The 2024 National Safety & Salary Survey reveals what safety leaders think about their jobs and the profession. p. 12
SLC 2024 Wrap-up p. 18
Total Worker Health p. 22
New HazCom Standards p. 24
Chemical Spill Protection p. 26
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The 2024 National Safety & Salary Survey reveals that safety leaders have a high degree of satisfaction in their profession.
BY DAVE BLANCHARD
Safety First, Leadership Always Visual highlights from Safety Leadership Conference 2024.
BY DAVE BLANCHARD
How to Prepare for OSHA’s New HazCom Final Rule
A look at the changes to OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard and guidance on how to ensure compliance.
BY PHIL N. MOLÉ
Hazmat Gear Considerations for Chemical Spills
One item does not fit all, especially when protecting against chemical hazards.
BY TRICIA HODKIEWICZ
Total Worker Health is Coming of Age Companies such as Jordan Foster Construction are creating programs to expand their view of safety.
BY ADRIENNE SELKO
ITEM: “Understanding Generative AI in EHS,” presented by Taylor Allis and Scott DeBow of Avetta. Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing the EHS field, offering powerful capabilities to better monitor and assess risk in today’s dynamic, complex work environments. In this webinar, you’ll learn how AI is being leveraged to not only identify and prioritize life-saving controls but also sharpen our data insights that prime organizational learning and continual improvement.
ITEM: “Simplifying OSHA Rooftop Fall Protection Requirements,” presented by Daniel Huntington of Kee Safety. This training session on rooftop safety covers critical areas including access points, rooftop openings, and unprotected edges.
You’ll learn about common rooftop fall hazards, applicable OSHA codes, and the Risk Assessment Matrix that guides decision-making to protect workers..
ITEM: “Workplace Incidents: Investigations are Key to Prevention,” presented by Ed Zalewski and Joe Proulx of J.J. Keller. Incidents don’t just happen. Something causes them, and usually more than one thing. An investigation should identify those causes, but the cause of an incident isn’t the same as the cause of an injury. This webinar will cover preparing and training to conduct effective investigations, and will offer tips for conducting interviews and watching for blame-shifting. You’ll also learn how to select and present corrective actions to decision-makers.
EHS TODAY (USPS Permit 905-040), ISSN 1945-9599 print, ISSN 2771-7267 online is published 4 times per year (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter) by Endeavor Business Media, LLC. 201 N. Main St. 5th Floor., Fort Atkinson, WI 53538. Periodicals postage paid at Fort Atkinson, WI, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to EHS TODAY, PO Box 3257, Northbrook, IL 60065-3257. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Publisher reserves the right to reject non-qualified subscriptions. Subscription prices: U.S. $86.25 per year; Canada/Mexico $111.25 per year; All other countries $136.25 per year. All subscriptions are payable in U.S. funds. Send subscription inquiries to EHS Today, PO Box 3257, Northbrook, IL 60065-3257. Customer service can be reached toll-free at 877-382-9187 or at ehstoday@omeda.com for magazine subscription assistance or questions. Printed in the USA. Copyright 2024 Endeavor Business Media, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopies, recordings, or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the publisher. Endeavor Business Media, LLC does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any person or company for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in the material herein, regardless of whether such errors result from negligence, accident, or any other cause whatsoever. The views and opinions in the articles herein are not to be taken as official expressions of the publishers, unless so stated. The publishers do not warrant either expressly or by implication, the factual accuracy of the articles herein, nor do they so warrant any views or opinions by the authors of said articles.
Over a third of nonfatal injuries happen to workers who have been with their current employer for less than a year. More than almost any other factor, newness to a workplace is a major contributor to risk.
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Pulling back the curtain on how EHS leaders view their profession.
Money and politics. Servant leadership and mentoring. Tight budgets. Dedicated problem-solvers. No respect. The best job in the world.
Reading the comments from respondents to the EHS Today 2024 National Safety & Salary Survey (see p. 12) is a fascinating experience, thanks to the wide range of reactions from safety professionals when we ask them to describe the current state of workplace safety. We invite all respondents to share—anonymously—their thoughts on their job situation, the industry, professional challenges they’ve encountered, and anything else they’d like to mention. We’ve been conducting this survey for many years so some of the themes are predictable and recurring: the salary is too low, the workload is too heavy, workers aren’t committed to a safety culture. Earlier this decade, as you would expect, many of the comments were about protecting the workforce during a pandemic. And every year, it seems like attracting and keeping new talent to the safety profession just keeps getting harder.
Perhaps because 2024 is an election year, an emerging theme among respondents is the impact of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) on the workforce. Apparently, DEI is either the worst idea ever to be perpetrated on the American public, or the best chance companies have to ensure fresh perspectives replace stale, “not invented here” mindsets. Two-thirds (67%) of all respondents indicated that their companies currently have DEI initiatives in place, although given the recent shift away from DEI from a number of prominent companies (including Caterpillar, Harley Davidson, John Deere, Lowe’s and Tractor Supply), one has to wonder if the acronym “DEI” will be replaced by some yet-to-bemainstreamed new buzzword.
In any event, this is my cue to step aside and offer a glimpse into the comments your fellow safety leaders shared with us in the survey.
• The safety profession has done a good job at moving the perceived role of safety cop to a professional role necessary for organizational success across most industries. However, we need to do a better job at educating against the silver bullet that is going to solve all of an organization’s safety problems.
• One of the biggest obstacles to building effective safety cultures in industry today are DEI initiatives. While on paper
Dave Blanchard Editor-in-Chief
it seemed like the right thing to do, in reality DEI harms the overall workforce and creates toxic work environments because it requires people to be hired and promoted based upon their demographic information rather than their skill/ knowledge/experience levels.
• The EHS profession is strong and has been a rewarding career. It will always have its challenges but I am feeling and seeing a movement forward with accepting new technology and moving past the old traditional way of safety.
• EHS people burn out faster because of all the stress we’re under and having success defined by a lack of negative events.
• Safety continues to be more visible among all companies. Safety appears to be a driving force that perhaps was not always apparent for some organizations, but at the end of the day the same thing remains the constant: people are the most important asset and investment within any organization, and communication on a personal level is the key to ensuring that safety is established and sustained as a top priority.
• It’s hard to have “wins” in the EHS realm. It’s a good day when “nothing happens”—no one got hurt, we didn’t get fined, we didn’t have a failure.
• With the increase of technology and various regulations, why are we not seeing a more dramatic decline in workplace injuries/fatalities?
• I feel incredibly fortunate to work with my team to improve safety every day. We have such an important job that is sometimes rather thankless and unnoticed. Good safety is, unfortunately, often invisible. We are challenged every day to continuously improve ourselves and our working conditions, but it can be easy to only notice when something goes wrong. For all those looking to get into the field, I highly encourage you to immediately get a sponsor or mentor to help you understand your work environment and the culture that is present.
• EHS is a rewarding yet challenging career path. It takes a plethora of skills to master it effectively.
