The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) is offering a new online course about workplace bullying, co-developed by the Public Services Health and Safety Association. “Bullying in the Workplace” is a one-hour e-course that’s available in both English and French and aimed at health and safety committee members, managers, supervisors and employees. Among the topics covered in the course: defining and preventing bullying; the effects bullying has; removing the risks; strategies to control bullying; and applying the new knowledge. People who complete the course should be able to recognize the signs of workplace bullying, understand why it occurs and how it affects an organization, identify the roles of all personnel in preventing bullying and employ practical tools for controlling it. “Bullying in the Workplace” is available for $49 at http://www.ccohs.ca/products/courses/bullying/.
Category Archives: Health and Wellness
Ontario welcomes mining-safety recommendations
Following the release of the final report from its Mining Health, Safety and Prevention Advisory Group, the Ontario Ministry of Labour (MOL) has accepted all 18 of the report’s recommendations for making the province’s mining industry safer.
The 66-page report, released on April 15, is based on an extensive review of occupational health and safety concerns in the Ont. mining sector, a review that Chief Prevention Officer George Gritziotis initiated by request of the provincial government in late 2013. Gritziotis assembled the Advisory Group, which spent about 16 months researching many aspects of the industry’s oh&s system, including the effects of technological changes on safety, the system’s ability to meet the sector’s needs, ground stability, water-management practices and occupational diseases.
Labour Minister Kevin Flynn and Member of Provincial Parliament Glenn Thibeault accepted the report in Sudbury on the day of its publication, according to a press release from the MOL.
“A number of excellent people worked cooperatively and very hard on this review, and I would like to thank them all for taking part in this substantial undertaking,” Flynn said in a press statement. “Though Ontario is one of the safest jurisdictions in the world to work, mining remains a high-risk occupation. I’m confident that the work done by the advisory group will increase safety in our mines and save lives.
“This report and its recommendations are great news for the people of Sudbury and miners throughout Ontario,” said Thibeault in a statement.
Among the report’s recommendations:
- Mandatory risk assessments by mining employers;
- Requirement for mining companies to keep records of seismic events, ground-instability incidents and key elements of ground hazard control;
- Formal plans by employers to manage the risks of occupational disease;
- Mandatory water-management programs;
- Formal traffic-management plans for underground mines; and
- Official mining-sector risk assessments conducted by the MOL with employers and labour organizations every three years.
“These efforts are important, because the only way we will eliminate workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities is if we stay on this path of continuous improvement,” the report concluded. “This is not the endpoint of the process put in place to improve mining health and safety; in fact, there is a lot to do.
“The aim is to integrate occupational health and safety improvements while supporting innovation and fostering productivity in the sector,” the report added.
The United Steelworkers (USW), which represents mining workers in the province, announced on April 15 that it endorsed the MOL’s report and recommendations.
“These recommendations must lead to meaningful change,” said USW’s Ontario director, Marty Warren, in a press release. “That means health and safety improvements that will be enforceable in order to prevent workplace injuries, illnesses and deaths.”
Warren added that the USW expected immediate implementation of the report’s recommendations. “Now Ontario’s miners and their families expect and deserve to see swift, meaningful action that will tangibly improve health and safety in this industry,” he said.
“Improving health and safety in the mining industry must also include continued efforts to prevent occupational diseases,” said USW health and safety coordinator Sylvia Boyce.
Gritziotis’ Mining Health, Safety and Prevention Advisory Group is led by John Perquin, USW’s assistant to the international secretary-treasurer, as labour vice chair and Fergus Kerr, vice president of operations with Global Atomic Fuels Corporation, as employer vice chair. Among the other members: Mike Bond, health, safety and environment committee chair for USW Local 6500; Cam Mustard, president of the Institute for Work and Health; and Workplace Safety North CEO Candys Ballanger.
The Advisory Group’s report can be downloaded from the MOL website at http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/pdf/mining_final_report.pdf.
