OHS Canada January/February 2011

C A N A D A’ S O C C U PAT I O N A L H E A LT H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E J a n uar y/Febru ar y 2011

C ANADA

Transforming training, virtually

waste land

Composting dredges up concerns

App happy

Workplace safety goes mobile

live wire Surging interest in dirty electricity

weld done?

Fuming over lack of controls

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C A N A D A’ S O C C U PAT I O N A L H E A LT H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E

Features C C A A N N A A D D A A

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Virtual T r aining

Real Promise

J A N U A RY / F E B R U ARY 2011 Vo l u m e 2 7 , N u m b e r 1

Virtual training gets up close and personal to a work world fraught with potential danger, but without the possibility of real-life harm.

By Peter Kenter

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Bioaerosols

Pile Drive A boom in commercial-scale composting may offer the sweet smell of success.

Health concerns over related odours, though, have set some noses to wrinkle.

By William M. GleNN

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Mo bi le dev i ces

What’s Appening?

Apps that run on smartphones and other mobile devices are proving increasingly useful to those whose business is workplace health and safety.

By Dan Birch

departments

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44

Ac cident Pre v e ntion

Danger Lurks Asbestos fibres come in assorted shapes and sizes. But one thing remains constant: care and vigilance are essential to prevent work-related exposures.

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Healt h WatcH

Dirty Deeds Computers, printers and phones — they are among the many sources of so-called dirty electricity. Do these filthy fields adversely affect health?

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By Emily Landau

Left Fuming

in this issue Ed i t o r i a l

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The Naked Truth O H& S Up dat e

6

Helicopter inquiry cites need for safety regulator; two British Columbia paramedics die in crash; Saskatchewan WCB offers amnesty; Manitoba targets bullying; Ontario employer fined in trespassing death; Quebec mine tailings get another look; Nova Scotia worker’s arm caught in machine; mysterious symptoms at PEI school; Newfoundland’s asbestos registry nearing completion; and more.

Di s pat c hes

Clipped wings take flight; to tweet or not to tweet; safe shifting; and more.

Pr o f e s s i o n a l D i r e c t o ry Pr o d u c t Sh owc a s e Ad In d e x /R ea d e r S erv ic e In f o

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Oc cupational Hygiene

The results are in, and there are no big surprises. Manitoba welders who use respirators or ventilation enjoy far greater protection against fumes.

By Jason Contant

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Sa fety Ge ar

Hear for Tomorrow Conservation can relate to countless matters. When it comes to hearing, failing to conserve can mean a precious resource is lost forever.

By Angela Stelmakowich

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Tim e Ou t

Runaway runway dog; fire alert; socket to him; pipe down; no free lunch; phlegm gem; when pigs fly; and more.

20 54 56 57

A ship in port is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.

— Grace Murray Hopper

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C A N A D A’ S O C C U PAT I O N A L H E A LT H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E

EDITORIAL C A N A D A

Vol. 27, No. 1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011

The Naked Truth W

ant the skinny on airport security? It’s worth every revealing body scan, laying bare all that lies beneath. It’s even worth the occasional pat-down-plus, if it enhances safety and offers peace of mind.

What it isn’t worth, some pilots in the United States argue, is needlessly putting their health on the line.

Security changes followed a Christmas Day scare in 2009, when a terrorist tried to detonate an explosive device on board a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. Ottawa responded by accelerating installation of full-body scanner technology at major airports across the country, among a host of other measures.

Passengers have a choice to get a scan — which does not involve contact between the screening officer and passenger — or a physical search, Transport Canada reports. The scan reveals objects concealed under clothing.

Changes were weaving their way into the fabric of everyday life, albeit with the usual gripes. But complaints were set to high in October when the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) down south revised procedures to include advanced imaging technology (AIT) screening, which involves low-level X-rays, and enhanced pat-downs.

Pilots were unimpressed with the new “pressing” approach. For example, a pilot at the Memphis International Airport took a pass on Pilots were the AIT and pat-down options, which he regarded as no option at all. The defiance bought him a ticket off his flight.

In a letter to members, Captain Dan Cleary, president unimpressed of the US Airline Pilots Association (USAPA), noted that with the new one pilot “experienced a frisking that has left him unable to function as a crew member.” Describing the experience as “sexual molestation,” Cleary reported that the pilot “vom“pressing” ited in his own driveway while contemplating going back to work and facing the possibility of a similar encounter.” approach.

If pat-downs could not be avoided, pilots were advised to evaluate their fitness for duty immediately afterward. “It is your responsibility to make sure you are emotionally fit and not stressed,” Cleary wrote.