Indeed, “plethora of skills” might be an understatement, given how many tasks and responsibilities a typical EHS professional has to manage, not to mention the everexpanding number of rules and regulations they have to comply with, based on their industries and locations. One role every EHS professional has in common, though, is the ultimate one: Ensuring the health and safety of every worker, every day.
Send an e-mail with your thoughts to dblanchard@endeavorb2b.com.
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It’s never too soon to say “thank you” to the safety leaders who have made a difference.
Retirement has hit a milestone with 6.3 million Americans expected to retire every year for the next four years. It’s hard to fathom the breadth of contributions that EHS professionals have made over their careers. And it’s an impossible task for all of us who have been protected by these professionals to properly thank them. However, one way is to acknowledge the many improvements to our safety that they have presided over for the past 40 years. With each new OSHA standard covering every industry it was the ingenuity of these professionals to implement these measures, which can
be a challenging task. Asking a workforce to embrace a new philosophy, devise communication methods, create procedures and of course the most difficult of all, ensure procedures are followed, requires special talent.
And what is unique to this profession is the talent that has chosen it. All too often people come to their jobs after having seen a horrible injury, or even a fatality. Walking into a career that requires you to face those tough memories on a daily basis is quite courageous. The payoff of course is to create an environment, through a variety of methods, where those accidents will never happen again. But how many people choose to confront such difficult issues and push through to create change?
Adrienne Selko
Senior Editor
The changes this generation faced also occurred in terms of different styles of the workforce. This Boomer generation needed to understand and adapt to the different desires and goals of Gen X, Millennials and now Gen Z. They were required to frequently change the entire culture of the organization to accommodate the varying needs of these very different generations. And they did so, with much grace I might add. On a macro level they moved from a singular focus on protecting workers’ physical bodies to the current iteration of safety which has expanded to well-being and mental health.
Along with evolving worker attitudes is the lightning speed of the creation and implementation of new technologies to improve safety outcomes. Can you imagine explaining to someone starting their EHS career 40 years ago, that people would be wearing sensors on their person to measure movement and even fatigue? If you had shown them a photo of someone using augmented reality (AR) to teach ergonomics, would they have believed you? And let’s not even mention the dedication and time necessary to learn these new technologies.
Corporate structure was another area in which this generation had to navigate. Over the years styles have varied and with each new philosophy EHS professionals had to learn a new method of operation. But more than that, they had to incorporate the new ideology into the practices and procedures, all the while having to get buy-in from employees.
Complying with the increasing number of federal and state regulations was all part of the job. And I won’t even mention OSHA inspections, or workers’ compensation, or safety audits, or any of the countless other tasks and roles that “safety people” have taken on over the years.
Throughout their careers, they have not only survived all of these challenges but thrived. When I talk to EHS professionals their enthusiasm at this late stage in their careers never ceases to amaze me. They will explain programs and policies they created or implemented that have made a difference in the lives of their workforce. And the underlying theme of these conversations is the personal commitment they have to the field, revealing to me why they are in this job and what it means to them.
So, for those of us who benefit from the many years of hard work, dedication and genuine concern you have shown for our well-being, I thank you. While we can never repay the debt we owe you, we will honor you by passing along the knowledge and wisdom that you so generously shared with us.
Thank you.
Send an e-mail with your thoughts to aselko@endeavorb2b.com.
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Traditionally, contractor safety has been driven by contractor prequalification. While reviewing injury rate history, auditing safety policies, and verifying insurance coverage are important, they simply are no longer enough.
Prequalification assesses lagging indicators and may not correlate to future safety
Safety culture surveys are subjective and hard to apply across supply chains
To ensure workers make it home safely and projects are completed, a new, forward-thinking model is needed that can help predict future incidents and help close gaps in safety programs. It also must work across industries and be system-based, assessing and verifying that an adequate safety management system (SMS) is in place and actively followed.
Introducing Avetta’s Safety Maturity Index (SMI), an innovative contractor safety tool developed in partnership with the National Safety Council (NSC). This powerful, new tool goes beyond prequalification to:
Target organizational systems proven to impact health and safety.
Assess five key elements of your SMS, including Safety Leadership & Structure, Hazard Identification & Controls, Worker Training & Competency, Incident Management & Response, and Improvements & Communications.
Provide an easy-to-understand 0-100 grading scale with actionable insights on how to improve contractor safety maturity over time.
Using the SMI to get your safety score is only the start. With the SMI, teams gain clear goals for targeted continuous improvement so workers stay safe and projects remain on time and on budget. Selfassessments, audits conducted by Avetta, and SMS quality and usage are used to verify safety maturity and determine an organization’s score.
Avetta’s SMI provides organizations with a much greater understanding of the safety maturity of contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers they work with. Using the SMI allows organizations to:
Easily identify contractors with strong safety systems that help reduce the risk of serious injuries or fatalities (SIFs).
Focus resources on contractors that need further development in safety practices.
Shift from compliance to proactive safety management with contractors.
Avetta’s Safety Maturity Index represents a paradigm shift in how organizations manage contractor safety. By moving from reactive compliance checks to a proactive, systems-based approach, the SMI helps organizations foster safer work environments and reduce the likelihood of serious incidents. To learn more, please visit www.avetta.com.
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Safety isn’t just prevention and zero injury objectives; we must also have effective recovery systems.
By Shawn M. Galloway
On November 14, 2022, my wife, Misty, and I arrived in Bali, Indonesia. We were there to celebrate with one of my closest and longtime friends, Kevin Henderson, and his fiancée, Stephanie. We enjoyed pursuing adventurous vacations with them, with the previous year hiking to the top of an active volcano in Guatemala.
It quickly became apparent why Bali is such a desired tourist destination. For the fist few days, we explored waterfalls and temples, experienced about a hundred near-misses as we were driven across the island, and enjoyed the local cuisine. We laughed and reminisced.
Thursday, November 17, was Kevin’s 51st birthday. His wish was to be granted: a sunrise trek up Mount Agung, another active volcano and one of the most challenging climbs in the world. The day was spent shopping, packing and preparing for the adventure later that evening.
The climb is fairly organized. It begins around 10 p.m. and is led by a guide, which is compulsory. The summit is reached around 5 a.m., where you meet other hikers and their guides and prepare for the majestic sunrise. Afterward, you collectively descend, and the trek is over around noon when you reach base camp.
Kevin summited Mount Agung. He took in the breathtaking view he had chased. He saw the sun rise high above the Indonesian countryside. He accomplished his goal. He won the day.
During the descent, high above the clouds, around 1,000 feet below the summit, at 7:30 a.m. on his 51st birthday in a beautiful location, one of the holiest spots in Bali, my dear friend had an accident. He passed away, taking his last breaths, chasing his dreams below the mountain’s peak he had just conquered.
I had to call Stephanie. Because of the understandably poor signal, it took three conversations to accomplish one of the most challenging tasks I’ve been responsible for: informing Stephanie that the love of her life had passed away. I then had to notify others back in Texas.
