Vol 8., No. 2, March/April 2007

Contents Thoughts & Quotes Home Remodeling Safety Measures June Is National Safety Month Your Skin in the Sun Post-disaster Stress Materials Good Time For Safe Play Areas About Safety News & Notes

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THOUGHTS & QUOTES

“…and my entire kitchen was gone in three hours!’ My contractor came in at 8:30am on February 8th and said the kitchen would be gone by noon! He wasn’t kidding!! Having recently spent six weeks working on a major remodel of ½ of my house, home remodeling safety comes to mind as being a good topic to include in this issue of Safety News & Notes. In the news is the dramatic increase in nail gun injuries – basically now that they are a common household item for the DIYer. I also have several coworkers who are in the middle of doing home remodels (kitchens and bathrooms especially) and I hear their Monday morning stories of week-end encounters with tools as well as new muscle and back aches and sprains. Fortunately my remodel went smoothly for the most part. My biggest stressor was the need to have everything stacked in the other ½ of the house and not really knowing where anything was – or if I did, I most likely could not access it. (For example, not being able to access something from the drawer of the hutch that was now up against the wall). The other stressor of course is having who knows who and how many strangers walking through the house on a given day! To get that much done in 6 weeks and still live in the house was akin to ‘grand central station’ or living in the midst of an on-going circus. If one has small kids or pets, make sure that outside doors don’t get left open and they are not left unsupervised. “….aah! but it sure is nice!!”

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Home Remodeling Safety Measures

Home Remodeling Safety, from University of Nebraska Lincoln Extension, discusses hidden environmental hazards to keep in mind when remodeling. We can be dealing with lead, asbestos, molds, and who knows what all types of dead creepy crawlies may be in those walls we are going to hack into.

Consumer Nail Gun Injuries Spike explains the recent increase in injuries when using nail guns.

This Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report MMWR released from the CDC includes examples of how people have been injured: Nail-Gun Injuries Treated in Emergency Departments --- United States, 2001--2005

OSHA provides information on safe use of Hand and Power Tools.

Preventing Injuries from Slips, Trips, and Falls provides information about preventing this common source of injury. Remember that falls can be from roofs, ladders, using step stools, etc. Also avoid slips and falls from tripping over the mess of stuff lying around – tools, paint cans, boxes, extension cords...

Preventing muscle aches, strains and sprains: Questions and Answers About Sprains and Strains

Use of personal protection equipment (PPE) – dust masks, eye protection, hearing protection and more: PPE Online Training

Be sure to turn off pilot lights or open flames when working with flammable liquids (such as solvents, adhesives, among others – know the properties of the materials that are being used): MSDS sheet info

And don't forget about extension cords!

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June is National Safety Month

June is fast approaching, and with it the observance of National Safety Month. This year’s theme, “Celebrating Safe Communities,” calls on businesses, municipalities and individuals to make safety education a priority. Unintentional injury is a risk everyone faces, every day. While workplace injuries have declined, off-the-job injuries continue to be a concern.

Visit the National Safety Month Planner's Page for updated information about National Safety Month. This site will provide risk and tip sheets, posters and activities information that can be downloaded at no charge and distributed. Items will continue to be added to the planner’s page through May 31st. The National Safety Month site will be launched on June 1.

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Your Skin in the Sun

"Beauty's but skin deep," observed a poet of Elizabethan times--a depth, actually, of only a few millimeters. This thin, elastic covering gloves the body from scalp to sole, giving color and character to the human form. Of all the body's tissues, none is more exposed to disease and injury than the skin.