Beyond the assault on dignity was the threat to health. With so-called backscatter X-ray scanners, pilots in the United States faced radiation both from flying long distances high above the atmosphere and while on the ground.

The USAPA advised pilots not to submit to the screening. Frequent exposure to scanner devices “may subject pilots to significant health risks.”

Transport Canada notes that the technology here at home uses low-level millimeter wave radiofrequency energy, which is projected above and around a passenger’s body to produce a three-dimensional image. The department cites a Health Canada review that determined “the energy projected by the unit is one-10,000th of the energy coming from a cellphone.”

The USAPA argued for use of a dedicated system for flight crew members, called CrewPass, which validates identity and confirms employment.

“Airline pilots are trusted security partners, given the level of background checks they must satisfy as part of employment and the responsibility they have for the safe operation of the flight,” says Captain John Prater, president of the Air Line Pilots Association. The TSA later announced CrewPass will be used.

Happy mediums are rarely out of reach with a little effort, sensitivity and respect. Technology must be safe, not only for passengers who take the occasional flights of fancy, but for pilots who routinely undergo scans as part of their jobs.

So, line up and bare all. Handling is sometimes necessary to ensure security, Angela Stelmakowich and that, ultimately, is worth it.

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EDITOR ANGELA STELMAKOWIch

astelmakowich@ohscanada.com ASSISTANT EDITORs JEAN LIAN

jlian@ohscanada.com

dan birch

dbirch@ohscanada.com editorial assistant emily landau

elandau@ohscanada.com ASSOCIATE EDITORS Hazardous substances WILLIAM M. GLENN Safety gear jason contant ART DIRECTOR anne miron PRINT PRODUCTION MANAGER PRODUCTION MANAGER MARKETING SPECIALIST CUSTOMER SERVICE

PHYLLIS WRIGHT JESSICA JUBB DIMITRY EPELBAUM Lori thompson-Reid

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER SHEILA HEMSLEY

shemsley@ohscanada.com PUBLISHER peter boxer

pboxer@ohscanada.com PRESIDENT, BUSINESS INFORMATION GROUP BRUCE CREIGHTON

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

DAVID IRETON, Safety Professional, Brampton, Ont. ALLAN JOHNSON, Director of Construction, Hospitality, Oil and Gas, Workers’ Compensation Board of B.C., Vancouver, B.C. Jane Lemke, Program Manager, OHN Certification Program, Mohawk College, Hamilton, Ont. DON MITCHELL, Safety Consultant, Mississauga, Ont. MICHELE PARENT, National Manager, Risk Management and Health and Wellness, Standard Life, Montreal, Que. TERRY RYAN, Workers’ Compensation and Safety Consultant, TRC Group Inc., Mississauga, Ont. DON SAYERS, Principal Consultant, Don Sayers & Associates, Hanwell, N.B. DAVID SHANE, National Director, Health and Safety, Canada Post Corporation, Ottawa, Ont. HENRY SKJERVEN, President, The Skjerven Cattle Company Ltd., Wynyard, Sask.

PETER STRAHLENDORF, Assistant Professor, School of Environmental Health, Ryerson Polytechnic University, Toronto, Ont. JONATHAN TYSON, Association of Canadian Ergonomists/Association canadienne d’ergonomie, North Bay, Ont. OHS CANADA is the magazine for people who make decisions about health and safety in the workplace. It is designed to keep workers, managers and safety professionals informed on oh&s issues, up to date on new developments and in touch with current thinking in the oh&s community.

WEBSITE: http://www.ohscanada.com INFORMATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS contained in this publication have been compiled from sources believed to be reliable and to be representative of the best current opinion on the subject. No warranty, guarantee, nor representation is made

by Business Information Group as to the absolute correctness or sufficiency of any representation contained in this publication.

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Date of issue: January 2011

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OH&S UPDATE

independent regulator needed FEDERAL — Establishing an independent

safety regulator for the offshore is among the needs identified by an inquiry exploring helicopter safety in Newfoundland and Labrador’s offshore oil sector.

The suggestion is one of 29 in a preliminary report, released in November, that follows more than a year of testimony and submissions before Robert Wells, commissioner of the Offshore Helicopter Safety Inquiry.

The recommendations cover, among other topics, first response, personal accountability, operational limitations and requirements, helicopter fleet size, night flights, safety training, personal protective equipment (PPE) and risk management. All suggestions are directed at the province’s current offshore regulator, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB).

