Safe work areas personal protective equipment

Knowledge, equipment, and procedures needed to work safely with hazardous chemicals in the lab. Detecting chemical releases in the work area, physical and health hazards, chemical forms, routes of entry, personal protective equipment and clothing, emergency response, label checking, MSDSs, and environmental and medical monitoring. 

Safe work practices for ethylene oxide fall into two areas (1) the normal practices associated with the use of a flammable gas and (2) health practices needed to reduce exposures to the vapors. For the former set of problems and the more common health problems, the procedures are relatively straightforward, the same as for other chemicals with similar properties keep ignition sources and reactive materials away from the material do not smoke, eat, or drink in the are and wear personal protective equipment (goggles, gloves, respiratory protection, and protective clothing) as needed to prevent exposure. 

The employer is responsible for the safe condition of all tools and equipment used by employees but the employees have the responsibility for properly using and maintaining such tools. Employers should caution employees that saw blades, knives, or other tools be directed away from aisle areas and other employees working in close proximity. Knives and scissors must be sharp. Dull tools can be more hazardous than sharp ones. Appropriate personal protective equipment (e.g., safety goggles, gloves, etc.) should be worn due to hazards that may be encountered while using portable power tools and hand tools. 

Develop and encourage safe habits and avoid unnecessary exposure to chemicals. Do not smell or taste chemicals. Vent any apparatus that may discharge particularly hazardous chemicals into local exhaust devices. Chemicals shall be properly stored and used to prevent exposure. Appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) shall be provided to employees working in areas where hazardous substances are in use. Employees shall be trained in the safe use and maintenance of PPE provided in the laboratory. Test positive pressure glove boxes for leaks before use. Do not allow release of toxic substances into any building area, only into an appropriate local exhaust device ducted to the outdoors. 

Creating safe work areas is an important part of working with lead. There are many things you can do to increase safety and reduce potential problems. Start by selecting appropriate personal protective equipment. Then make sure that your workers use it. This should include appropriate eyewear, clothing, and respiratory protection for the job. 

A safety tour is an unscheduled examination of a work area undertaken by a selected group of staff, including the manager with direct responsibility for that area, members of a health and safety committee, supervisors, trade union safety representatives and selected operators. A safety tour can examine predetermined health and safety aspects, such as housekeeping levels, standards of machinery safety, the use of personal protective equipment and the operation of established safe systems of work. Safety tours should be related to and reinforce decisions made by local management or by the health and safety committee. For maximum effectiveness, it is essential that action following a safety tour is taken immediately. 

You may also wish to tour work areas and observe on-the-job safety. Use your experience to evaluate employees use of personal protective equipment, housekeeping, and general safety. If you are unfamiliar with the work area, you may want to tour the area with an experienced employee or supervisor and ask them to identify practices that are safe or unsafe and where injuries have occurred in the past. 

Often it is easier to define and observe the outcomes of safe or at-risk behavior rather than the behavior itself. These oufcomes can be temporary or permanent, but they are always observed after the behavior has occurred. For example, when observing a worker wearing safety glasses, a hard hat, or a vehicle safety belt, you are not actually observing a behavior, but rather you are observing the outcome of a pattern of safety behaviors (the behaviors required to put on the personal protective equipment). Likewise, a locked out machine and a messy work area are both outcomes of behavior one from safe behavior and one from at-risk behavior. 

Each of the generic categories in Figure 12.9 could be used as a separate checklist at the initiation of a coaching process. The first category, for example, could lead to the development of a CBC for observation of personal protective equipment. Specific PPE behaviors for the work area could be listed in a left-hand column, with space on the right to check safe and at-risk observations. This kind of CBC could be used to record the observations of several individuals, by simply adding checks in the safe or at-risk columns for each observation of an individual s use or nonuse of a particular PPE item. 

Many accidents occur because the operator or maintenance person does not understand the hazards involved or has not been instructed on the precautions to be taken. The policy document should identify the main hazards within the company with advice on which rules must be obeyed while carrying out a hazardous task. General rules should also be included to cover items such as untidy work areas, replacement of guards, the use of protective cloth-ing/equipment where appropriate, safe working practices in handling goods and materials, etc. It is essential that on the introduction of new products, processes, operations or plant and equipment that any hazards associated with these are brought to the attention of all concerned. 

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