Here are a few tips and trivia about this wonderful (but often abused) organ:

• Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer. Ultraviolet light is its leading cause. People of northern European descent, having the least amounts of melanin, are most prone. Ireland, with a fair- skinned population, has one of the world's highest rates of skin cancer, even though it does not receive especially high amounts of ultraviolet light. Basically, the darker your skin is naturally, the less likely you are to get skin cancer.
• It is ironic that tanned skin is associated with a youthful, healthy look. Steady tanning can lead to premature wrinkles, sags and discoloration.
• Sun damage is cumulative and irreversible. Once the skin is so affected, no amount of facials or moisturizers can reverse the damage, which usually does not show up until later in life.
• You might be getting only half as much skin protection from your sunscreen lotion as you think. The thickness of the sunscreen layer on your skin is the key to getting the sun protection promised on the bottle. In a clinical study, 50 people applied a variety of brands of sunscreen the way they normally would. Scientists added fluorescent coloring to the sunscreens so the thickness could be measured. Most of the sunscreen-users rubbed on their lotion only half as thick as the recommended thicknesses.
• Scars have less pigment than the rest of your skin, so they're especially vulnerable to sunburn--and prolonged redness. You should make certain to cover all exposed scars with a sunscreen with an SPF of 25 or higher.
• A simple, moderately severe sunburn damages the blood vessels to such an extent that it takes four to fifteen months for them to return to their normal condition.
• The most effective sunscreens contain the chemical agent paraaminobenzoic acid, PABA, which duplicates the action of melanin by absorbing ultraviolet rays. Products such as baby oil and coconut butter do not protect the skin from burning at all.
• In the United States, more than 500,000 new cases of skin cancer are found each year. This is why one in seven Americans can expect to get skin cancer.
• Some diuretics, antibiotics, tranquilizers, birth control pills and diabetes medications can add more salt to your sun-burn wounds. They can make you sun- sensitive. So can some medicated soaps, perfumes and "wrinkle removers". So if you use any of these medications or products, doctors advise you to take extra precautions when exposing your skin to the sun.
• In only one square inch of human skin there are 19 million cells, 625 sweat glands, 90 oil glands, 65 hairs, 19 feet of blood vessels, 19,000 sensory cells, and over 20 million microscopic animals.

From Safety Stuff no. 346 March 28, 2007– Richard Hawk

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Post-disaster Stress Materials

Developed from current research and a decade's worth of experiences assisting communities in response to large-scale disasters, Triumph Over Tragedy, Second Edition focuses on helping individuals and communities cope with the emotional impacts of disaster events. This DVD and CD training curriculum is an extension of the Triumph Over Tragedy, 2nd Edition training manual. These “train-the-trainer” materials can benefit professionals engaged in disaster preparation and response, and were utilized by Extension agents in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama following Hurricane Katrina.

CD Contents:

1. Narrated training modules:
Managing and Understanding the Psychological Effects of the Threat of Bioterrorism Becoming Involved in Disaster Preparedness and Response in Your Community The Special Concerns of Rural Communities Special Issues 2. Triumph Over Tragedy, 2nd Edition manual in PDF format 3. Resource list

DVD Contents:

1. Triumph Over Tragedy, 45-minute training video on how to recognize post-disaster stress reactions and provide basic support for disaster victims. This was originally distributed on VHS as part of the UF-IFAS 1999 Disaster Handbook Video Series.

2. Presentations:
Information Management

Purchase a copy through the IFAS Extension Book Store.

The original manual is also now available for download in PDF format.

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Good Time For Safe Play Areas

With summer on its way, it's the perfect time to start thinking about designing and building an outdoor safe play area.

The National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Safety and Health (NCCRAHS) has made a new addition to their Safe Play Web site: Keys to Creating a Safe Play Area

The new site addresses how to:

• select an area for safe play
• provide child protective barriers
• choose play equipment and
• use ground surfacing

The site is full of guidelines and recommendations, just in time for SUMMER fun!

If you have any questions please contact the National Children's Center at (800) 662-6900 or e-mail NCCRAHS: nccrahs@mcrf.mfldclin.edu.

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• Florida AgSafe Web site
• The Disaster Handbook
• National Agricultural Safety Database
• Extension Disaster Education Network
• Florida State Agricultural Response Team