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Excavations and Trenches - A Deadly Combination

Everyone will agree with the fact that excavations are one of the most hazardous and deadliest professions. The primary reason for this is that a majority of the construction accidents and mishaps, mostly take place in trenches, that are anywhere from five to fifteen feet deep. However, the most common hazard of trenching and excavation are injuries to workers from collapse. But sadly, the worst part about this scenario is that there are generally no warning signs. It is here that any Hazwoper safety training course will tell you that it is extremely important to conduct a thorough soil analysis, in order to determine the accurate levels of sloping, benching and shoring. Furthermore, a Hazwoper certified worker or employee will be able to identify the additional hazards that usually lurk around these trenches and other excavation sites. Some of them are mentioned below: 1.The inhalation of toxic fumes and substances. 2.Workers tend to suffer from Asphyxiation due to the lack of oxygen.

Emergency Procedures - A Must for Every Construction Site

The construction site changes on a daily basis. These changes may include the physical layout, changes in harmful exposures and even changes in the emergency devices that are available. Hence, careful pre-planning of emergency procedures, prior to the start of a project must be done and every employee must be aware of these procedures. Construction accidents can be very dangerous and even fatal, and so many organizations are proactive when it comes to implementing safety procedures. Unfortunately, even with such safety procedures in place, accidents do occur. Present below is a list of points that every emergency procedure needs to have: 1.Analyze potential emergency situations - For instance, ask yourself questions like, will the hazards change regularly or stay the same over a period of time? 2.Get to know your entire layout - This includes the entire site, building or structure. Review a floor plan that identifies all of the emergency exits and emergency equipment. This plan should

Decontamination Equipment - A must For Every Work Site

Decontamination equipment is usually required at certain work sites where dangerous or lethal substances and materials are being used or are present. These various types of decontamination equipment are extremely necessary, for they protect and prevent vulnerable employees and workers from coming in direct contact with these dangerous and poisonous concoctions. These types of equipment work by removing the harmful substances during accidental exposures. On several occasions workers fail to realize that they have touched certain dangerous substances and thus, they unconsciously pass them on to other workers and employees who are present at the work site. In this case too, decontamination equipment is very important, for it can contain and even reduce the extent of the contamination. It is also vital to know that not all decontamination equipments function in the same way. Some types are developed to clean, while others have been built to disinfect or sterilize. With this in mind, one co

Preventing the Worst Nightmare in Workplaces

The worst nightmare that any company working with highly hazardous substances can encounter is the situation where their employees get injured, or even worse killed. This becomes possible when there are certain kinds of catastrophes like fire, explosion and massive release of hazardous chemicals. Companies dealing with hazardous chemical substances have to take great care especially when it concerns their workers. OSHA has spelled out so many requirements that these companies must meet. If companies fail to follow these requirements, OSHA has also given a stern warning of penalizing them with a huge amount in fines. The best method to prevent this nightmare is to be in compliance with the regulations set by OSHA. One of the mandatory rules made by OSHA is to get the employees HAZWOPER safety training courses. The HAZWOPER training courses have been designed to educate employees about the potential risks that they might have to face at their workplace. These safety courses will also tea

40 Hour Hazwoper Safety Training - All your Queries Answered

Safety and health is of utmost priority in any profession. Peoples lives hang on a thread, when their work places them in hazardous situations. For this very reason the Hazwoper Safety Training courses have been designed and developed by experts, in order to help workers and employers, not only identify, but also assess and eliminate, the risk and dangers that are associated with these jobs. Hazwoper offers several online safety and hazard training courses, like, the Hazwoper 8 hour annual refresher training course or the 24 hour online safety training course. Among these courses, is a comprehensive 40 hour Hazwoper training program, that has been developed and designed for workers and employees who are a part of any uncontrolled hazardous waste operations or emergency response operations, and storage, disposal, clean-up operations, or treatment of hazardous substances. But, what truly sets this course apart is that, it offers in depth training that is targeted to push your career. Fir

Minor Mercury Spills Clean Up Procedure

In many HAZWOPER training courses, participants are educated about certain clean up procedures that would make their operations less riskier. This article will give you a sneak peak into the safety procedures of cleaning up a minor mercury spill on a non porous surface. No one should underestimate the danger of a mercury spill. All mercury spills, regardless of the quantity, should be treated immediately. Metallic mercury evaporates slowly when exposed to the air. Even a few drops of mercury can make the air in a room reach the maximum in contamination levels. When mercury is spilled, it forms tiny droplets and can accumulate in small spaces and emit vapors. Workers when exposed to mercury spills have been diagnosed with many health problems. A greater problem is that mercury emits hazardous vapors that are invisible and odorless. So, mercury spills should be treated as soon as it is detected. Mercury Spill Clean Up Steps: First evacuate the room and block off all access. Put a warning

