Idustrial hygiene trends.

Austin Simons
I had the opportunity to interview Doug Thornton (Industrial hygienist) who works as a private safety consultant. I asked him what are the top 5 most common problems that he runs into while doing safety reviews for major companies.
 1. HAZCOM.
The number one issue that he finds on nearly every site that he works on is their HAZCOM program. HAZCOM is the proper labeling and documentation of chemicals used on site by a company. This regulation is enforced by OSHA and has been giving special focus recently. Improper labeling can be a danger to workers that have to work with the chemicals. Doug said that the main issue is that companies fail to label all their chemicals and have the MSDS for all the chemicals on site.

2. Lock out/Tag out
Lock out tag out is a method used to ensure that power cannot reach a machine for whatever reason. The power source is literally locked so that no one can turn the power onto a machine OR its has the proper tagging to indicate to other that they should not tamper with the power switches. When machines need to be repaired, it is important to shut off the power source and keep it off while the mechanic is working on the machine. If power were to turn on then the mechanic could face a variety of hazards. Doug finds that a lot of the time companies simply shut off power to a machine, but fail to lock the power switch or tag it properly.

3. Fall protection
Fall protection standards can be violated in many different ways. Fall protection most of the time consists of guard rails and a rope/cable system. Doug finds that companies and workers violate this the most when the fall would be around 10 feet. A lot of workers don't consider a hole that's 8-10 feet deep is all that dangerous when it fact it is.

4. Noise
Hearing loss can be avoided by the proper measuring of the level of noise in the work place. Doug finds that workers that consistently have a lot of noise around them tend use their hearing protection. The problem arises when a worker only has loud noise around him for a part of his shift. The typical mindset is that their ears will be fine since they are only hearing loud noises for a little while, which is a bad mindset. The other reason workers tend to avoid using ear protection is because they claim that it interferes with their work.

5.Ventilation
Doug works around a lot of harmful chemicals. He always makes sure to check that proper ventilation is available to the areas where the presence of harmful chemicals is found. Usually companies have proper ventilation systems but don't use it correctly. For example one company had ventilation systems in its designated "chemical storage room" but the workers ,for convenience sake, were storing the chemicals outside of this room. Fumes can cause all sorts of problems or even death and for that reason it is vital that chemicals be stored and used under proper ventilation.