The following week was a blur. Misty and I stayed in the country with Stephanie to support her as she observed Kevin’s wishes and had his remains cremated. My dear friend returned to Houston in an urn, and his celebration of life occurred days later.
Following the funeral, Misty and I grappled with our own grief while trying to be a source of strength for Stephanie and Kevin’s family. We shared stories of Kevin, reminiscing about his incredible intellect, wit and humor, adventurous spirit, and
unwavering loyalty. Those memories became our solace, a way to keep his spirit alive in our hearts.
This tragedy brought home the need for deeper conversations about safety, preparedness and recovery plans. We often take for granted the risks that accompany our adventures. Kevin’s death underscored for me the importance of approaching even vacation activities with a new sense of caution and readiness.
Despite our best efforts, tragedies occur more often off the job than on the job. This is why safety is not all prevention and zero injury objectives; we must have effective recovery systems to deal with the inevitability of mistakes that will be made and the possibility of injuries at work, in and around our homes, and on the side of mountains on the other side of the world.
The lessons learned from such a tragic event extend far beyond the immediate aftermath and serve as a stark reminder of the fragility of life and the importance of cherishing every moment we have with our loved ones.
Please take some time today to do three things:
1. Have a conversation with a colleague or employee. Let them know why you enjoy working with them and why they matter to you.
2. Call a friend and tell them you are thinking about them. Share why you value their friendship.
3. Hug your friends and family tightly. EHS
SHAWN M. GALLOWAY
Shawn M. Galloway is CEO of ProAct Safety; host of the podcast, “Safety Culture Excellence”; and a past keynote speaker at EHS Today’s Safety Leadership Conference.
This sector had an injury rate of 3.8 cases per 100 workers, the highest of any industry.
Areport released in September by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has the unusual title of “OSHA Should Take Steps to Better Identify and Address Ergonomic Hazards at Warehouses and Delivery Companies.“
The reason for this concern is the continual uptick in e-commerce retail sales which requires an increase in the pace of warehouse work. These working conditions are leading to more injuries. The most common injuries are from overexertion such as working while fatigued or moving unsafely while lifting or bending. This can cause musculoskeletal disorders, such as tendonitis or back pain.
The transportation and warehousing sector (which includes e-commerce warehouses and last-mile delivery) had the highest serious injury and illness rate of all 19 sectors in 2022, with an estimated 3.8 cases per 100 workers, according to BLS data.
While OSHA has been increasing its efforts to address this, the General Accounting Office feels that they could do better.
The report notes that OSHA cited warehouse and lastmile delivery employers for more than 2,500 workplace violations from fiscal years 2018 through 2023,. Among these violation were 11 for ergonomic hazards. The reason for this low rate of citations in ergonomics is because OSHA does not have an ergonomic standard. It must use the general duty clause of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to cite these hazards.
The agency says that general duty clause citations require a high level of evidence that can make issuing them a challenge. Furthermore, OSHA staff described other challenges to identifying, assessing, and addressing ergonomic hazards, including compliance officers (1) having difficulty determining if ergonomic hazards caused injuries reported on forms, (2) receiving little training on ergonomic hazards, and (3) relying on unclear ergonomic guidance.
In fiscal year 2024, OSHA implemented an inspection program to better protect workers from hazards at warehouses and other worksites, including general warehouses and lastmile delivery companies. The program requires compliance officers to determine if ergonomic hazards exist and, if so, to take appropriate enforcement action.
This report is the result of the GAO being asked to review how technology affects worker safety at e-commerce warehouses and last-mile delivery companies. This report examines the types and causes of injuries at these workplaces, and the extent to which OSHA identifies and addresses ergonomic hazards, among other objectives.
Here are the agency’s recommendations:
—Ensure that OSHA compliance officers can easily obtain data during inspections on when musculoskeletal disorders occurred. This could include adding a column for musculoskeletal injuries to OSHA recordkeeping forms.
—Increase training on identifying and assessing ergonomic hazards for compliance officers who inspect worksites under OSHA’s National Warehouse and Distribution Center Emphasis Program. This may include making elective ergonomic courses required courses for some officers; adding new courses or ergonomic components to existing courses; or making existing courses more accessible, for example, by increasing their frequency or offering them online.
—Review and make needed changes to OSHA’s internal and publicly available guidance that compliance officers and employers use to identify, assess, and address ergonomic hazards. This may include clarifying existing guidance and providing more current, industry-specific guidance.
—Conduct timely follow-up with establishments that were issued an ergonomic hazard alert letter, as required by OSHA policy, to determine if establishments have taken corrective actions. This may include regional offices developing formal procedures for tracking ergonomic hazard alert letter.
—Formally evaluate how well OSHA’s national emphasis program for warehouses and distribution centers helps compliance officers identify, assess, and address ergonomic hazards; and determines and documents next steps to correct any deficiencies detected.
—EHS Today Staff
The 2024 National Safety & Salary Survey reveals that safety leaders have a high degree of satisfaction in their profession.
By Dave Blanchard
“The safety profession wears on you. Safety pros need more support in terms of staffing. Companies tend to lean more and more on us and it’s not easy to avoid burnout.”
“I feel incredibly fortunate to work with my team to improve safety every day. We have such an important job that is sometimes rather thankless and unnoticed. Good safety is, unfortunately, often invisible.”
“I went into this field to help people and keep them safe. The field sounded like it was all about protecting the less fortunate and those who didn’t have much of a voice. Unfortunately in my experience it’s more about protecting the company and making them look good.”
“It is impossible to do all of the required safety training and be productive. You’d lose three months of work time if you followed all best training practices.”
“Being a safety professional has been a very rewarding profession for me. It has been both personally and professionally satisfying.”
— comments posted by respondents to the 2024 National Safety and Salary Survey
When your job title includes the word “safety” in it, it’s fair to say that you come to work every day recognizing that something bad could conceivably happen and that you need to prevent it from happening. Not only that, but your goal of keeping the workplace safe is often at odds (though not stated quite so directly) with the goals of other operations, including production, purchasing and finance. Many EHS professionals consider what they do as more of a mission rather than merely
a job, which can lead to frustrations when others in the company or organization see “workplace safety” as more of a budgetary line item rather than a higher calling.
Everybody talks about safety, but safety leaders often seem to be the only ones doing anything about it. Or at least it sometimes seems that way, especially if you’re in an environment that places a higher value on productivity and profits than on worker safety. It’s an ongoing challenge to keep workers safe and healthy, and workplaces free from hazards and accidents, and nobody knows that better—and nobody can tell that story better—than the EHS professionals themselves.
That’s the motivation behind the EHS Today 2024 National Safety and Salary Survey—providing safety leaders a platform, so to speak, to share, opine and vent about their jobs. This, then, is our annual report on the survey results.
Based on responses from 631 EHS professionals, we can tell you that roughly half of all safety leaders in the United States (49%) manage a staff, though most likely a very small staff (between 1 and 9 people); however, 5% are responsible for 50 or more people. Looking at it the other way, the other half (51%) of all respondents have nobody else helping them keep their workplaces safe. Little wonder, then, that so many respondents wondered how seriously their companies took safety if they only had one person managing it.