The inquiry was launched in response to a helicopter crash in March, 2009 that claimed the lives of 17 people and left only one survivor. The helicopter was one of four aircraft responsible for transporting workers to and from the offshore oilfields on Newfoundland and Labrador’s continental shelf.

As per the inquiry’s mandate, recommendations are meant to address the following: safety plan requirements for op-

erators and related compliance; search and rescue obligations of operators; and the role of the C-NLOPB and other regulators in ensuring compliance with occupational health and safety obligations.

Currently, C-NLOPB regulates all aspects of offshore operations. Wells suggests that workers may be better served by a separate regulator whose sole job is ensuring oh&s, without being “troubled or bothered” by issues that are not related specifically to safety.

Charles Shewfelt, regional vice-president of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, says a separate entity would be able to provide a focused approach to oh&s issues. “Not just helicopters, but the whole health and safety regime in terms of the industry. It’s operating in an unusual environment and has its own needs and requirements,” Shewfelt says.

At the end of 2009, Wells notes, a new performance-based regulatory system for offshore operations was adopted to replace the prescriptive system. Performance-based regulation focuses on company objectives, after which “there is discussion [among] the oil operators, regulator, the stakeholders and even the public as to how these goals should be achieved,” he says.

Wells maintains that worker involvement in decision making is key to any collaborative approach to health and

safety. That is at the heart of his recommendations for “safety forums, conferences [and] frequent meetings, so that all safety issues are known to the workers, and also known to the public.”

Response to the commissioner’s report has been largely positive. The recommendations seem focused “more at the culture and developing that safety culture offshore,” says Danny Breen, a city councillor in St. John’s and brother of Peter Breen, one of the deceased workers.

“Getting the employees to participate is crucial, because they also have to feel comfortable,” Breen suggests. “If they see something that they don’t consider safe, they have to know that they’re empowered to deal with that.”

Among other issues, the recommendations cite the need for better helicopter survival training and more consultation with stakeholders in developing PPE. Wells is awaiting the investigation report by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) in Ottawa. He will review the report, invite submissions and pen final recommendations.

Crash claims one, injures nine FEDERAL — One pilot was killed and nine

oil workers injured, three seriously, when their aircraft went down in a remote area of Alberta on October 25.

Federal department charged in death FEDERAL — Public Works and Government Services Canada

in Ottawa faces charges under Part II of the Canada Labour Code following the death of a worker last year.

Federal labour minister Lisa Raitt said in October that eight occupational health and safety charges against the department will proceed. No specifics were provided.

At about 12:15 pm on October 19, 2009, paramedics were called to a boiler explosion at the Cliff Heating and Cooling Plant, which serves about 50 federal institutions in downtown Ottawa. Engineer Peter Kennedy suffered second-degree burns to approximately 60 per cent of his body and a large laceration to his head in the blast. Kennedy succumbed to his injuries the next morning.

Two other public works employees were injured in the explosion: one worker received first-degree burns to his face and arm, and the other suffered minor scrapes and bruises.

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New Democrat labour critic Chris Charlton suggests that a “bit of a curious situation” is created when one government department is charged by another. “If a fine is levied, all that means is one government department pays another government department, and the same money ends up back in general revenue,” Charlton says.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the union that represented Kennedy, notes in a statement that it welcomes the charges, but better oh&s training and stronger federal enforcement is what is ultimately needed.

The union points to a joint PSAC/Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives report from last April, which notes that the provincial disabling injury rate has declined by 25 per cent over the past five years, while the federal rate has increased five per cent.

— By Jason Contant

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The Beechcraft King Air 100 plane, owned by Calgary-based Kenn Borek Air Ltd., was carrying two pilots and eight passengers. The aircraft departed the Edmonton City Centre Airport and was nearing the Kirby Lake airstrip when it crashed at about 11:25 am, says TSB spokesperson Chris Krepski.

Melanie Ostopowich, a spokesperson for BP Canada in Calgary, said at the time that the company was “trying to provide support for those involved and the rest of the BP Canada employees.”

Alberta RCMP responded after the plane’s emergency beacon was activated, says media relations officer Sergeant Patrick Webb. The role of the RCMP was to secure the scene initially and “then to assist [the TSB] wherever necessary.”

Bill Kemp, a senior investigator with the board in Edmonton, says the plane crashed about 30 metres short of the airstrip’s runway. “The aircraft was relatively intact, although the front of the aircraft sustained severe damage.”

The sky had been overcast and the clearway leading to the runway was covered in a thin layer of snow, Kemp says.