Effectiveness Evaluation of Existing Noise Controls in a Deep Shaft Underground Mine
Eric A. Lutz, Rustin J. Reed, Dylan Turner, Sally R. Littau and Vivien Lee, Mining Safety and Health Program, Environmental and Occupational Health, Division of Community, Environment, and Policy, Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona; Chengcheng Hu, Department of Biostatistics, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health
Noise exposure and hearing loss in the mining industry continue to be a major problem, despite advances in noise-control technologies. This study evaluated the effectiveness of engineering, administrative and personal noise controls, using both traditional and in-ear dosimetry by job task, work shift and five types of earplug. The noise exposures of 22 miners performing deep shaft-sinking tasks were evaluated during 56 rotating shifts in an underground mine. Miners were earplug-insertion-trained, earplug-fit-tested and monitored utilizing traditional and in-ear dosimetry. The mean TWA8 noise exposure via traditional dosimetry was 90.1 ± 8.2 dBA, while the mean in-ear TWA8 was 79.6 ± 13.8 dBA. The latter was significantly lower (p < 0.05) than the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) personal-exposure limit (PEL) of 90 dBA. Dosimetry mean TWA8 noise exposures for bench blowing (103.5 ± 0.9 dBA), jumbo-drill operation (103.0 ± 0.8 dBA), and mucking tasks (99.6 ± 4.7 dBA) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than other tasks. For bench blowing, cable pulling, grinding and jumbo-drill-operation tasks, the mean in-ear TWA8 was greater than 85 dBA. Those working swing shift had a significantly higher (p < 0.001) mean TWA8 noise exposure (95.4 ± 7.3 dBA) than those working day shift. For per cent difference between traditional vs. in-ear dosimetry, there was no significant difference among types of earplug used. Reflective of occupational hearing-loss rate trends across the mining industry, this study found that, despite existing engineering and administrative controls, noise-exposure levels exceeded regulatory limits, while the addition of personal hearing protection limited excessive exposures.
J Occup Environ Hygiene, Volume 12, Issue 5, pages 287-293. Correspondence to: Eric A. Lutz, director, Mining Safety and Health Program, Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, 1656 E. Mabel Street, #113, Tucson, Arizona 85724; email: ealutz@email.arizona.edu.
Did a brief nap break have positive benefits on information processing among nurses working on the first eight-hour nightshift?
Yu-San Chang, Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung and Faculty of Nursing Department, Meiho University, Neipu, Taiwan; Yu-Hsuan Wu and Mei Rou Lu, Kaohsiung Municipal Kai-Syuan Psychiatric Hospital, Kaohsiung; Chung-Yao Hsu, Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung; Ching-Kuan Liu, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital; and Chin Hsu, Department of Physiology, Kaohsiung Medical University
Shift workers frequently experience acute sleep deprivation on the first nightshift. This study compared the efficacy of a 30-minute nap (between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m.) on the visual-attention ability of nurses working at their first eight-hour nightshift at the time of maximum fatigue (between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m.). In addition, the researchers measured cognitive function (between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m.) in nurses working on the daytime shift, which they defined as baseline wakefulness. The results showed that working on the nightshift groups was associated with sleep loss, leading to a decrease in visual-attention performance compared to the daytime-shift group. There was no statistically significant difference in the visual-attention performance between those taking and not taking a nap during the nightshift, but the effect size was medium in the information process. An increase in sample size was still needed to draw the conclusion regarding whether a 30-minute nap break has positive benefits on perceptual speed during the first nightshift.
App Ergo, Volume 48, pages 104-108. Correspondence to: Ching-Kuan Liu, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, No. 100, Tzyou 1st Road, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan, ROC; tel: +886 7 7513171 ext. 2373; fax: +886 7 7161843.