If you’re curious as to what a “typical safety leader” looks like, we ran some cross-comparisons on many of the categories to identify the most frequent responses to our various demographic questions. So we can tell you that the prototypical safety leader has the job title of EHS manager, is a white male in his 50s, lives in the Midwest, has more than
20 years of experience, works in a manufacturing plant or facility, earns $105,890, and in the past year received a raise between 3-5%.
In fact, comparing this year’s average salary to last year’s, salaries as a whole were up 6%, which is about twice that of the average raise throughout the U.S. economy, according to Indeed. If your raise was nowhere near that big, well, as we said, it’s an average—your mileage may vary.
Let’s get a little bit more specific, starting with job titles. “Safety leader” is the shorthand description we usually use, but almost nobody actually has that exact title. In the chart labeled, “Average Salary by Job Responsibility,” you’ll see that 29% have the title of EHS manager, EHS supervisor or
an equivalent title, and they earn, on average, $103,798. EHS professionals (which generally means somebody without direct reports) make up the second biggest bloc among our respondents at 25% of the total, and they earn $90,390. EHS directors or VPs account for 16%, the third-largest group, and they earn $144,388.
The largest percentage of respondents (29%) work in manufacturing facilities—either in light manufacturing industries (e.g., apparel, consumer electronics) or heavy manufacturing industries (e.g., automotive, aerospace). Light manufacturing respondents earn $98,960, while heavy manufacturing respondents earn $111,740. The construction industry accounts for 14% of all respondents, and they earn an average of $109,139. No other industry or sector had more than 10% of all respondents; the closest is government workers, with 7% of the total and an average salary of $99,525.
Another question that produced a wide range of answers is: What areas are you responsible for? The number one answer, as you would expect, is safety (95%), followed by occupational health (75%) and risk management (68%).
Geographically speaking, since the largest number of respondents work in
Middle Atlantic (NJ, NY, PA) (7%)
Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, UT, WY) (6%)
New England (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT) (5%)
North Central (IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI) (33%)
Pacific (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA) (12%)
South Atlantic (DC, DE, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV) (16%)
South Central (AL, AR, KY, LA, MS, OK, TN, TX) (17%)
$102,700 Other North America (4%)
manufacturing, it stands to reason that the North Central region (aka the Midwest) is also home to the largest percentage of safety leaders (30%). Their average salary is $104,936, which puts them roughly in the middle range of salaries. The Pacific region (12%) has the largest average salary, at $120,009, followed by the Mountain region (10%) and a salary of $109,253. The lowest average salary is in New England, $89,884, which also has the fewest number of safety leaders, at 4%.
Safety leaders, as noted earlier, are most likely to be found in a manufacturing plant or facility (39%). The next most likely work environments for safety people are in a corporate office (25%), or at a worksite or construction site (10%).
More than two-thirds (69%) of all respondents have more than 10 years of experience, and more than one-third (39%) have more than 20 years of experience. The more experience you have, predictably, the higher the salary: those with less than five years of experience earn $77,585, while safety leaders with more than 20 years earn $122,804.
Similarly, the older you are, the more you make. Those younger than 25 (admittedly, only 1% of respondents) average
$70,625, whereas those who are 65 or older (12%) earn $117,986. The majority of all respondents, reflecting the fact that EHS Today’s audience is largely made up of safety leaders with managerial responsibility, are 45 or older (73%). And it shouldn’t surprise anyone that a frequently cited challenge among respondents is the need to attract new talent to the safety profession.
The gender gap does seem to be narrowing, which is good news. Males now account for two-thirds (67%) of all safety jobs, which is down from 70% a year ago, and the gap in salary between males and females is half of what it was in 2023, when males were making nearly $13,000 more than females. This year males earn $108,072 while females earn $102,600—a difference of $5,472. As more women enter the safety profession, we should hopefully see that gap narrow even more.
When it comes to ethnic diversity, not much has really changed since last year, with 81% of all respondents describing themselves as Whites/Caucasians (it was 82% in 2023), and earning $106,505. The next-largest group—Hispanic/Latino— accounts for 8% (up from 7% in 2023), and earning $100,077.
Education is very important to safety leaders, as 74% of respondents have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Consultant/Academic (6%)
Corporate/Executive/Senior Management (4%)
EHS Director/VP (16%)
EHS Manager/Supervisor (29%)
EHS Professional (25%)
EHS&S (Sustainability) Professional (5%)
HR Manager (2%)
Industrial Hygienist (1%)
Operations/Plant Manager (5%)
Risk Manager (3%)
Training Manager (1%)
Other (Engineering, Quality, Security, etc.) (5%)
$102,793
$111,062
$144,388
$103,798
$90,390
$106,957
$106,800
$117,725
$92,052
$94,673
$88,750
$89,070
Correspondingly, the salaries reflect that, as those with a doctorate (2%) earn the most, $165,621, followed by those with a master’s (27%) at $119,495. Those with a bachelor’s degree, the largest group among respondents (36%), earned $104,479.
All told, taking into account all of the many challenges and frustrations that they face, 82% of respondents nevertheless said they’re either satisfied or very satisfied with the EHS profession. Only 4% said they’re unsatisfied, and
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IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOUR JOB, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
The pay. I’m definitely underpaid. Greater input of safety into operations, more than just the flavor of the month.
More staff—there is too much to do for one person. It doesn’t mesh with the message of safety as a company priority.
EHS roles tend to be a “box of misfit toys” in that new responsibilities continue to be added to scope.
More of us need to push back against DEI and other Marxist concepts that destroy employee morale.
The political game between operations and safety and the corporate staff.
Need a better SMS.
More financial resources to devote to safety initiatives.
The environment portion of my job is often put on the back burner, outside of compliance requirements. We should all focus on it as a concern for our planet.
More certification options for those who do not have college degrees.
To have a clear understanding of where I fit in the organization.
I ain’t changin’ nothing. I am lovin’ it.
hardly anybody—actually only one person out of the 631 respondents—said they’re very unsatisfied. That reflects well on the EHS profession and on the people who are championing safety cultures within their workplaces.
The “satisfaction meter” dips a little bit when it comes to their current jobs, though, as 73% said they’re satisfied or very satisfied with where they’re working and what they’re doing, representing a difference of 9% between satisfaction with the safety profession and the jobs they’re doing right now. Also, 9% said they are unsatisfied or very unsatisfied with their jobs, which would include dissatisfaction with their salaries.
Thank you to everybody who responded to our survey this year. We’ll be posting more charts and comments on the ehstoday.com website, and we’re also extending an open invitation to all of you who’d like to add your own comments to the online edition of this article. And finally, thanks to all of you for keeping us safe!
