OSH Anti-gun?
I was looking into the points of the opposition to the appointment of Dr. David Michaels as Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA. Some of topics came up repeatedly, Ergonomics, PEL updating, and regulatory beliefs. I expected this, and desired to understand the resistance to updating these critical topics in protecting worker’s health and safety. However, a common thread that accompanied a majority of the opposition pieces diverted me. The idea was that Mr. Michaels wants to take your guns away. I could not believe this would be the basis of the argument against the OSHA head’s nomination. So here is my exploration of this diversion:
What kind of power would the head of OSHA have to take away your second amendment rights? None, or sort of. But this makes sense, think about it for a second before you come to any conclusions. A recent Appeals Court ruling found that an Oklahoma law allowing employees to keep guns in their cars at work was constitutional. Okay, so this is sounding normal to guns rights people, and concerning to some health and safety people (as well as business people planning on lay-offs.)
So what does OSHA say about guns in the parking lot? Nothing yet. But, one parking lot gun cleaning/showing off incident a la Plaxico Burris, and you could have a General Duty Clause citation under new OSHA leadership. .
What else is at issue here? Um, workplace violence, pretty sure that is one of the leading causes of Occupational fatalities. Good luck convincing the NRA that taking away guns is the solution. After all, they are one of the groups actively opposing Mr. Michaels’ appointment. My question would be is a gun an administrative control, or PPE at work? Sorry, that was not funny. There are definitely a lot of valid perspectives on the effect of OSHA guidance on guns in the workplace. Guns do pose a serious hazard in the workplace, whether it is a criminal, an irresponsible owner, a simple mistake or a mentally unstable employee/employer.
It is obvious there is already a robust campaign to preserve gun rights in the workplace. Here are some of my concerns about this:
1. What about layoffs, and the unstable emotional state this causes? Does easy access to guns, right in the parking lot reduce the amount of time one would have to think about their actions?
2. Do second amendment rights apply to private property, or dare I say, is this taking away property owners’ rights? Despite court rulings, if a property owner requests that no guns are brought on to their property, whose right is it to deny this request?
3. In a workplace violence situation, how do you control vigilantism from creating additional fatalities (not everyone has aim, and most people have no idea how to aim when breathing heavy and nervous, and even more people have perceptual issues in an emergency and mistake the bad guys, i.e. friendly fire)?
4. Security and providing a safe workplace is the employer’s responsibility, right? How can we improve in this area? -I mean convenience stores, cab drivers, gas stations, hospital E.R.’s, etc. Surely there are solutions that can reduce exposure to the hazard effectively, and certainly more than increasing the overall risk by putting more guns into the mix.
5. How are employers to verify guns on property are safely and securely stored? Would this be an fair or unfair burden on employers?
I am admitting this is a very limited discussion of the issue, but from a safety perspective we need to have a solid understanding of how this affects the safety (freedom from unacceptable risk) of our workplaces. I can see 50,000 words not doing this justice, and I plan on giving the issue a lot more thought. Just some late night fun, now that I am fully diverted. . . I need to make a slurpee run. Or, now that I read all of the opposition to Mr. Michaels stance on workplace safety, including guns in the workplace I can go and read his perspective.
Fighting the swine, flu
Okay, so I am going to take this one on, like it or not. I really can’t handle all the madness and misinformation that is going on around the H1N1 or swine flu virus. Whether it is unreasonable fear of the vaccine, or people coughing and sneezing all over and touching stuff, let’s get hygienic please!
On the vaccine, I understand that people are fearful of the side effects like Guillen-Barre syndrome and all the thimerisol/mercury stuff. If you are going to give up eating salmon, tuna, meat, breathing air, and using transportation, I’ll cede you that point. However, the vaccine should be the least of your worries. Every decision we make in life involves risk. You drive to the store, some idiot texting and driving can end you. So weigh your risks. First, your risk is much greater of getting the flu, especially this year. We have already exceeded the occurrence of annual seasonal flu related hospitalizations, and we are still seeing new cases (see the CDC,) and it is only October. Your risk of coming down with side effects from the immunization is much, much lower. So my advice, take it or leave it, get vaccinated! I mean when it becomes available that is.
