Eastern WA: Ag Safety, Green Energy and Lunch

Next week Executive Director Tom Odegaard and Director of Training Eric Tofte are taking an extended tour of Eastern Washington starting in Kennewick.

March 1, 2011 Client & Member Luncheon at the Hilton Gardens in Kennewick
Tom will start off the luncheon with an open discussion on current safety issues and concerns, and what ESC can do to help. This is a great networking opportunity for safety professionals.

Then Eric will present on Green Jobs, New Innovations: Same Safety Issues. This talk will explore how new industries face similar safety concerns as general industry: fall protection, lockout-tagout, and so on...

March 2, 2011 Agriculture Safety Day
ESC will be hosting a booth at the 7th Annual Agriculture Safety Day Conference at the Three Rivers Convention Center, Tri-Cities! Stop by our booth and tell Eric or Tom you read our blog to receive an extra gift.

March 3, 2011 Client & Member Luncheon at the Moses Lake Events Center
This luncheon will follow the same format at the Kennewick luncheon.

Hint: We gave the guys the weekend off, but then they will be travelling again, this time to Portland for the GOSH Conference. More on that later...

Burn Awareness Week

The National Gasoline Safety Project is using Burn Awareness Week (Feb. 6-12) to emphasize the dangers – particularly to children – of using gasoline to start fires for barbecue grills or campfires, or to burn trash.

Although a national study funded by the project indicated that 80 percent of parents do not use gasoline to start fires, those who do put themselves and their children at serious risk.
"Ironically, our research shows even parents who use gasoline to start fires know it isn't a safe thing to do," said Amanda Emerson of the National Gasoline Safety Project. "But they think it's something 'everyone' does. It's not. And it needlessly puts children in harm's way."

To ensure gasoline is used safely, the organization recommends the following:

• Never use gasoline to start a fire.
• Carefully read all caution labels on gasoline containers and adhere to safety precautions when using a portable fuel container.
• Always place fuel containers on the ground when filling to avoid static electricity ignition.
• Gasoline should never be used by children and should be kept out of their reach.
• Do not store gasoline in a vehicle or living space. Gasoline should be stored in a well-ventilated area.
• Keep gasoline containers closed when not in use.
• Avoid prolonged breathing of gasoline vapors.
• Gas is potentially fatal when ingested. If swallowed, call your physician immediately. Do not induce vomiting.

Source: National Safety Council

Study on cardiac arrest highlights benefit of public AEDs

Cardiac arrests that can be treated by an automated external defibrillator are more common in public settings than at home, according to a study released Jan. 26 from the National Institutes of Health.

Comparing data from more than 14,000 cardiac arrest patients, researchers found a higher percentage of ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation – the types of abnormal heart rhythms that can be treated through electric shock – occurred in public settings. More than one-third of people treated in public with an AED survived, which is significantly higher than the overall national average cardiac arrest survival rate of 8 percent. The at-home survival rate for cardiac arrests treated with an AED was 12 percent.

"These survival results affirm the value of putting AEDs in public locales," said Myron Weisfeldt, lead author of the study. "Even though the overall frequency of VT/VF arrests has declined over the past few decades, they are still a fairly common occurrence in public settings."

Researchers suggested the difference in cardiac arrest types in public settings versus home settings may be due to the fact that individuals who spend more time in public places may be younger and more active, making them more predisposed to VT/VF arrest. The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, (Vol. 364, No. 4).

Source: National Safety Council

2010 John D Spellman Safety Award Recipients Announced

CONTACT: Tom Odegaard, President/Executive Director, Evergreen Safety Council

Evergreen Safety Council is proud to recognize the IMCO General Construction as the 2010 recipient of the John D. Spellman Safety Award.

Evergreen Safety Council (ESC) has established this annual safety award in order to recognize member organizations who have demonstrated significant improvement or achievements in their safety program. The recipient is selected from applicants by an ESC Board of Directors committee and will be presented at ESC’s Annual Membership meeting on January 25, 2011.

IMCO General Construction is a family corporation established in 1978 by Frank and Patti Imhof and is based in Ferndale, WA. The company is founded on the principles of hard work, dedication and commitment. After 30 years, IMCO continues to maintain a standard of excellence in safety, job quality, employee relations, and community involvement. Over the past five years, IMCO achieved zero time loss and minimal recordables, while averaging in excess of 300,000 employee hours annually. In 2010, IMCO achieved an Experience Mod Factor/rate of 0.4370, a continuation of 4 years of improvement in the rate.

Key components of IMCO’s safety program include participation by all company employees, a written accident prevention plan, extensive employee training & subcontractor safety orientations, pre-task planning through job hazard analysis (JHA), safety task assignment (STA) and a drug free workplace.

The award also recognizes one of Washington’s great public servants John D. Spellman, who was King County’s first elected County Executive and Washington’s 18th Governor. Governor Spellman has also been a member of Evergreen Safety Council’s Board of Directors for more than 30 years. In 1989 he served as President/Executive Director during a very critical period of restructuring and has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors since 1998

Evergreen Safety Council is the Northwest’s largest, independent, non-profit organization providing safety and health training and consultation services to businesses and organizations. ESC is a member of the National Safety Council and a founding member of the American Association of Safety Councils.

Sharing the Road with Light Rail

Contributed by Norm Nyhuis, Trainer, Evergreen Safety Council

Sharing the road, has always been a fact of life, while making your way around Seattle. Cars, buses, trucks, bicyclists, and pedestrians now have something else to be aware of as you move through town; light rail trains. While much of the route the Sound Transit light rail trains use is elevated, there is a significant portion of the route that runs on surface streets, and must share the road with the rest of us.

Those of us who live and work in the South Lake Union neighborhood have already experienced the light rail cars running from down town to the Fred Hutchinson Research center. The plans are for both of these rail routes to expand and work is already underway for the expansion, so the number of people with the potential to come into contact with the light rails systems is also increasing.

These trains provide a new challenge in that they do not have the ability to take evasive action, to avoid a collision with another vehicle or person.

Some factors to consider:
The trains are quiet: so when approaching the rails, everyone must be alert for their approach. Electronic signage will help, but each of us, whether a driver or a pedestrian must be watching for them.
The trains are quick: they travel at the posted speed limit for the road way, added to the fact that the trains are heavy, there is a tremendous amount of momentum to arrest, before the train can stop. Being distracted by electronic devices or even just talking with a friend while approaching a rail crossing can quickly turn in to a life and death situation.

Take a look at the attached PSA from Sound Transit, and most of all, be alert when approaching a light rail crossing . . . .