“We’re looking at the light conditions that existed under that circumstance.”

Kemp says the aircraft’s cockpit voice recorder had been recovered and sent to an engineering lab for examination.

Incentive plan gets makeover WHITEHORSE — The Yukon Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board has modified its CHOICES incentive program to simplify the process for employers to receive rebates on their premiums.

The voluntary program offers employers either rebate or reinvestment rewards for improving oh&s and return-to-work practices. Last May, the board began looking at options to modify CHOICES. The result is that employers can now re-enroll by checking a box on their annual Employer Payroll Return form. Registration forms and the four progressive levels of the program, along with related paperwork, have been eliminated.

The modified program, which offers a minimum rebate of $75 and a maximum of $25,000, took effect January 1.

Ambulance plunges into lake UCLUELET — Two paramedics were killed when their ambulance was sent careening off a single-lane highway and into a lake near Ucluelet, British Columbia.

At 4:20 am on October 19, the British Columbia Ambulance Service (BCAS) employees had left Port Alberni to return to their base in Tofino, notes a statement from BCAS. About three hours later, Port Alberni RCMP was contacted to help locate the missing ambulance.

Police report that by 3:15 pm, the bodies of the two paramedics had been located on board the ambulance submerged in Kennedy Lake. “It appears that the vehicle went off the road [and] down a steep embankment, coming to rest in approximately [nine metres] of water,” notes an RCMP statement.

The province’s health ministry has launched a full investigation. BCAS chief operating officer Les Fisher says that “our members and staff feel this tragedy very deeply and we are determined to do all we can to prevent similar incidents.”

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Collapsed firewall destroys bakery LANGLEY — A bakery was destroyed and three other businesses damaged when a firewall collapsed at a construction site in Langley, British Columbia on November 7.

The incident occurred just after midnight at a project for which WestStone Group was the prime contractor, says Donna Freeman, media relations director for WorkSafeBC in Richmond, British Columbia. The three-storey concrete block firewall fell onto adjacent businesses, says Freeman, although there were no workers on site at the time.

Corporal Holly Marks, a spokesperson for the Langley RCMP, says the firewall fell on the roof of the Accents on Pastries bakery. The subsequent collapse “sounded like an explosion, but it was just the cinder block hitting the ground.”

Bill McEwen, executive director of the Masonry Institute of British Columbia in Vancouver, describes this type of col-

disabled worker faced discrimination VANCOUVER — The BC Human Rights Tribunal in Vancouver has awarded $36,000 in damages to a worker who was subjected to discrimination based on her disability.

The November 15 ruling follows a complaint filed by Linda Vernon, a former employee of a Dairy Queen franchise in 100

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lapse as “extremely rare.” McEwen points out that firewalls are made of concrete blocks, or cinder blocks, and are used in wood-frame buildings to separate them from adjacent structures. The standard procedure gives security to the ends of buildings “to separate from adjoining buildings in case there’s fire in either direction,” he explains.

In completed buildings, says McEwen, firewalls are fairly strong. However, “when you have them during construction, it’s a bit different than when the buildings are built and you have them all tied together,” he adds.

Freeman says that WorkSafeBC engineers and officers attended the scene on November 8 and 9. The board will require the employer to conduct an investigation and submit a report, which “very likely will require engineering analysis.”

— By Emily Landau Mile House, British Columbia, who argued she had been fired based on her disability. Vernon, who has one arm, claimed her manager, Kelly Brown, harassed her because of Brown’s belief that Vernon’s disability limited her ability to do her job.

Vernon testified she heard rumours of her manager calling her a “one-armed bandit,” and charged that Brown would do things to make her job more difficult. Brown responded that there had been reports of Vernon taking extended breaks, not maintaining personal hygiene, stealing food from the workplace and threatening to undermine Brown’s authority as manager.

Vernon was terminated in May of 2009, an action that she argues was taken because of her complaint. Her termination notice states the dismissal was the result of a work shortage.

In her ruling, tribunal member Heather MacNaughton notes evidence submitted by Brown and the employer was not credible. The employees made Vernon’s “job more difficult by creating work that they knew she would find challenging. I find that they did so because of her disability,” MacNaughton writes.

In providing the employer with misleading information about Vernon, co-workers were guilty of harassment, she concluded.

As such, the employer did not have cause to terminate Vernon.

“Relying on that information, without any investigation of its accuracy, [the employer] decided to terminate Ms. Vernon.”

The former employee was awarded $21,060 in lost wages and $15,000 for injury to her dignity, feelings and self-respect.

