Entries by BH

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Wood Products Firm Fined $114K for Combustible Dust

British Columbia’s workplace regulatory body, WorkSafeBC, fined West Fraser Mills, a wood product firm that operates in both the United States and in Canada, $115,000 for having combustible dust present at several of their locations. Inspectors noticed the potentially combustible wood dust around several electrical fixtures, appliances, motors, and moving machinery parts. The flammable dust […]

Dust Collector Fire Doused at LED Lighting Plant

According to local media, a dust collector at the Innotec LED factory briefly caught fire at 11:30 in the morning on 7 May. Five fire trucks were dispatched to the Zeeland, Michigan manufacturing facility. All ten of the Innotec workers present at the time were able to evacuate safely, and the blaze was suppressed in […]

Texas to reduce ozone-creating emissions for Greater Houston Area

Changes to Texas’ clean air plan has now been approved by the EPA. The clean air plan serves to improve the regulation of storage tanks and also give reasonable control for technology that serves to guide the regulation of emissions that go to the ozone layer. This move would help the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria area to enhance […]

Welding safety precautions

There are several methods of joining metals today but the most common is welding. During welding, two metals are joined together or fused using heat, pressure, or even both techniques. This produces a final joint that could be as strong as or even stronger than the two metals from which it was produced. Some of the potential hazards in welding are harmful dust, heat, smoke, fumes, and light radiation that is injurious. The smoke produced by welding can be toxic in itself since they are gases. The heat that is generated by the welding activity can result in burns when it comes in contact with the skin some of which are eye injuries when pieces of chips that are hot come in contact with the eye. Even the light that is emitted during welding can cause damage if the eye is not protected. Added to this is the danger of one getting electrocuted during the welding activity. The NIOSH has established a hierarchy of hazard controls which has become the widely accepted industry standard for determining the feasibility and potential causes of injuries and hazards during a welding operation. The five levels of the hierarchy are next discussed in the blog.

Key Takeaways:

  • Welders are at a high risk of eye injures from the hot slag and metal chips.
  • Wearing a welding helmet with filter plates will help protect you from rays and weld sparks.
  • Adequate ventilation is crucial to keep welders from inhaling too many airborne contaminants.

“Impact, penetration, harmful dust, smoke, fumes, heat and injurious light radiation are all potential hazards associated with welding. Welding “smoke” is a mixture of very fine particles (fumes) and gases.”

Read more: https://www.ishn.com/articles/110590-welding-safety-precautions

Pallet maker continues to expose workers to wood dust

A pallet maker based in Wisconsin has had another citation from the OSHA after some investigation reveals that it has continuously been exposing its workers to wood dust. The penalties that Avid Pallet Services LLC will face are to the tune of $188,302 for serious violations that are repeated related to safety and health of […]