You can find more salary information and insights from the 2024 National Safety and Salary Survey at the ehstoday. com website. EHS
Level of education (% of response) Salary
High school (3%)
Some college (14%)
2-year degree (9%)
4-year degree (36%)
Some graduate study (9%)
Master’s degree (27%)
$72,703
$86,591
$89,706
$104,479
$109,944
$119,495 Doctorate (2%)
$165,621
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By Dave Blanchard
For three days in August, Denver, Colorado, was the epicenter for high-performing safety cultures, as EHS Today hosted the 13th annual Safety Leadership Conference (SLC 2024). Not only were 300 EHS professionals in attendance for compelling sessions from more than 30 safety leaders, but also representatives from the winners of the 2024 America’s Safest Companies Award.
For starters, SLC 2024 featured keynote presentations from AT&T’s Jalayna Bolden, 6-time Olympic Gold medalist Amy Van Dyken, and a panel of America’s Safest Company winners: Kevin Colwell (Brieser Construction), Nicole Seabaugh (AtkinsRéalis US Nuclear), and Guy Mills (The Clorox Company). There were also 17 sessions organized into five topic areas: Risk Management, Regulatory Compliance, The ROI of Safety, Safety Technology, and Training & Engagement. Plus four workshops, a tabletop expo, and numerous networking events.
And one of the highlights of SLC 2024 was an award ceremony featuring not only the 8 winners of the 2024 America’s Safest Companies awards, but thanks to our co-location partnership with VPPPA, winners of the VPPPA’s Health & Safety Awards were also honored.
The following pages offer visual highlights from SLC 2024. (Unless otherwise noted, all photos were taken by Peyton Lissau, associate multimedia designer for EHS Today’s owner, Endeavor Business Media)
Stay tuned for details on the upcoming Safety Leadership Conference 2025.
ARCADIS • ATKINSREALIS • BRIESER CONSTRUCTION • BURNS AND MCDONNELL
CLOROX • D. C. TAYLOR • UNITED ENGINEERS AND CONSTRUCTORS • VICTAULIC
High, Medium, and Low Flow Pumps
High Back Pressure
Long Battery Life, Rugged Design
Remote Monitoring Through App
Range of Workplace Monitors
Selection of Hearing Protection
Simple Operation & Rugged Design
Download & Reporting Software
Simple Icon Driven Interface
High Measurement Range
Long Battery Life
Data Logging
Intrinsically Safe Models Available
Simple Operation
Remote Monitoring Through App
Multiple ‘Simulated’ Dosimeters
Construction are creating programs to expand their view of safety.
By Adrienne Selko
It’s often a long road from identifying an issue, creating a consensus and then designing a solution. That seems to be the case with the philosophy called total worker health (TWH). It was created in 2006 by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to “expand the science, education and training around a more holistic approach to worker well-being.”
“TWH is defined as policies, programs and practices that integrate protection from work-related safety and health hazards with promotion of injury and illness prevention efforts to advance worker well-being,” according to Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Center for Work, Health & Well-Being, one of the 10 centers of excellence created by NIOSH to implement this doctrine.
Since its creation, many companies have adopted this expanded vision of safety and created programs to address it. By 2023, 58% of small firms and 94% of large companies in the U.S. had a wellness program. It is now so well recognized that Governor Jared Polis declared August 22,2024, as Colorado Day of Total Worker Health.
Chemical giant Dow, which employs 36,000 worldwide, publishes its metrics around TWH. In January 2024, the company proclaimed that based on its Well-Being Portal, which was created in 2022, more than 65% of its employees were enrolled in the program. Dow found that 33% of employees said they felt more productive at work and at home. And 26% reported a reduction in stress levels, a key component of a holistic approach to health.
Smaller companies are following suit in expanding their view of worker health. Jordan Foster Construction, an America’s Safest Companies winner in 2023 and employer of 700, took this approach 15 years ago. “Having been in the safety business for many years, I have seen the change,” said Tricia Kagerer, the company’s executive vice president, risk management. “The profession started as something where you focus on preventing bodily injury. But the reality is that safety has expanded to deal with the overall person. In construction especially, that means we need to be focused on the mental health of our people.”
Attention to mental health in this sector is critical, as the construction industry has one of the highest rates of suicide in the United States. According to the CDC around 6,000 construction workers died by suicide in 2022, an increase from 2021. To put this in perspective, for every incident related to bodily injury, there are potentially 6 suicides.
Creating a supportive culture is difficult when you have an industry consisting of workers who are not comfortable discussing mental health. On top of that, industry metrics are a contributing factor to this lack of discussion.
“Historically, the industry has rewarded very high challenge, low support environments,” Kagerer explains. “We place people in situations where there are risk factors that multiply the issues. One factor is that sometimes a construction worker doesn’t know where their next job is going to be. So, if you go to where the work is, you’re leaving your support system behind and that can be a challenge.”
Kagerer met that challenge using an approach based on personalization. “We have identified people, not just on our safety team, but those who work in the field to tackle this issue. We wanted to create a better environment by listening to the people that are performing the work. To do that leaders were identified by superintendents or foremen as a person that others naturally gravitate towards when they’re looking for assistance.”
Once identified these leaders attend a year-long class where in addition to learning safety protocols, they also learn communication and leadership skills, and part of that training is related to mental health. Once certified, field safety leaders display mental health certification stickers on their hard hats, which ensures ease of access.
“This program has been a game changer,” Kagerer says. “It sends the message that we’re all in this together. Maybe somebody wouldn’t feel comfortable going to a superintendent, but they do feel comfortable going to someone they consider a peer.”
And this year the company launched the Mind Saver program, created by Asma Bayunus, the company’s EHS operations manager. It adds mental health training to training being given for CPR and first aid.
Finding programs that workers prefer is essential. For example, it turns out that employees tend not to use the standard EAPs (employee assistance programs) that their companies offer. In a 2024 survey conducted by Firstup, among those employees who do have access to wellness programs, only 28% have taken advantage of them, and 23% say they are unlikely to do so. Kagerer has found that to be true through her own experience.
“I’m very fortunate to be able to speak at national conferences, and I’ve been in a room full of safety
professionals and construction professionals, and I flat out asked the question: If you had an employee assistance program and you were having an issue, how many of you would raise your hands and use it? And the room’s silent.”
So, Jordan Foster delivers short safety bytes to employees’ phones on a broad range of issues, including stretch and flex and total worker health. Research from Firstup corroborates that these changes do work. Their survey found that 32% of employees said they would be more likely to use wellness benefits if the information were easier to find.
Along with carefully designing broad-based programs, Jordan Foster monitors changing working conditions. As heat stress increases, the company is cognizant of the working conditions and hours of employees and makes adjustments. Examining working conditions has led the company to institute a standard number of hours employees can work. This is at odds with general industry standards of very long working hours.
How companies view TWH continues to evolve, explains Kagerer. “To use the example of the issue of suicide in our industry, there are so many resources both on an industry level through various associations, and on a company level where people are talking about the issue. Awareness has really increased. In general, I feel the industry has made great strides in TWH as the industry expands our view of safety, but there still is a long way to go.” EHS
A look at the changes to OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard and guidance on how to ensure compliance.
By Phil N. Molé
Safety professionals have a lot on their plate.