“This sense of self-worth is particularly important to disabled employees like Ms. Vernon who have had to overcome many hurdles in order to participate in the work force.”

Bill Chedore, national coordinator for the Canadian Injured Workers Alliance in Hamilton, Ontario, says employers need to ensure both managers and employees receive training on harassment and human rights. “They also have to have a system in place of training and retraining,” Chedore insists.

“To train somebody 10 years ago and think that’s all they have to do is just not the case,” he adds.

Three deaths over three days ELK RIVER — An Alberta oil worker who succumbed to his injuries after suffering a crushing impact to the head became the third worker in the province to die in as many days in October.

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The employee of Bearing Oilfield Services Ltd. was working at Tuboscope Canada’s oilfield yard near Elk River, Alberta at about 9 am on October 16.

The 58-year-old worker had been tasked with moving oilfield pipes using a crane known as a knuckle boom picker, says Chris Chodan, a spokesperson for Alberta Employment and Immigration (AEI) in Edmonton. While setting up the crane to offload the piping, his head was crushed between the picker and an outrigger, Chodan reports. Investigators issued a stopwork order on the unit.

Less than a day before the incident, another worker was fatally injured when he fell off a ladder at the Canadian Forces Base in Edmonton. At about 12:45 pm on October 15, Chodan says the employee of W.D. Contractors Group Ltd. was performing construction work on a building when he fell and sustained head injuries. He died in hospital that same evening.

And on October 14, a worker for Ellen’s Contracting Inc. was fatally injured at a Canadian Natural Resources Limited site north of Fort McMurray, Alberta. The worker was struck by another worker backing up a vehicle, Chodan says.

Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour in Edmonton, says the incidents clearly demonstrate that more needs to be done to combat on-the-job hazards. McGowan notes that from January to the end of July, there had been 76 work-related fatalities in Alberta compared with 58 for the same period in 2009.

council to advise on farm safety

feedlots and hog operations,” Nelson says. In light of the differences, she suggests that “it’s when you try to simplify it when I think it can become dangerous.”

Just as there are different types, Nelson adds that scales of operations vary greatly. “There’s the mom-and-pop operation, and then there’s the operation where they may have 100 employees,” she says.

Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour in Edmonton, suggests that although education is an important element of accident prevention, agriculture’s inclusion under the Occupational Health and Safety Code is critical to ensuring the maximum protection for these workers.

Without the protections afforded by the code, McGowan says there will be no workplace inspections and no prosecutions against employers who are not providing safe workplaces. “Without legislation there’s no accountability, and without accountability, ultimately, there’s no safety,” he contends.

While not opposed to including farm workers under oh&s regulations, Nelson says she does have some concerns about the potential to be punitive against small operators. There is a “huge difference” between industrial and family farm operations, she says. “In that spectrum, for both ends and everything in between, one answer is not going to fit all.”

With regard to specific issues that the council should address, Nelson points out that statistically, machines still pose the greatest hazards to farm workers. Information from AARD notes that in 2009 machinery was involved in at least 10 of the 13 farming-related deaths in the province.

EDMONTON — Reducing agriculture-related deaths and inju-

ries in Alberta will be the main objective of a new farm safety advisory council.

The provincial announcement to move forward with the council follows consultations with more than 20 stakeholder groups on how best to improve workplace health and safety at farming and ranching operations. The groups represent more than 50,000 producers from all major commodity groups, notes a statement from Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development (AARD) in Edmonton.

The council will provide agriculture minister Jack Hayden, the ministry and industry “with training, education [and] implementation of plans to improve farm safety outcome,” says JoAnn Hall, director of rural extension and industry development for AARD. Hall notes that council members, expected to be named by early February, will represent “a broad mix, from industry, from labour organizations, from education institutions [and] municipalities.”

Stakeholder consultations produced 10 recommendations, including that the province do the following: create an oh&s awareness campaign for the agriculture sector; develop an agriculture health and safety enhancement strategy; identify possible incentives for improved practices; explore the possibility of recognition programs; and investigate covering contractors performing non-agricultural work on farms under provincial health and safety laws.

Laura Nelson, executive director of the Alberta Farm Safety Centre in Raymond, Alberta, regards the council as a positive step for farm safety, but cautions that the needs of all producers must be taken into account. “Alberta has producers all the way from potato farmers to large ranchers to cereal crop producers, and then you have your large, intensive operations, like

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WAIT TIMES a CONCERN TO UNION — Wait times at Alberta hospitals are having a negative impact on paramedics in the province, notes the union representing emergency medical services (EMS) staff.

The Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) argues that unacceptable wait times “are holding EMS crews and patients hostage” in hospital emergency departments across the province, particularly in Edmonton. Alberta’s health minister must take steps to address excessive patient loads, the HSAA contends.

A union statement says emergency department bottlenecks force paramedics to remain with patients “literally for hours,” rather than being on the road and available to respond to calls.

In November, the HSAA reported the average wait time at an Edmonton hospital was 92 minutes, up from the 86-minute average in the previous 12 weeks.

“It is common to have five-plus EMS units and their medics tied up for hours while they wait for an emergency department stretcher to be freed up so that EDMONTON

they can download their patient and get back on the streets to do the job they are supposed to be doing,” Dr. Layton Bukart, an executive member of the Alberta Medical Association’s Section of Emergency Medicine, notes in the statement.

“The situation has gotten so out of hand that we now have patients calling 9-1-1 from the [emergency room] because they’ve waited so long in hospital emergency departments,” adds HSAA president Elisabeth Ballermann.

WCB offering amnesty REGINA — Saskatchewan employers are being reminded that if they have hired one or more workers on a full-time, parttime, contact or casual basis, they need to register with the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) in Regina.

The WCB is encouraging businesses and organizations that should be registered to ensure they do so now. “Employers who come forward voluntarily before January 31 will not have to pay any penalties or be responsible for retroactive premiums,” notes a board statement.

After that date, employers who should be registered will have to pay retroactive premiums for the previous three years and any late registration penalties.

owner fined in teen’s death WINNIPEG — The owner of a Mani-

toba paving company that employed a 15-year-old who was buried in hot asphalt two years ago has been fined almost $34,000 in the teen’s death.

Manitoba Crown prosecutor Sean Brennan reports that Gerald Shepell, carrying on business as Interlake Paving in Stonewall, Manitoba, pleaded guilty to one breach of the province’s Workplace Safety and Health Act (WSHA) and two violations of its Employment Standards Code. In late November, Shepell was ordered to pay $27,000 under the WSHA for failing to ensure the safety of a worker, $3,000 under the code for hiring two underage workers, and $500 under the code for failing to keep business records for those young workers.

The fine surcharges for the three violations amounted to $3,325.

Curbing psychological harassment WINNIPEG — Manitoba has introduced legislation to ensure

that workers are protected against psychological harassment on the job.

On October 21, labour minister Jennifer Howard tabled a bill that, if given the green light, would make Manitoba the fourth province in the country to adopt these protections, joining Quebec, Saskatchewan and Ontario in requiring employers to incorporate psychological harassment into their respectful conduct policies.

Don Hurst, assistant deputy minister of Manitoba’s Workplace Safety and Health Division (WSHD) in Winnipeg, says that the new requirements related to psychological harassment — defined as “severe, repeated conduct which affects the worker’s psychological or physical well-being” — will fall under provisions of the Workplace Safety and Health Regulation that address harassment prevention.

“We have a regulation in place that is intended to help prevent harassment based on the Human Rights Code’s prohibitive grounds,” which include disability, age, race and sex, says Hurst. The amendments would require that psychological harassment also be addressed in the existing mandatory employer policies, he adds.

Examples of harassing behaviours include verbal abuse, threats, derogatory comments, isolation, ridicule, gossip, interference in the work of others and vandalism, Hurst says.

Employers have until February 1 for policies to comply.

“They’re really just requiring in writing what case law has been leading up to,” suggests Donna Seale, a work-

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place human rights lawyer and educator in Oakbank, Manitoba. “More courts are rendering decisions against employers for personal harassment and psychological conduct in the workplace,” Seale says.

A 2005 report by Raymond Lee, a professor of business administration at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, cites a study in which 40 per cent of a diverse occupational sample of Canadian workers in the Prairies reported experiencing psychological harassment or bullying on a weekly basis for at least six months.

Sandi Mowat, president of the Manitoba Nurses Union in Winnipeg, says members are frequently the targets of psychological harassment, often at the hands of patients or their families. Bullying can adversely influence a worker’s attendance rates, job satisfaction and desire to remain in his or her position, Mowat contends.

In addition to protecting workers, Seale says that incorporating these definitions into existing policies will help prepare employers for any psychological harassment complaints that do arise. “Better to be forearmed and have a comprehensive definition,” she suggests.

WSHD will provide training materials to help employers integrate new requirements into their policies, Hurst says.

A workshop for workers and employers is also anticipated.