The Hazardous Materials Removal Workers

The work of a hazardous materials removal worker is to identify, package, remove, transport, and dispose of radioactive, asbestos and arsenic, nuclear waste, lead and mercury or any material that possesses at least one of four characteristic, reactivity, toxicity or corrosive. When there are harmful substances present, these workers often respond to these emergencies. The work of hazardous materials removal workers is not confined to the work places only. The increased concern from the public and the Federal and State regulations has resulted in the removal of hazardous materials from several facilities, buildings and the environment to forestall contamination of natural resources and promote health and safety in the environment. Now, as you know the work they are handling is not a piece of cake. They have to work in a highly structured environment to reduce the danger they are facing. With the kind of dangerous work they do, they have to plan each phase of an operation in advance and

BP’s Capping worked- Gusher stops but clean up still continues

BP's prayers were finally answered after they successfully managed to cap the leaking well on Thursday. The new technique has enabled BP to stop the leaking oil from gushing into the sea. The oil stopped flowing into the water when the last of the three valves were slowly shut. The cap has temporarily shut off the leaking oil from the well, but the system is not a permanent means to completely control the leak. Some believe that the cap is just an improved siphon holding the oil until a relief well is dug to plug the well by mid August. The cap has stopped the oil but it still hasn’t put an end to the massive clean up operation. Thousands of workers and volunteers have been hired for the clean up efforts. Everyone is pleased that the oil is no longer gushing freely into the Gulf of Mexico, but they are still uncertain as to how long the oil clean up efforts will last. The clean up operations are likely to take years to completely be over. Although, there is one certainty that those

Training to Prevent Injuries at Hazardous Chemical Sites

Your work site can be a potential source of danger, especially when your work involves working in an industry that makes use of materials that may cause direct or indirect harm to you. In this case it is very important for the employee to have access to related information about hazardous materials so that he can be aware of the dangers and thus minimize the risk. You should not only know the potential dangers but you also need to understand your responsibility as an employee to avoid, combat and manage a situation if it arises. For the safety of the employee and as a gesture to support people at the workplace, it is suggested that the employer or the employee himself should opt for OSHA safety training. Usually, the OSHA safety training is divided into two stages the primary and secondary courses. If you are still not sure of what is OSHA training then you can look it up on the Internet and you will find a number of OSHA online safety training courses that will answer your queries reg

Benefits of 40 Hour HAZWOPER Course

No one can deny the benefits of 40 Hour HAZWOPER Course as it is well known to all h ow it has contributes offering the safety of workers at their working place. If you notice well, you will find what a great job is conducted by OSHA that involves human values like: punctuality, discipline, responsibility, humanity, hospitality, human rights and many more. All these values together can make the world, the only inhabited planet found till date, beautiful and worth to live on. 40 Hour HAZWOPER Course have been designed to provide a thorough understanding of safety and health importance in hazardous work site and the course is required to complete the certification requirements. It assists all the workers at a company from the top positioned employees to the bottom leveled employees like cleanup crew by offering the best working environment. The workers who are involved in emergency response operations, hazardous waste substance, clean-up operations, and disposal of uncontrolled hazardo

Fred Weber Inc. praised by US Labor Department

Fred Weber Inc’s management and employees have been praised by OSHA for their achievement in the company’s worker’s safety and health program at two St. Louis-area locations. Both the O'Fallon Asphalt Plant in O'Fallon, Mo and South Asphalt Plant in St. Louis have been recognized as the ‘star sites’ which is the highest level of recognition that Voluntary Protection Programs offer. This is OSHA’s official recognition of the exceptional efforts of those who have achieved excellent occupational safety and health. The Fred Weber Inc earned the VPP star recognition after a team of OSHA safety and health experts did a comprehensive onsite evaluation. Fred Weber Inc. has portrayed an outstanding effort in applying an inclusive safety and health management system onsite. OSHA's regional administrator has praised and put the company high as an example of workplace safety. To prevent injuries, illnesses and workplace hazards, Management, labor and OSHA cooperatively and proactively