You must manage your chemical inventory and safety data sheet (SDS) library, among other things. Ironically, this busy schedule may keep you from staying fully informed about major regulatory developments, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) 2024 final rule aligning the new Hazard Communication Standard (HazCom) Standard with Revision 7 (and select elements of Revision 8) of the United Nation’s Globally Harmonized System for Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).
Still, you must learn about—and comply with—the HazCom final rule. First and foremost, because it directly impacts your responsibilities to protect employees from workplace chemical exposures. Second, the final rule creates regulatory obligations for all hazardous chemical users throughout the supply chain.
OSHA estimates that the final rule’s changes will impact 94% of SDSs and 64% of shipped container labels. The countdown to compliance deadlines has already begun, so you need to start preparing.
The final rule includes revised classification criteria for certain chemical products—namely aerosols, desensitized explosives and flammable gases—to better capture and communicate their hazards to downstream users. OSHA has also adopted a new hazard category, Chemicals Under Pressure, within the aerosols class, following classification criteria in GHS Revision 8. These revised classifications affect some of the associated hazard information, including hazard pictograms and precautionary statements.
The final rule includes updated label provisions, specifically those addressing small containers. The final rule incorporates OSHA’s previous guidance on labeling small containers into the Standard itself, defining a small container as 100 milliliters (ml) or less in volume.
It allows chemical manufacturers to use an abbreviated version of shipped container label information for small containers.
But don’t worry. You don’t have to do it all yourself. Here are answers to some of your likely questions about the latest HazCom changes.
At a high level, the OSHA final rule revising the HazCom Standard contains the following changes.
Additionally, the rule also allows chemical manufacturers, distributors or importers to provide only a product identifier on very small containers (3 ml or less) if labelling interferes with normal container use. However, full shipped container label information must still appear on the outer packaging.
Also, manufacturers, distributors or importers that become aware of new significant hazard information do not need to relabel chemical products already released for shipment. Interestingly, OSHA does not require a “released for shipment” date on the label, as the 2021 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) had proposed, citing stakeholder concerns about unfeasibility.
Manufacturers of substances
Employers using substances affected by the final rule
Manufacturers of mixtures
Employers using mixtures affected by the final rule
Source: VelocityEHS
Classification amendments
Classify chemicals according to revised criteria, including paragraph (d)(1) and new criteria for aerosols, chemicals under pressure, flammable gases and desensitized explosives, and update SDSs and shipped container labels as needed.
Confirm receipt of updated SDSs and shipped container labels from suppliers, and use information to update workplace labels, HazCom training and the written HazCom plan.
Classify chemicals according to revised criteria, including paragraph (d)(1) and new criteria for aerosols, chemicals under pressure, flammable gases and desensitized explosives, and update SDSs and shipped container labels as needed.
Confirm receipt of updated SDSs and shipped container labels from suppliers, and use information to update workplace labels, HazCom training and the written HazCom plan.
The final rule includes amendments related to criteria for information to consider when classifying a chemical and its effects on information to include in Section 2 of a SDS.
The NPRM proposed that manufacturers consider classification based on “normal conditions of use and foreseeable emergencies” and include that information in Section 2. Many chemical manufacturers argued that this requirement was too open-ended and that they were too far upstream of a chemical’s uses to be able to anticipate all reactions or chemical changes that could result from different use cases.
The final rule attempts to delineate responsibilities further, stating, “hazard classification must include hazards associated with the chemical’s intrinsic properties, including: (i) a change in the chemical’s physical form and; (ii) chemical reaction products associated with known or reasonably anticipated uses or applications.” The final rule clarifies that hazards from a chemical reaction (the actual GHS-based classifications) belong in Section 2(c) of the SDS, while hazards from changes in intrinsic and physical form belong in 2(a).
Additional information requirements
The final rule includes additional updates to SDS information requirements, specifically the addition of “particle characteristics” for solid products in Section 9. The rule notes that this requirement only applies when such particle information (e.g., median and range of particle size) is readily available and does not require chemical manufacturers to conduct testing to determine particle characteristics.
The final rule includes new provisions relating to how chemical manufacturers can use concentration ranges when they claim them as trade secrets.
OSHA has extended the compliance timeline for the final rule compared to what was proposed in the NPRM. The original proposal set a one-year compliance deadline for manufacturers of substances and a two-year deadline for manufacturers of mixtures.
January 19, 2026
July 20, 2026
July 19, 2027
January 19, 2028
Based on stakeholder feedback, OSHA has lengthened the timeline to 18 months for manufacturers of substances and 36 months for manufacturers of mixtures, measured from the final rule’s effective date of July 19, 2024.
Employers using chemical products affected by the final rule must make any necessary changes to workplace hazard communication practices (e.g., workplace labels, the written HazCom plan and worker training) within six months after the manufacturer deadlines for substances and mixtures. The figure above shows obligations and associated compliance deadlines for chemical users across the supply chain.
The HazCom final rule will not have the same level of impact as the 2012 final rule, which first aligned HazCom with Revision 3 of the GHS. The current changes are more limited in scope, affecting certain chemical hazard classes and specific details related to chemical classification and information on SDSs.
Even so, many manufacturers will need to reclassify some of their products and meet updated information requirements. This will result in many newly reauthored SDSs and shipped container labels. End users of chemicals must be aware of whether their products are affected by the changes and be prepared to track and use updated SDSs. This includes incorporating any updated hazard classifications into their workplace labeling system, HazCom training and written HazCom plan.
Preparation starts with having straightforward methods for maintaining an up-to-date SDS library that is accessible from anywhere. This will help you better track the receipt of updated SDSs from your suppliers and incorporate the new information into your workplace HazCom management practices.
Make sure you have the tools necessary to easily manage your SDS library and access hazardous chemical information anywhere, anytime. Modern chemical management software can be a valuable tool, providing EHS professionals with the support to meet HazCom compliance deadlines and keep workers safe. EHS
Phil N. Molé is principal EHS and ESG expert at VelocityEHS, a provider of EHS & ESG software platforms.
One item does not fit all, especially when protecting against chemical hazards.
By Tricia Hodkiewicz
Chemical spills vary from incidental to deadly. No matter the spill type, as a responder, you risk overexposure. When entering a hot zone, you must be protected against the actual or potential hazards. The good news is, personal protective equipment (PPE) and chemical protective clothing (CPC) may work to shield, isolate or otherwise protect you from not only chemical hazards but also physical and biological hazards when other control measures are not enough.
It’s important to know, though, this gear has its limits. No single set of PPE and CPC will guard against all hazards. These suits may even pose their own threats to wearers, such as heat illness; psychological/physiological stress; muscle fatigue; and impaired mobility, dexterity, tactility, vision, and communication.
Therefore, choosing the right PPE-CPC combination is a critical part of any spill response operation. Your goal,
however, is to reach an adequate level of protection and avoid over- and under-protection.
Examples of PPE
PPE minimizes your exposure to chemical, physical and/or biological hazards that cause injuries, illnesses and/or fatalities. Examples of PPE include—but are not limited to—respiratory, head, eye, face, hearing, hand, foot and fall protection.
