Until recently, the United States and Canada lagged behind the rest of the industrialized world in developing occupational safety and health management system (OHSMS) standards. But that's no longer the case. There is now a national consensus OHSMS applicable to organizations of all sizes and types on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border. This series will provide a brief overview of each standard.

The U.S. OHSMS Standard

On July 25, 2005, ANSI approved the ANSI/AIHA Z10-2005, Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems. The ANZI Z10 is a voluntary consensus standard. Its release has significant implications for SH&E practitioners and employers. In general, the use of national consensus standards will be of increased importance to this country as the U.S. economy moves toward a more global perspective.

The ANSI Z10 uses recognized management system principles so as to be compatible with quality and environmental management system standards such as the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 series. The standard also draws from approaches used by the International Labor Organization's (ILO) guidelines on OHSMSs and from systems in use in organizations in the United States. This compatibility encourages integration of the standard's requirements into other business management systems in order to enhance overall organizational performance. Each organization electing to conform to this standard will determine how it will evaluate its conformance.

The stated purpose of the standard is to provide organizations an effective tool for continual improvement of their occupational health and safety performance. An OHSMS implemented in conformance with this standard can help organizations minimize workplace risks and reduce the occurrence and cost of occupational injuries, illnesses and fatalities.

Conclusion

Next week, I'll look at the Canadian Standards Association's CSA Z1000-06.

SAFETY FACTS

Pisco, Peru: Site of 2007's Deadliest Earthquake

The Year in Earthquakes

By Glenn Demby

Worldwide, earthquakes accounted for approximately 709 deaths in 2007. That's the lowest total since 2000 when only 231 people perished in earthquakes.

Most of the 2007 fatalities-514-occurred on August 15, when a quake measuring 8.0 on the Richter Scale struck Pisco, Peru. The largest earthquake of the year took place on September 12 in Sumatra, Indonesia, an 8.4 event in which 25 died. 54 people died in a magnitude 8.1 quake that hit the Solomon Islands in the Pacific on April 2.

Overall, 23 countries experienced earthquake casualties or damage in 2007, including:

• Barbados
• Brazil
• Chile
• China
• Colombia
• Ecuador
• France (Martinique)
• Guatemala
• India
• Indonesia
• Iran
• Japan
• New Zealand
• Papua New Guinea
• Peru
• Russia
• Solomon Islands
• Tajikistan
• Tanzania
• Turkey
• United Kingdom
• United States
• Vanuatu.

Source: U.S. Geological Survey and UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

SAFETYXCHANGE SUPER BOWL PREVIEW

Giants

By Glenn Demby

As a long time fan of the New York Giants, I hope the NFC championship team that shows up on Sunday plays like real giants. Of course, "real giants" is an oxymoron. The giant is a figment of human imagination. Giants are found in the mythology and legends of most of the earth's peoples and religions. In Indo-European culture, giants were depicted as primeval races associated with earthly forces.

The word giant comes from the Greek "gigantes." The gigantes were children of Uranus and Gaea (The Heaven and the Earth) who got into a fight with the Olympian gods (called "Gigantomachy"). The balance of power tipped decisively to the Olympians after the human Hercules cast his lot with them. The Greeks believed that the defeated gigantes were buried in the earth and that their tormented quivers were the cause of earthquakes.

Giants also figured prominently in Norse and Germanic mythology, as well as in the Old Testament. The most famous giant in the Bible is probably Goliath who met his match when he went up against a skinny rookie named David. There are also plenty of giants in eastern religions and folklore. In Hinduism, giants are called "Daityas." Like their Greek analogs, they were a race who fought a war against the gods.

Cardiff Giant Poster

If you watch a lot of cable TV, you may be familiar with "scientific" attempts to prove that giants actually did exist. In October 1869, workers digging a well unearthed a fossil of a 10-foot-tall "petrified" man behind a barn in Cardiff, NY. The "Cardiff Giant" was put on display and created an instant sensation, with people lining up to pay 50 cents to view it. P.T. Barnum paid an unheard of $60,000 to lease the giant for a three-month exhibit in New York City.

Cardiff Giant

But, alas, it was all a hoax. It seems that the original exhibitor, an atheist named George Hull, had secretly hired a German stonecutter to carve the giant and had it planted at the site of the Cardiff well. Archaeologists pronounced the giant a fake and when Barnum took them to court, the scam was revealed.

Here's to hoping that the New York Giants are no hoax on Sunday.

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