Employers are Reminded to Post Injury and Illness Summaries

On February 1, employers were to begin posting a summary of the total number of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred last year.  Employers are only required to post Summary (OSHA Form 300A) -- from February 1 to April 30, 2009.  Copies of OSHA Forms 300, 300A, 301 are available on the OSHA Recordkeeping Web page.

New Rules for Lead from EPA

The EPA has issued new rules for builders, painters, plumbers and electricians who renovate  or repair housing, child-care facilities or schools built before 1978.

The "Lead:  Renovation, Repair and Painting Program" rule will take effect in April 2010.  Under the new rule workers must follow lead-safe work practice standards that reduce potential exposure to lead caused by renovations or other repair activities.

Specifically, the rule will apply to activities where more than six square feet of lead-based paint is disturbed in a room or where 20 square feet of lead-based paint is disturbed on the exterior.

More information can be found on the EPA's website.

Call OCCU-TEC at 1-800-950-1953 for more information on these changes and how they affect you.

Spring is on its way and for those responsible for air quality it means going from heating their work environment to cooling it.  It may also mean a battle to keep workers productive by avoiding sick building syndrome.

Sick building syndrome (SBS), according to OSHA, is a condition associated with complaints of discomfort that are attributed to a combination of substances or individual susceptibility to low concentrations of contaminants.  Symptoms are associated with periods of occupancy and disappear after leaving the worksite.

The World Health Organization estimates that as many as 30 percent of new or remodeled buildings may have higher SBS rates than normal.  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health says that poor ventilation plays an important role in sick building cases.

Why is ventilation so important?  Because it can effectively provide acceptable indoor air.

Here's how it works in your HVAC system:  Typically outdoor air is brought into a building, conditioned and mixed with some portion of indoor air.  This mixed air is then distributed throughout your building and some portion is exhausted outside.

Although the process seems simple enough many things can go wrong, producing poor indoor air quality.

HVAC systems can produce intermittent air flow, inhibiting the system's ability to remove contaminants.  Failure to maintain proper temperature and air movement can lead occupants to block supply registers, disrupting air flow.

Sometimes building engineers reduce or stop the flow of outside air because it is more costly to heat or cool it.  Unfortunately, this allows contaminated air on the inside to increase its concentration of contaminants.

Other issues include periods of HVAC operation, maintenance, and air cleaners.  These issues are examined in further detail by the EPA's publication on Ventilation and Air Quality in Offices.

There are many ways to improve ventilation efficiency to increase indoor air quality.  Some of those tactics include:
- Ensure dampers and vents are open;
- Remove obstructions to fresh-air flow;
- Clean ducts and dampers;
- Replace damaged insulation;
- Remove and discard porous organic materials that are contaminated.

A full list of recommendations are available from the OSHA Technical Manual.

Of course in the past, better ventilation simply meant opening a window.  In a quest to lower costs on heating and cooling, this is less and less of an option.  However, there is another option that can not only improve your indoor air quality, but can lower costs as well.  Just contact OCCU-TEC.

For 20 years, OCCU-TEC has worked with businesses to determine and identify potential safety and health hazards, recommend and design corrective measures, explain findings and interpret safety and health standards.

Call 1-800-950-1953 or go to www.occutec.com for more information.