Does your company offer first aid and CPR training to employees on a voluntary basis? Of course if an AED is present in the company’s space, CPR and AED training needs to take place.
With a holiday weekend approaching, and many people getting ready for vacations and weekend plans, ask yourself if you are confidently aware of what happens after hours at your facility. Is there an established policy for signing in and out after hours?
Have you ever wondered how much money an incident or accident could cost your company? OSHA’s “$afety Pays” program is an interactive program that allows users to assess the potential impact that an occupational injury or illness could have on their bottom line.
What do the biological project registration documents in use at your facility cover? Are project registrations required for work utilizing recombinant DNA technology only, or are they required for all proposed work with biological agents?
When conducting monthly checks of the emergency equipment available throughout your facility, be sure to check the expiration dates. This includes supplies in the first aid kits, AED supplies, emergency eyewash bottles, and any other emergency supplies with expiration dates.
Have you ever asked the scientists working in the labs at your facility what they view as the highest hazards associated with their work? Do you know what their answers would be if you did ask them this question?
As EHS permits and licenses are received, amended, and renewed, be sure to review the conditions stipulated in the permit or license upon receipt. Avoid the temptation to be happy that the final document has been received, and just file it away in your central recordkeeping location.
If you are the holder of a Low Flow/Low Pollutant wastewater discharge permit with the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), be sure to keep an eye on the average daily discharge volume.
What does hazard communication mean in your laboratories? Are there hazard warning signs posted everywhere, are you constantly having to remind lab employees to label their chemical bottles appropriately, or do you need to update the door signs that have not been looked at in years?
When was the last time the use of safer sharps was evaluated at your facility? The use of sharps should be reviewed on a regular basis, from razor blades used to open boxes in the shipping and receiving area to sharps being utilized with hazardous materials.
The fifth edition of Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL) states that personal health status may impact an individual’s susceptibility to infection, ability to receive immunizations or prophylactic interventions. This statement is included even in biosafety level 1 laboratories, so be sure to address this for all biological laboratories.
June may seem like a long way away, especially with the impending snow storm headed our way, but it will be here before you know it! OSHA along with NSC, AIHA, ASSE and NIOSH, has announced that June 12-18, 2017 is Safe + Sound Week.