Contamination and Release of Nanomaterials Associated with the Use of Personal Protective Clothing
Candace Su-Jung Tsai, Birck Nanotechnology Center and School of Health Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
Researchers investigated nanomaterial release associated with the contamination of protective clothing during manipulation of clothing fabrics contaminated with nanoparticles. Nanomaterials, when released as airborne nanoparticles, can cause inhalation exposure, which is the route of exposure of most concern to cause adverse health effects. Measurement of such nanoparticle re-suspension has not yet been conducted. Protective clothing can be contaminated with airborne nanoparticles during handling and operating processes, typically on the arms and front of the body. The contaminated clothing could release nanoparticles in the general room while performing other activities and manipulating the clothing after work. The exposures associated with three different fabric materials of contaminated laboratory coats (cotton, polyester and Tyvek), including the magnitude of contamination and particle release, were investigated in this study by measuring the number concentration increase and the weight change on fabric pieces. This study simulated real-life occupational-exposure scenarios and was performed in both regular and clean-room environments to investigate the effect of background aerosols on the measurements. Concentrations were measured using particle spectrometers for diameters from 10 nm to 10 µm. Collected aerosol particles and contaminated fabric surfaces were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and elemental composition analysis. The magnitude of particle release from contaminated lab-coat fabric was found to vary by the type of fabric material; cotton fabric showed the highest level of contamination and particle release, followed by Tyvek and polyester fabrics. The polyester lab-coat material was found to have the lowest particle-release-to-deposition (R/D) ratio. The particle-release-number concentrations were in a range of 768-119 particles cm−3 and 586-187 particles cm−3 in regular and clean rooms, respectively. Multiple peaks were observed in the number concentration distribution data, with particle diameters peaking at 40-50 and 100-300 nm. The SEM analysis of the contaminated fabric surface found test particles and other environmental particles. The elemental-composition analysis presented detectable response to the studied alumina-oxide particles. The laboratory coat primarily made of cotton woven material is not recommended for worker protection against nanoparticle exposure because of the highest particle contamination and release ability. In addition, the result demonstrated that a well-controlled (clean room) environment is critical to investigate the factors affecting nanoparticle interaction with protective clothing.
Ann Occ Hygiene, Volume 59, Issue 4, pages 491-503. Correspondence to: Candace Su-Jung Tsai, Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, 1205 West State Street, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907; tel: (765) 494-4676; fax: (765) 496-1377; email: tsai51@purdue.edu.
Time trends in musculoskeletal disorders attributed to work exposures in Ontario using three independent data sources, 2004-2011
Cameron A. Mustard, Andrea Chambers, Selahadin Ibrahim, Jacob Etches and Peter Smith, Institute for Work & Health, Toronto
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the leading cause of work disability in the developed economies. The objective of this study was to describe trends in the incidence of MSDs attributed to work exposures in Ontario over the period 2004-2011. It used an observational study of work-related morbidity obtained from three independent sources for a complete population of approximately six million occupationally active adults aged 15-64 in the largest Canadian province. The researchers implemented a conceptually concordant case definition for work-related, non-traumatic MSDs in three population-based data sources: emergency-department encounter record; lost-time workers’ compensation claims; and representative samples of Ontario workers participating in consecutive waves of a national health interview survey. Over the eight-year observation period, the annual per cent change (APC) in the incidence of work-related MSDs was −3.4 per cent (95 per cent CI −4.9 per cent to −1.9 per cent) in emergency departments’ administrative records, −7.2 per cent (−8.5 per cent to −5.8 per cent) in lost-time workers’ compensation claims and −5.3 per cent (−7.2 per cent to −3.5 per cent) among participants in the national health interview survey. Corresponding APC measures for all other work-related conditions were −5.4 per cent (−6.6 per cent to −4.2 per cent), −6.0 per cent (−6.7 per cent to −5.3 per cent) and −5.3 per cent (−7.8 per cent to −2.8 per cent), respectively. Incidence rate declines were substantial in the economic recession following the 2008 global financial crisis. The three independent population-based data sources used in this study documented an important reduction in the incidence of work-related morbidity attributed to non-traumatic MSDs. The results of this study are consistent with an interpretation that the burden of non-traumatic MSDs arising from work exposures is declining among working-age adults.
Occ Environ Med, Volume 72, Issue 4, pages 252-257. Correspondence to: Dr. Cameron Mustard, Institute for Work & Health, 481 University Avenue, Suite 800, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2E9; email: cmustard@iwh.on.ca.