Examples of CPC
CPC protects your skin and/or body from chemical splashes, dusts, gases and vapors. Thoughts of CPC may conjure images of the fully encapsulating chemical-protective suit, which looks like an astronaut suit. However, there are plenty of other sorts of CPC, including hooded one- and twopiece chemical-protective suits, long-sleeved jackets/coats, chemical-protective gloves/over-gloves, protective sleeves/ leggings, aprons, coveralls/pants, hoods and disposable shoe/ boot covers.
Technically, CPC is a subcategory of personal protective clothing (PPC), or any wearable item designed to protect the well-being of the worker. A protective garment could potentially qualify as PPC, CPC and PPE at the same time. For instance, a glove that protects the hands from chemical contact
(and subsequent skin absorption, chemical burns, etc.) would fall under all three terms.
PPE and CPC are worn together in a PPE ensemble, informally called a hazmat suit. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have long referred to four ensemble levels — A, B, C and D. Table 1 describes the protection provided as well as the typical and optional types of PPE and CPC that make up each level.
Before you try to work out which PPE ensemble level is appropriate for the spill at hand, size up the situation. Consider:
» The chemical(s) involved (or suspected) and its/their state(s), concentration(s), hazard(s) and exposure route(s);
» Oxygen deficiency and immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH) conditions;
» Actual exposure levels and the required/recommended exposure limits;
» The chemical container(s) type, size, location and condition;
Highest degree of respiratory, skin and eye protection
Typical components:
• Positive-pressure, full-facepiece self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) or a positive-pressure, suppliedair respirator with an escape SCBA
• Fully encapsulating chemical-protective suit
• Inner and outer chemical-resistant gloves
• Chemical-resistant safety boots
Optional components:
• Cooling unit
• Coveralls
• Long underwear
• Hard hat
• Disposable suit, gloves and boots worn over the suit
Sources:
Highest degree of respiratory protection but a lower degree of skin protection
Typical components:
• Positive-pressure, full-facepiece SCBA or a positivepressure, supplied-air respirator with an escape SCBA
• Hooded chemical-resistant clothing
• Inner and outer chemical-resistant gloves
• Chemical-resistant safety boots
Optional components:
• Coveralls
• Chemical-resistant, disposable boot covers
• Hard hat
• Face shield
» The temperature, weather and changing conditions;
» Site hazards, such as uneven surfaces, confined spaces, electrical hazards and falling objects;
» The physical requirements of each response task and duration to complete them;
» Any engineering, administrative and work practice controls that will be in place;
» The relative risk (severity plus probability) for damage to people, property and/or the environment; and
» Available PPE and CPC (and their limitations), along with other resources.
Based on the hazard assessment, your next step is ensemble selection. This is complex, but the more you know about the hazards, the easier it becomes. OSHA and EPA suggest a starting point: a list of hazardous conditions under which each of the levels may be appropriate. These are described in Table 2
Regardless of Table 1 and Table 2 , it’s important to tailor your ensemble to your specific situation. Also, review the respirator selection requirements at 29 CFR 1910.134, Respiratory Protection, and the ensemble selection recommendations in Appendix B to 29 CFR 1910.120, Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response.
Lower degree of respiratory and skin protection
Typical components:
• Full-face or half-mask, air-purifying respirator with appropriate cartridge
• Hooded chemical-resistant clothing
• Inner and outer chemical-resistant gloves
Optional components:
• Coveralls
• Chemical-resistant safety boots
• Chemical-resistant, disposable boot covers
• Hard hat
• Escape mask
• Face shield
29 CFR 1910.120 Appendix B, General Description and Discussion of the Levels of Protection and Protective Gear.
OSHA Technical Manual (OTM) Section VIII: Chapter 1, Chemical Protective Clothing.
Emergency Responder Health and Safety Manual (Version 2.0, January 2017): Chapter 5, Personal Protective Equipment Program. EPA’s Personal Protective Equipment webpage within the agency’s Emergency Response homepage. Occupational Safety and Health Guidance Manual for Hazardous Waste Site Activities(DHHS publication no. 85-115).
No respiratory protection but the lowest degree of skin protection
Typical components:
• Coveralls
• Chemical-resistant safety shoes or boots
• Safety glasses or goggles
Optional components:
• Gloves
• Chemical-resistant, disposable boot covers
• Hard hat
• Escape mask
• Face shield
Level
A
B
C
D
Sources:
Used when:
• High concentration of identified airborne substance requires highest level of protection for skin, eyes and respiratory system; or
• Atmosphere is less than 19.5% oxygen (level B also acceptable); or
• Substance with high degree of hazard to skin is known/suspected to be present; or
• Operation is in confined or poorly ventilated area; or
• Operation involves high potential for splash, skin immersion or exposure to suspected skin hazards; or
• Direct-reading instruments indicate high levels of unidentified, potentially hazardous vapors/gases in air; or
• Direct-reading instruments are not available to test air, but highly toxic substances suspected to be present.
• High concentration of identified airborne substance requires high level of respiratory protection but allows lesser level of skin protection; or
• Atmosphere is less than 19.5% oxygen; or
• Unknown hazardous substance, but not suspected to: (1) contain high degree hazard to skin, (2) be capable of being absorbed through skin, nor (3) readily penetrate level B suit.
• No hazardous substances present that would negatively affect skin nor be absorbed by skin; and
• Airborne hazardous substances, if any, are completely identified; and
• Air contaminant concentrations do not exceed Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH) levels; and
• Contaminants can be removed by available air-purifying respirator; and
• Atmosphere is not less than 19.5% oxygen; and
• All criteria for use of air-purifying respirators are met.
• Air contains no known hazards above the permissible exposure limits after site characterization; and
• Work precludes splashes, immersion, unexpected inhalation or contact with hazardous levels of substances.
29 CFR 1910.120 Appendix B, General Description and Discussion of the Levels of Protection and Protective Gear.
OSHA Technical Manual (OTM) Section VIII: Chapter 1, Chemical Protective Clothing.
Emergency Responder Health and Safety Manual (Version 2.0, January 2017): Chapter 5, Personal Protective Equipment Program.
EPA’s Personal Protective Equipment webpage within the agency’s Emergency Response homepage.
Occupational Safety and Health Guidance Manual for Hazardous Waste Site Activities (DHHS publication no. 85-115).
Imagine this scenario: You just entered a hot zone with your level A ensemble. Suddenly, chemical vapors begin to seep into your suit through the zipper. Your facepiece clouds over, then melts. You’re unable to proceed with the response. That kind of suit failure is an example of a performance issue. An ensemble must provide an adequate level of protection. Yet, relying solely on the OSHA/EPA level criteria only does so much. You also need to consider performance factors related to:
» Permeation or chemicals moving through a material on a molecular level;
» Degradation or material changes, such as fading, swelling, loss of strength and deterioration;
» Penetration or chemicals leaking inwardly through zippers, seams or imperfections in material;
» Breathability or heat transfer of the material;
» Strength and durability of the material and components;
» Resistance to cuts, punctures, tears, abrasion, cracking, etc.;
» Functionality in extreme cold and heat;
» Flame-resistance of the material and components;
» Degree of dexterity, mobility and visibility for the wearer; and
» Slip-resistance of footwear.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) publishes standards used by PPE/CPC manufacturers and others to test the performance of products. NFPA divides ensembles into several standards and classes, but Annex A to NFPA 19902022 offers a table that compares these standards and classes to the OSHA/EPA levels. Look for a label certifying that a product is compliant with NFPA’s performance criteria.