Adds Seale, “Employers still are entitled to manage, and are still entitled to provide employees with constructive criticism, and things of that nature aren’t personal harassment.”

— By Emily Landau

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Brennan confirms that Shepell will pay $500 every month until the fine has been paid off.

The charges follow a deadly incident on July 25, 2008. Andrew James was shovelling asphalt from a trailer into the bucket of a front-end loader at a Manitoba Hydro site in Stony Mountain, just north of Winnipeg, Brennan says.

James, who was 14 when he was hired

by Interlake Paving, was buried when hot asphalt spilled out of the trailer.

The WSHD’s Hurst says that Manitoba’s Employment Standards Code requires those who work in the construction sector to be at least 16 years of age.

Workers younger than 16 years old can work in other industries, such as food service, but must first obtain a permit from Manitoba Labour and Immigration signed by a parent, guardian or teacher, he says.

The “degree of hazards” of the job is among the factors considered before the Employment Standards Branch would issue a permit. “If they are concerned, they won’t issue it or they’ll consult with us,” says Hurst.

“In this case, of course, the department of labour didn’t receive an application,” Brennan says.

In 2007, 3,200 permits were issued, approximately double the amount from the previous year.

Penalty levied in deadly blast ST. CATHARINES — An Ontario landscaping company received $60,000 fines for each of three oh&s violations in October following a deadly explosion in 2008.

Genco Masonry and Contracting Incorporated in Niagara Falls, Ontario was found guilty under the Occupational Health and Safety Act of the following breaches: failing to ensure all gas, electrical and other services were located, properly marked and shut off or disconnected where possible; failing to request that the service owner be present to supervise excavation; and failing to provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker to protect his health and safety.

A resident of the home where landscaping work was being done suffered fatal injuries in the explosion on July 30, 2008, notes a statement from Ontario’s Ministry of Labour (MOL) in Toronto. That day, work was under way at the home in Niagara Falls when a propane line was accidentally punctured.

The propane leached through the surrounding earth into the house’s basement, causing an explosion that levelled the home. Two Molly Maid workers and a resident were inside at the time. The resident later died from his injuries.

An MOL probe determined the company made no effort to have propane lines marked before the work began. In addition, Genco Masonry and Contracting did not advise its employees of the existence of the underground gas line.

Last May, supervisor Anthony Aiello was fined $12,000 after pleading guilty to failing to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker.

Two injured in floor collapse PARRY SOUND — Two workers were tak-

en to hospital after a concrete floor collapsed at the Silver Birch Condominium project in Parry Sound, Ontario.

The second-storey floor came down on November 3, causing seven workers to fall approximately three metres, confirms MOL spokesperson Matt Blajer.

Two workers were taken to a nearby health centre. One employee “received bruising and a severe concussion, but no loss of consciousness,” while the second was non-critically injured, says Blajer.

The injured workers were sub-trades, employed by Desroches Concrete Floor Finishing in Penetang, Ontario, says Alex Distler, vice-president of Distler Construction, the company in charge of the development. Distler reports that the non-

Health questions surround asbestos mine plan THETFORD MINES — Health concerns have been raised over a plan to study whether or not massive mounds of asbestos mine tailings in and around Thetford Mines, Quebec can get a new lease on life.

Natural Resources Canada (NRC) in Ottawa has invested $600,000 in two detailed studies of the physical and chemical properties of the town’s mining sites “to identify potential innovative waste management opportunities.”

The research will help define opportunities to grow vegetation on the waste piles and identify minerals and metals of economic interest. Work on the “sustainable” extraction initiative is set to wrap up by next fall, says NRC spokesperson Jacinthe Perras.

“These projects will continue our mission to increase the competitive strength of the Canadian mining sector, better protect the health of Canadian families and help sustain the environment in the years to come,” natural resources minister Christian Paradis says in a statement.

Nathan Cullen, natural resources critic for the federal NDP, is not convinced, calling the venture “a total waste of taxpayer money.” Cullen says he also has concerns that disturbing the asbestos-containing mounds to access buried minerals could pose risks to the surrounding community.

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Luc Berthold, the mayor of Thetford Mines, argues that the mounds can be mined safely using existing dust-suppression techniques.

Field work associated with the research “will be managed under controlled conditions,” Perras reports. “The sampling process poses no adverse impacts to the employees involved or the general public, as only very small quantities will be extracted to avoid any disturbance to the site,” she says.

