Worker Comfort Areas

Worker eomfort areas ean be loeated in site work zones. These eomfort zones allow workers to take breaks and rest without being eontaminated. These areas are designed to maintain the safety of workers and generally require speeial proeedures for ingress and egress, personnel and air monitoring, potable water eonsumption, and restroom use [1], 

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A local controlled zone is an area where the air is controlled locally the control requirements may be for worker protection and comfort, for process control, or for production protection. 

The example of other health workers in the USA nurse practitioners, physician assistants and optometrists demonstrates that non-medical professionals can be trained to adequately prescribe drugs within their area of expertise. Pilot projects, e.g. in the state of California, with psychologists prescribing psychopharmaceuticals with appropriate training and supervision were successful in that both the patients and supervising physicians were comfortable with the clinical performance of the trainees (De Leon and Wiggins, 1996, p. 226). 

Head protection must be worn at all times. In all heavy construction areas, required foot protection includes steel-toe shoes with heavy-duty soles to help prevent crushing and penetration. Flaggers are on their feet most of the time, so their shoes need to fit well and be comfortable. Hearing protection includes earplugs or high-tech ear-muffs. For safety reasons, every worker should be able to hear the muted sounds of the construction site—and they should never wear headphones or headsets plugged into a music audio device. And don t forget a face mask for dust protection. 

Generally, substantial reductions of room drafts are difficult to obtain. This is because a high velocity of ventilation, if present, was installed for some continuing reason. To the extent that reason isn t still valid, substantial reductions are possible. Said another way, if the work area is not air conditioned, and workers require movable high-velocity fans for comfort, reduction of room air draft to reduce solvent emissions from a vapor degreaser will be difficult for workers to accept. 

The investigation also found that there were no rest areas and no guidance for employees. The recommendations included stricter supervisory control, a warning buzzer on the quay crane, warning signs, and an area where a worker could rest in comfort and safety. This is of particular importance for workers involved in manual labour carried out in a hot and/or humid environment. 

Several types of effective earmuffs and/or earplugs should be made available to employees. They should be selected based on the type of noise to be attenuated and the degree of noise attenuation needed. They should also be comfortable to wear and easy to use. It is important that plant management support and encourage their use whenever workers enter noisy areas. Hearing protectors only work when worn properly ... 

Safety was the paramount objective when phosphate fibers were invented. Safety for workers and consumers is the only technical reason anyone should consider launching a program to produce a substitute for the serpentine minerals usually referred to as asbestos. There is no reason to expect that synthetic fibers can outperform natural mineral fibers nor is it expected that they can be manufactured more economically. Modem societies require mineral fibers if we are to continue to advance in areas such as human safety, nutrition, health, comfort, transportation, and longevity. 

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