Safety Materials

The CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

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If that sounds like a subscription you ought to have, you’re right. Seriously, I’ve was a subscriber even when it was only on paper… before the internet and email it was still free. Of course, I’ve long been accused of having a morbid sense of humor, but really there are loads of great charts and data here even when hospitalization rates weren’t something so many people were interested in.

If you think you’re interested in a subscription check out the MMWR online here and look for the blue subscribe envelope.

Confined Space Safety Alert

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Between 2017 and 2020, three miners were fatally injured after entering confined spaces to clear material and obstructions. These confined spaces included a sand and gravel bin, a sand-filled hopper, and a cone crusher. All three miners were engulfed by falling material.

Best Practices: 

  • Operators should identify and eliminate or control all hazards before miners begin work and when clearing blocked material. Miners should be trained in these practices.
  • Lock-out, tag-out. Never enter a confined space until the supply and discharge equipment is locked out.
  • Never lock-out using the start and stop controls. These do not disconnect power conductors.
  • Assign a safety harness and lanyard to each miner who may work at material supply and discharge areas or any areas where an engulfment hazard exists. Do not use lanyards that depend on free-fall speed to lock.
  • Place warning signs:
    • “Fall Protection Required Here”
    • “Confined Space – Engulfment Hazard” warning signs at all access points to hoppers, bins, and chutes.

Click here for: MSHA Confined Space Safety Alert (pdf); Safeminers EZ Compliance Helper: MSHA on Confined Spaces (pdf).

October is National Protect Your Hearing Month

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There is no cure for hearing loss! The good news? You can prevent noise-induced hearing loss by protecting your hearing. Avoid loud noise whenever possible and turn down the volume on personal listening devices. If you can’t avoid loud noise, use earplugs or noise-cancelling earmuffs to protect your ears. – CDC

Get more materials from the CDC for Protect Your Hearing Month HERE!

National Safety Stand Down

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Join the Annual OSHA Stand Down for Falls in the Workplace this week. “Fatalities caused by falls from elevation continue to be a leading cause of death for construction employees, accounting for 320 of the 1,008 construction fatalities recorded in 2018 (BLS data). Those deaths were preventable. The National Safety Stand-Down raises fall hazard awareness across the country in an effort to stop fall fatalities and injuries.” [OSHA]

Get training materials and videos at OSHA’s site here.

MSHA Safety Alert: Working in Proximity to Belt Conveyors

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There have been eight fatalities involving belt conveyors in the mining industry since January 26, 2017. Six involved miners working near moving conveyors, while two involved maintenance of an idle conveyor. All of these fatalities could have been prevented with proper lock-out/tag-out and blocking against motion before working. The most recent fatality, involving a miner coming in contact with a moving conveyor, is under investigation. [MSHA]

Download the Alert here (pdf).

It’s Safe and Sound Week

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Safe + Sound Week is a nationwide event held each August that recognizes the successes of workplace health and safety programs and offers information and ideas on how to keep America’s workers safe.

Why Participate?
Successful safety and health programs can proactively identify and manage workplace hazards before they cause injury or illness, improving sustainability and the bottom line. Participating in Safe + Sound Week can help get your program started, energize an existing one, or provide a chance to recognize your safety successes.

Click on the graphic above to go to the Safe + Sound page or HERE to go directly to the resources available.

Beat the Heat

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It’s that time of year. That time when we’ve already had lots of heat and there’s more to come. It’s time to take it seriously. Check out the National Integrated Heat Health Information System.

Information from 8 agencies in one location gives you what you need to anticipate and prepare for heat in your area. Take it seriously.

OSHA reminds us that “employers are responsible for providing workplaces free of known safety hazards. This includes protecting workers from extreme heat. An employer with workers exposed to high temperatures should establish a complete heat illness prevention program.”

  • Provide workers with water, rest and shade.
  • Allow new or returning workers to gradually increase workloads and take more frequent breaks as they acclimatize, or build a tolerance for working in the heat.
  • Plan for emergencies and train workers on prevention.
  • Monitor workers for signs of illness.

Check out the NIHHIS site here.

MSHA Fall Protection Safety Alert

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MSHA issued 92 imminent danger orders for people working at heights without fall protection between January 2019 and June 2020. The most common violations were truck drivers climbing atop their vehicles, and maintenance and quarry personnel climbing to or working without fall protection in high places. Supervisors have been ordered down from dangerous locations.

Deaths from falls have increased from 8% to 19% of mining fatalities in the last two years.

Download the MSHA Safety Alert here (pdf).

June is National Safety Month

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National Safety Council also unveiled their new logo.

Now, more than ever, safety is crucial both inside and outside the workplace, which is why the National Safety Council will still be recognizing National Safety Month® in June. Observed annually by NSC, the nation’s leading nonprofit safety advocate, National Safety Month focuses on saving lives and preventing injuries, from the workplace to anyplace. – National Safety Council.

Check out free materials for non-members or join and get more here.

Or take the pledge to do your part here.