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Hot Topics

10 Hazards to Watch For

A hurricane’s dangers don’t subside with its winds. After the storm, emergency crews put themselves in harm’s way to help others. These emergency crews include law enforcement, emergency medical assistance, debris clearing workers, power line repairers and others doing restoration work.
This is dangerous work. According to OSHA, these are just some of the hazards faced [...]

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Hurricane Preparedness is in Your Hands

Hurricanes can cause substantial property damage, not to mention the injuries and loss of life that accompany the huge storms. This devastation can be caused by high winds, tornadoes, storms surges and inland flooding. There are many steps that you and your workers can take to reduce the effects of a hurricane, both at home [...]

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Using the Lessons of BP to Improve Your Own Accident Response Plan

BP is hardly the first company to face the challenge of accident response. We’ve all had our own “spills.” An avoidable injury, a leaking 55 gallon drum. These things happen all the time and demand an effective response. The only real difference between us and BP is scale—and the fact that [...]

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Lessons from a California Case

Gerald’s tale brought to mind the not so uncommon situation in which emergency workers get cited by OSHA (or the OHS equivalent in Canada) for disobeying safety rules during rescue operations. Consider the following case from California.
What Happened
While helping with the construction of a new building, a California worker fell [...]

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Dr. Strangeglove

TRUE TALES FROM SAFETY TRAINERS

Dr. Strangeglove
Several years ago, one of our trainers was giving a class on personal protective equipment. He was showing them cut-resistant gloves and decided to demonstrate how effective they were. He took a knife and ran it across one of his palms. He showed the class, but a [...]

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A Valentine’s Day Job Hazard Assessment

Few activities pose greater hazards than falling in love! It all starts with a fall. Those who fall deepest in love fall hardest. When love enters your life it takes your breath away. Not only do you lose the ability to breathe, you risk breaking a vital organ – your heart. Cupid’s arrow can leave [...]

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Picking Up the Pieces Following a Disaster

People breathe a sigh of relief if their home or business has been spared, without any loss of life, in a tornado, hurricane, earthquake or other disaster.
But just because the disaster has passed doesn’t mean the danger is over. Here’s a list of safety tips from the American Society of Safety [...]

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You Can’t Predict an Earthquake, But You Can Prepare for One

As the recent disaster in Haiti has shown, earthquakes leave a path of destruction and chaos in their wakes. The US Geological Survey says an earthquake strikes somewhere on Earth every 11 seconds and an estimated 10,000 earthquake-related deaths occur worldwide every year.
Most earthquake deaths involve victims being crushed under [...]

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How to Avoid an Avalanche

Every year more than 100 people worldwide are killed by avalanches. Over the last 10 years about 40 people annually have been killed in North America alone. The victim is usually the cause of the avalanche, the final catalyst in an avoidable fatality. Here’s a safety talk on avalanche safety [...]

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How to Prepare for Winter Driving

Preparing your vehicle for the winter season and knowing how to react if stranded or lost are the keys to safe winter driving.
Before embarking on a winter trip, have a mechanic check your vehicle’s:

Battery
Antifreeze
Wipers and windshield washer fluid
Lights (including hazard lights)
Exhaust system
Heater
Brakes
Oil level and grade

Install good winter tires and make sure they have adequate tread. [...]

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