Health complaints after a malodorous chemical explosion: a longitudinal study
G. Tjalvin and M. Bråtveit, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; S.H.L. Lygre and B.E. Hollund, Department of Occupational Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen; and B.E. Moen, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Centre for International Health, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen
Physical and psychological symptoms are prevalent in populations recently affected by industrial accidents. Follow-up studies of human health effects are scarce, and as most of them focus on residents, little is known about the long-term health effects among workers exposed to malodorous emissions following a chemical explosion. This study aimed to assess whether subjective health complaints (SHC) among workers had declined over a four-year period after an oil-tank explosion that had emitted malodorous sulphurous compounds. It used a longitudinal survey from 2008 (18 months after the explosion) to 2012, performed using the SHC inventory. Questionnaire data were analyzed using a linear mixed-effects model. There was a decrease in SHCs among the exposed workers, but they still had significantly more subjective neurological symptoms (P < 0.01) compared with controls, adjusted for gender, age, smoking habits, educational level and proximity to the explosion. Although there was a downward trend in SHCs among exposed workers in the follow-up period, they reported more subjective neurological complaints than controls. Symptoms may be mediated by perceived pollution and health risk perception, and adaptation or anxiety may cause a chronic effect, manifested by a dysfunctional and persistent neuropsychological response.
Occ Med, Volume 65, Issue 3, pages 202-209. Correspondence to: G. Tjalvin, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen, P.O. Box 7804, 5020 Bergen, Norway; tel: +47 55 58 61 16; fax: +47 55 58 85 61; email: gro.tjalvin@igs.uib.no.
Ship crew rescued after power failure, entangled sail
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) rescued nine crew members of the Halifax-based tall ship Liana’s Ransom on March 30, after the boat’s engines had become disabled and high winds had entangled its sails around the mast.
The Sector Boston Command Center (SBCC) was notified of the schooner’s problems at about 12:35 a.m. that morning, according to a USCG news release. Search-and-rescue crews from the Coast Guard responded immediately, as did those from Air Station Cape Cod and the Coast Guard Cutter Ocracoke (CGCO). Liana’s Ransom’s entire crew eventually transferred from the ship to the USCG’s motor lifeboats, about 93 kilometres east of Gloucester, Massachusetts.
One man injured his head while leaping into a lifeboat and was airlifted to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, the USCG said. The other eight were brought safely to the rescue station in Gloucester.
“It was fortunate for the crew of the vessel that the owner reached out to us,” SBCC command-duty officer Jay Woodhead said, as quoted in the press release.
Woodhead was referring to Ryan Tilley, the ship’s owner and crew captain. Tilley had made the decision to radio for help and abandon ship.
“Captain Ryan Tilley made the… right call in the best interests of his crew, and as a father, I am very proud of the way he and his crew handled the situation,” Tilley’s father, Joseph, wrote in a post on the Liana’s Ransom Facebook page on March 31. “As befits a captain, he was the last crew [member] to depart the vessel, ensuring all water-tight doors and hatches were closed before he disembarked.
“We can happily report that everyone is safe and secure ashore,” Joseph Tilley added.
Liana’s Ransom left Nova Scotia for St. Maarten, Dutch West Indies at about 6:00 p.m. on March 27, according to the elder Tilley’s previous post, which was dated that evening; he had been planning to board the ship in the Bahamas. But the ship suffered a full power failure over the weekend, causing it to drift in the ocean as the waves swelled up to three metres high, while rough winds caused the sails to wrap around the mast.
Joseph Tilley also noted that the ship had been repaired in a shipyard before the journey. “You can see the craftsmanship in the rebuilt wheel,” he wrote, calling the repair job “some very fine work.”
Media reports have stated that three of the crew members became extremely seasick shortly after the schooner left Canada.
The USCG noted that the rescuers had left a locator beacon on Liana’s Ransom and that the CGCO was on its way to the schooner to evaluate the prospect of towing it to shore.
“We are hopeful that the tow operation goes well,” the elder Tilley said.
A 25-metre-long schooner with steel hulls, Liana’s Ransom was built in Houston in 2005, according to information from the ship’s official website. After buying the ship, the Tilley family converted it into a two-mast, gaff-rigged, square-topsail schooner of the style favoured by pirates and privateers in the 18th Century.
“She has all of the latest safety features and navigation aids and meets or exceeds all Transport Canada requirements,” the website states.