As far as covering your cough and sneeze goes, I can’t believe we have to have this discussion, but I see adults with practices worse than a seven year old all the time! Before you go and criticize how infantile it is to have hand-washing and cover your cough discussions, think about what you do next time you sneeze/cough. A lot of us still do it in our hand, then we touch every surface around us, doorknobs, faucets, and handshakes before we do anything about it. Good hygiene is the most effective way to prevent the spread of any illness, but it is the practice that is taken the least seriously (‘dude I’m clean, come on, do I smell like a pig.’) Same thing for daily activity, what all did you touch before you started playing with your gum, rubbing your stubble, and scratching your eyes? I am not going to tell you how to go about it, but some key words that go well here are handwashing, sanitizer, tissues, and sleeves.
Why should you take these precautions, after all, you never get sick, and when you do it just makes your immune system stronger . . . right? Who cares. What really matters is that if you are not taking these precautions, you are a part of the problem. Those people who end up dying from the flu, how do you know that you were not a part of it? Like it or not, unless you are living in the hills for months on end, what you have, you will spread if you are not responsible. Getting vaccinated significantly reduces your risk of contracting flu (70-90%,) and practicing good hygiene ensures that you are not either picking up or spreading the virus.
I will save some of the other discussions for other posts like surgical masks vs. N95 respirators, and the research behind vaccine side effects and effectiveness. It isn’t hard to imagine why countries who don’t have child immunization programs have such problems with Polio, Measles, Mumps, and Rubella, etc.
Contractor safety, ughhh . . .
Today I had an interesting contractor safety briefing and work planning meeting. The contractor is in to replace some large glass panels, and had been in once before to replace a bathroom mirror. On the prior visit, the contractor was in hammering away on the mirror, no safety eyewear, gloves, or anything. They looked at me like I was crazy for suggesting the need for these items, then one merely pulled down his sunglasses. I provided safety glasses, and placed signage and recommended they wear gloves.
Today, when the contractor showed up again, we made sure the contractor went through our briefing and work review. This, however did not go so well. Here are some of the contractor supervisor’s comments:
When talking about eye/face/hand cut hazards: “We’re careful, we don’t need safety glasses because nothing should happen. Accidents just sometimes happen, and there’s nothing you can do.” -The contractors don’t have safety glasses or cut-proof gloves.
Talking about preventing incidents: “Usually when we have a guy get cut, and might need stitches, we just have the guy tape it up. One time, I had a guy get cut on his fingers, and he went to the hospital for stitches, then he complained, and complained, and needed physical therapy for his finger. I don’t hire guys that are like that anymore.” “Our business is just dangers, our insurance is more than steel workers’” -It was becoming very clear how his company’s insurance is so expensive, this supervisor was ignorant and had little real regard for safety.
When speaking of taking time and being prepared for emergencies: “I’ve been doing this longer than you’ve been alive, I work safe, and make sure everyone around me is safe.” -Yeah right!
On OSHA: “If everyone followed OSHA, a lot of shops would be going out of business.” -I really believe the number of WC claims would be a bigger issue in a shop this unsafe. Maybe this is why the company cannot afford to provide its employees with the proper tools, training, PPE, and supervision?
Speaking of the scaffold they were going to be working from: “It is going to be 10 feet at the platform . .. No, we can’t use a guardrail or harness and lanyard. How can we do that? I do this stuff all the time, we are over parking lots installing glass with no guardrails or harness, don’t worry we are safe!” – Yeah right, and you really care about safety?
When speaking of BBP exposure potential: “I had a guy who had that (HIV/AIDS) and he didn’t tell me, so one day he started spraying blood all over and I asked him, he said, um, no. So I covered up the cut with my hand. I found out later that he did have AIDS. That’s why we don’t hire any of those ‘limp-wrists.’” – ARGHH, was I getting angry!
That is just a small sample. Of course everything was defended, and planned, sort of. Ah, the life of a ‘safety guy,’ eh? Obviously, I am still processing this all. I can guarantee this company won’t come back here, but I’m sure they will continue to do business (they were half the price of the others.)
ehscommoner, let’s get it started in here
Well, here we go. My plan for this blog is to be centered around the frustrations, and hopefully the successes of this humble EH&S professional. My belief is that politics, locally, regionally, and nationally have a significant effect on the broader public health picture, and I plan on dabbling in these topics as well. I am looking forward to thoughts and advice from others. Also, excited about documenting my decisions, mistakes, associated self- doubt, and resolutions. I hope this might provide a reference point for at least one new EH&S pro (you aren’t alone in occasionally feeling isolated!) This is the front line baby!
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