Be aware that ensemble selection and re-selection is an ongoing process. You may decide to upgrade or downgrade the protection level because:
» Spill conditions change,
» You gain more insight about site hazards and conditions over time,
» A change in response tasks brings an increase or decrease in chemical exposure, or
» A worker simply requests an ensemble change.
Note that some factors might be considered prior to or during an ensemble purchase. These are listed in Table 3.
A PPE ensemble is your last line of defense against hazards presented during spill response. As such, its selection is critical and complex.
OSHA and EPA give you a simple method for selecting a PPE-CPC combination. However, you must base this
1.
2.
Frequency: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
determination on a complete hazard assessment of the spill situation. You must also consider performance and other factors. There’s no substitute for paying attention to changing conditions and news to help you select (and re-select) the right gear for the task at hand. EHS
Tricia Hodkiewicz is an environmental, health and safety editor for J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc., an OSHA, EPA, DOT and HR regulatory information service provider.
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• Sizes and proper fit
• Compatibility with site chemicals
• Compatibility with other PPE
• Compatibility with accessories (e.g., flashlight, two-way radio, personal monitor and dosimeter)
• Time needed to put on/take off
• Likely duration of use
• Decontaminating/ laundering difficulty
• Reusability
• Storage and other instructions
• Inspection and maintenance
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that all information furnished on this form is
or
penalties).
(including
• Repair and replacement options
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• Cost Sources:
NFPA 1891-2022, Standard on Selection, Care and Maintenance of Hazardous Materials, CBRN, and Emergency Medical Operations Clothing and Equipment.
J. J. Keller® Compliance Network – Institute Safety & Health: HAZWOPER subject.
29 CFR 1910.120 Appendix B, General Description and Discussion of the Levels of Protection and Protective Gear.
OSHA Technical Manual (OTM) Section VIII: Chapter 1, Chemical Protective Clothing.
Emergency Responder Health and Safety Manual (Version 2.0, January 2017): Chapter 5, Personal Protective Equipment Program.
Occupational Safety and Health Guidance Manual for Hazardous Waste Site Activities (DHHS publication no. 85-115).
Protective Industrial Products, Inc. (PIP) has released a new safety helmet that offers premium comfort and protection. The EVO ALTA Ascend Type II has a specialized EPP foam liner and suspension harness to increase airflow within the helmet, keeping the wearer cool with an internal temperature reduction of 5 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit. The helmet has a highly adjustable design and is compatible with other accessories, including a quick-release EN 12492/ANSI Type II chinstrap, to ensure a secure fit and seamless PPE integration.
Protective Industrial Products, Inc.
Pipglobalsafety.com
For more new products, visit newequipment.com
FallTech has launched a new calculator that can determine precise fall clearance and work zone distances. FallTech’s AXIS allows safety professionals to ditch the paper charts thanks to its 3D digital interface. AXIS simplifies calculations by asking for a few measurement inputs and then provides users a detailed report that can be filed and recorded in a jobsite safety plan—and easily adjusted on-site.
FallTech ft-onsite.com/axis
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Nicole Stempak Managing Editor
Nothing lasts forever, so learn to embrace the season of change.
As I write this, it’s 65 degrees Fahrenheit outside and bright red leaves are falling from the maple tree in my front yard.
I’m savoring this moment, this limbo between seasons because I know it won’t last forever.
I believe there are different seasons of our lives, periods when you can indulge in a new passion, spells where you can enjoy evenings with friends or family, and times when you must burn the midnight oil.
I’ve been in the last category of late, and I expect it to continue for the foreseeable future; simultaneously planning home improvement projects and a wedding while having a fulltime job and trying to get enough sleep and exercise and proper nutrition is not for the faint of heart!
It’s easy for me to get overwhelmed, so this fall I’m challenging myself to slow down and look at the bigger picture. I am by no means an expert but, in case you are experiencing a similar season of busyness, here are some things that are helping me to appreciate this particular season of life.
Tip 1: Change your vantage point
If I look out my front windows, all I see are bright green leaves on my maple tree. However, the grass is covered in red leaves. I noticed recently after returning from a walk around the block—which I find also helps me calm down—I saw a canopy chock full of fiery red.
We’re not usually granted omniscience on a given situation, so to have a better handle on it, we need to get a different perspective. This could mean physically moving, like I did on my walk. It could also mean talking to a colleague from another department or someone with a different opinion than you. You may not always be simpatico after your conversation, but you’ll at least have a better appreciation for the complexities on the issue.
We tend to overestimate what we have the time and energy for in a given day. Researchers call this the planning fallacy, because we are overly optimistic about our time management. It is a default, so in order to avoid the planning fallacy, we have to actively plan to avoid it.
(The irony!)
I haven’t been sleeping well lately because I am stressed about everything on my plate and other commitments I made, back when I thought I had infinite amounts of time. Going forward, I am going to make my plan for the day, then remove one item. I’m hoping this exercise will help me set more realistic expectations.
If you feel like you’re constantly falling short of your own expectations, or see a colleague struggling, I encourage devising a plan to reduce productivity and inherent biases to set yourself, or someone else, up for future successes.
This is undoubtedly my biggest struggle at present. It’s easy to focus on society’s expectations for us. It feels like we should always be pushing forward; any steps backward—or even staying still—is a failure. Social media platforms can amplify these feelings because our feeds show us others’ highlights reel.
I’ve worked to insulate myself, so I don’t feel pangs of jealousy or less than. That has meant limiting my screen time and constantly reminding myself that others’ success does not equate to my own failure. I’m also trying to part ways with the yardstick that I use to measure myself against others.
For you, maybe that means celebrating accomplishments without any conditional statements or not comparing your journey to someone else’s.
While I lie awake at 3 a.m., it’s difficult to think that I will one day miss these days. But I will. Maybe not two years from now but maybe 42 years from now when I’m in a nursing home and have mobility issues. I’ll say to myself ‘What a fool I was to worry when I should’ve been enjoying every opportunity to go new places, try new things and meet new people.’
So, while I’m in the thick of it, I’m challenging myself to find something to appreciate about this season of my life. I may not like everything about it, but there are plenty of things to be grateful for and appreciate in the moment.
For you, that might mean remembering that you’ve excelled in previous challenging times, so what you’re experiencing today is a walk in the park. Or it might mean that simply doing your best today is all that’s required for a good tomorrow.
To quote Ferris Bueller: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
Send an e-mail with your thoughts to nstempak@endeavorb2b.com.
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