they can at work.

A PowerPoint presentation was created by the National Eye Institute, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the National Safety Council to illustrate the importance of practicing eye safety at work, preventing eye injury, and using protective eyewear. (Note: This presentation may take a little while to download.)

An eye safety PowerPoint is available from the Florida’s AgSafe program. Look under "Florida AgSafe Publications," then "Multi-media."

Since 1908, Prevent Blindness America has been the nation's leading volunteer eye health and safety organization with the sole mission of preventing blindness and preserving sight. In addition to safety issues, this site includes issues related to eye health (aging, macular degeneration, diabetes, etc.).

Caregivers of People with Disabilities

The Breaking New Ground program was developed for the purpose of cultivating independence for persons with disabilities in agriculture. This includes information for caregivers. Caregivers in rural areas may be more challenged due to factors of isolation, lack of rural service delivery systems, and the uniqueness of continuing to farm while having limitations. Farmers may be disabled for a variety of reasons. The main ones include health related issues, farm-related injuries as well as non-farm injuries (auto, sports, diving, etc.).

The National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) supports, empowers, educates, and speaks up for the more than 50 million Americans who care for a chronically ill, aged, or disabled loved one. NFCA reaches across the boundaries of different diagnoses, different relationships and different life stages to address the common needs and concerns of all family caregivers.

University of California Helps Employers and Workers Cope with Heat Stress

California recently enacted a law to protect outdoor workers from the heat. People at UC Berkeley have been working to help employers comply. The materials they have developed are very user-friendly -– including a card for use in the field (in both English & Spanish). You may want to pass this info along to the producers in your area. Materials and information are available on the Agricultural Personnel Management Program Web site; scroll towards the bottom for the heat stress card and other info items.

Tick-Related Paralysis

In the summer, people are exposed to ticks at an increased rate, which means a greater chance of contracting tick-borne diseases, such as Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Tick-related diseases are often diffucult to diagnose, but many infections from tick bites begin with flu-like symptoms. If you suspect tick exposure or any time these symptoms are accompanied by an unusual rash or neurological symptoms, it's a good idea to see a doctor.

The Harvard Medical School provides information on these and other tick-related diseases, including a form of paralysis that has been mentioned in an e-mail that has been circulating recently. The case mentioned in the e-mail cannot be confirmed, but the basic fact of tick-related paralysis is valid.

A Fun Technique for Teaching PPE

A Risk Manager (RM) was preparing a safety talk on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the county road department. Most of the attendees were skilled, long-term employees who knew their jobs and usually did pretty well using PPE. The RM knew he/she would have to do something unusual to get their attention. The RM came up with the idea of a “PPE Strip-Off." A unique way for getting the point across!

When introduced, the RM walked in “modeling the latest style” of PPE -- hard hat, shaded safety glasses, gloves, vests, shoe covering, etc. The RM was wearing it all and looked pretty ridiculous. Everyone agreed that PPE is usually not the most attractive attire and sometimes can be uncomfortable.

As the discussion on the importance of PPE continued, the RM began to remove each item of protective equipment allowing them to see underneath. As each item of PPE came off, an injury was depicted by such items as a patched eye, bandaged head, wrapped hand and a cast on one foot. All were the types of injuries that may occur without proper PPE. The audience quickly decided that PPE didn’t look or feel so bad after all!
(Adapted from the on-line newsletter "Safety Stuff "by Richard Hawk Inc. Issue # 311, July 12, 2006. More teaching tips can be found at his Make Safety Fun Web site.)

OSHA has additional information about proper use of PPE. If it is to be used, a PPE program should be implemented. This program should address the hazards present; the selection, maintenance, and use of PPE; the training of employees; and monitoring of the program to ensure its ongoing effectiveness.

Stay Out – Stay Alive (Recreational use of old mines & quarries)

"Stay Out–Stay Alive" is a national public awareness campaign aimed at warning children and adults about the dangers of exploring and playing on active and abandoned mine sites. This includes rock quarries.

Every year, dozens of people are injured or killed in recreational incidents on mine property. The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) launched "Stay Out–Stay Alive" in 1999 to educate the public about the existing hazards. The campaign is a partnership of more than 70 federal and state agencies, private organizations, businesses and individuals.

Throughout the year, "Stay Out–Stay Alive" partners visit schools, communities and youth organizations around the country to educate children about the importance of steering clear of active and abandoned mines. Visit the "Stay Out-Stay Alive" Web site for fact sheets, statistics and more information.

Evaluating Chemical Risks Video Online

"Is it Safe? Evaluating Chemical Risks" is a video produced by the Toxicology Education Foundation (TEF) and co-sponsored by the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). TEF is a non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging, supporting, and promoting charitable and educational activities which increase the understanding of toxicology. The video is aimed at giving people a clearly explained and engaging look at the basics of toxicology and risk assessment. It offers guidance on determining what chemicals may be causes for concern and, more importantly, under what circumstances.

An acronym, "RITE," developed by TEF and illustrated in the video, is used to explain that Risk Is a function of both Toxicity and Exposure. This mnemonic device helps reinforce the toxicological principles discussed. "Is it Safe?" is available via streaming video at TEF's Web site and on DVD.

Tox Town

Tox Town makes users aware of toxic chemicals and environmental health risks they might encounter "in everyday life, in everyday places." This site by the National Library of Medicine and NIH allows users to select from a variety of locations -- Town, City, US-Mexico Border or Farm -- to learn about these risks. The site is presented in Englsih and Spanish.

Readers of Safety News & Notes might find the Farm portion of the site of special interest.