In his post following the incident, Joseph Tilley thanked the USCG for its professionalism and prompt response.
“Thank you to everyone for your concern,” he wrote.
MSA offers new infrared combustible-gas detector
MSA Safety in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania has developed a new gas detector for methane, propane and other combustible substances. The Ultima Open Path Infrared Detector has an infrared source and receiver that provide continuous monitoring for gases in either the 0-to-5000 ppm/metre range or the 0-to-5 LEL/metre range. It includes a digital display, relay contacts, multiple communication outputs and automatic gain control. The detector also has adjustable mounting arms that facilitate setup and alignment. Required maintenance on the detector is minimal. MSA recommends the product for a variety of work environments and applications, including compressor stations, drilling and production platforms, fence-line monitoring and fuel-loading facilities. More information is available at http://www.MSAGasDetection.com.
Ontario MPP accuses labour federation of receiving “slush fund” from WSIB
An opposition Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in Ontario has charged that the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) has been operating a virtual “slush fund” for the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) – but the federation has responded that the accuser isn’t up on the facts.
On March 24, Conservative MPP Randy Hillier stated in the provincial legislature that WSIB had given $12.3 million in grants to the OFL over the previous decade, but that there was little link between the grants and accident prevention. “There has never been any oversight of this fund whatsoever, no applications, no reporting and zero value for money,” Hillier reportedly said.
“KPMG has told you that this program is worthless,” Hillier added in the legislature, referring to a report on the federation by auditing corporation KPMG. He claimed that some of the grant funds had gone to gym memberships, car allowances and staff-training sessions at the Bayview Wildwood Resort in Severn Bridge. “That’s where the money is going. It’s not going to help injured workers.”
Hillier did not respond to COHSN’s request for an interview. But OFL president Sid Ryan dismissed Hillier’s charges as “outrageous” and completely mistaken.
“The man hasn’t a clue what he’s talking about,” Ryan said.
Backgrounder information from the OFL stated that the WSIB money funds a program called the Occupational Disability Response Team (ODRT), which trains workers and employers on the rights and responsibilities of those making workers’ compensation claims. Automobile expenses for this program cover travel around the province for trainers to reach employees in numerous communities.
“This is a program that’s been in existence for 25 years. It’s not the preventative health and safety program that he alleged,” said Ryan. “We train in excess of 1,000 workers every single year to represent millions of workers in Ontario.”
He added that the KPMG report included only one reference to the ODRT. “And it actually says it’s a good program that’s actually helping workers and good value for money,” he said. “He’s completely misrepresenting the KPMG report.”
Ryan also scoffed at Hillier’s accusations regarding gym memberships and resort hospitality. “There’s a wellness program in the collective agreement of all employees of the OFL, and that wellness program can be used for gym membership,” he explained, adding that the WSIB had stopped funding this program years before.
In addition, the Bayview Wildwood Resort was used merely for a weekend training seminar, according to the OFL.
“It’s a two-and-a-half-star resort, with normal occupancy. It’s $130 a night, and for the $130, you get three meals,” said Ryan, calling the deal a great value for the money spent.
“He talks about money being spent in the Muskokas, makes it sound like all the people are living high on the hog,” said Ryan about Hillier. “But he’s completely wrong.”
According to WSIB public-relations specialist Christine Arnott, the Board acknowledged that its grants program needed improvement in 2010, when it took measures to strengthen grant contracts to comply with government directives on travel, meal and hospitality expenses.
“We also initiated a Value for Money Audit (VFMA) on the Grants and Research Program in 2012,” said Arnott. “The VFMA concluded that the grants program did exhibit value and produced notable results at the individual research project or grant-funded activity level. It also acknowledged that improvements to some elements of the program could be made, including overall strategy and governance.
“The WSIB is legislated to support training and research.”
Ryan speculated that Hillier’s charge was a reaction to the Conservative party’s loss in last year’s provincial election. “Sour grapes, there’s no question about it,” he said.
“Here’s a guy that was measuring the drapes to become the Minister of Labour in the Tim Hudak government, and the Ontario Federation of Labour mobilized their members, so we basically cleaned their clocks,” said Ryan.
“And he’s smarting from that.”