Chrysotile asbestos continues to be mined in the area, a fact that has garnered much negative attention over the years. Attempts by health, labour and environmental groups to have chrysotile blacklisted under the Rotterdam Convention, an international agreement on pesticides and industrial chemicals, have been unsuccessful to date.

In a position statement demanding the end of asbestos mining and exporting, the Canadian Public Health Association in Ottawa states, “The scientific consensus today is that all types of asbestos fibres, including chrysotile, cause asbestosis, lung cancer and other cancers, most specifically mesothelioma.” To that, the Institut national de santé publique du Québec notes “there are serious difficulties in enforcing” recommended measures for safe use of asbestos.

— By Dan Birch

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concussed worker sprained his ankle.

Blajer says that provincial investigators issued a number of stop-work orders following the incident. As well, a further review of the on-site conditions and support systems was to be conducted by the designing engineer, supplier and contractor that installed the system, he says.

crash injures worker, officer

fatally injured after he and another person broke into the closed site. Police and paramedics were called for the rescue.

Upon arrival, ministry inspectors noticed there were no signs posted to warn workers, including the police and paramedics, about hazards in the building.

There were also no signs advising of the asbestos hazard.

Following a trial, Gestion Beaumet was found guilty of failing to ensure that

signs were posted in prominent locations and in sufficient numbers to warn workers, and failing to identify an asbestos dust hazard using clearly visible signs.

EMPLOYERS CALL FOR CHANGES MONTREAL — Employers have presented

the committee examining Quebec’s oh&s system with recommendations to make it

MISSISSAUGA — An Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer and a highway worker received treatment for serious injuries following a collision on an express toll route (ETR) in Mississauga, Ontario.

On the morning of November 29, an OPP officer parked on the side of the road near the Highway 407 ETR was conducting enforcement activities when a passing pick-up truck hit his cruiser. The officer was taken to hospital in serious condition, but later released, says Sergeant Dave Woodford, a spokesperson for the OPP’s Highway Safety Division.

Speed or alcohol were not considered factors in the crash, Woodford says.

MOL spokesperson Matt Blajer reports that a field operations controller with ETR was more seriously injured, initially listed in critical condition after losing consciousness.

Another OPP officer was injured in a separate incident on November 26.

At about 11:20 am that day, a member of the Powassan detachment was investigating a single motor vehicle collision on a highway in Trout Creek, in northeastern Ontario, when his cruiser was struck by a snowplough. The plough’s blade then hit the vehicle involved in the original collision. A passenger standing outside the vehicle was also struck.

Both the officer and the motorist sustained minor injuries.

After-hours access fatal TORONTO — A Quebec-based construc-

tion company was recently fined a total of $80,000 for two violations of Ontario’s Regulations for Construction Projects and the provincial asbestos regulations In mid-October, Gestion Beaumet Inc., located in Sainte-Anne-Des-Lacs, Quebec was sentenced for its failure as a constructor to post warning signs at the demolition site of Toronto’s Hearn Generating Station, notes an MOL statement.

On June 15, 2008, a trespasser was Circle number 17 on Reader Service Card www.ohscanada.com

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more efficient and less expensive.

The recommendations, penned by the Quebec Employers Council (QEC) and the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec (FCCQ), were presented to a working group in late November.

The group was established on behalf of the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CSST) in 2008 to hear stakeholder submissions.

“We have seen a very important reduction in the number of claims, and also in the number of deaths,” says QEC president Yves-Thomas Dorval. Between 1999 and 2008, the number of claims decreased 30 per cent and fatalities fell more than 60 per cent, says Dorval.

While the numbers are positive, duration and costs of claims have increased.

Among the employer suggestions are those around prevention, over-payment, return-to-work, medical assistance, preventive withdrawal and system management. Any employer with a work force greater than 50 should be obligated to create a joint health and safety committee, and any employer with a work force greater than 20 be required to imple-

ment an oh&s action plan, notes a joint statement from the employer groups.

Other employer recommendations include the following: • for claims lasting more than 14 days and as long as 180 days, income-replacement indemnity should be based on an annual income-loss history; • legislation should be amended to allow physicians to offer opinions on temporary or permanent limitations at each visit to help employers with the search for suitable work; and, • the number of physiotherapy treatments for workers should be limited and wait times for surgeries reduced.

Françoise Bertrand, president and CEO of the FCCQ, reports the changes could save $90 million annually, and as much as $225 million by 2014.

Andrée Bouchard, a spokeswoman for the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), says union members do not agree with any of the recommendations. “They are trying to cut workers’ compensation to make money off the backs of the worker,” Bouchard argues.

In terms of the prevention efforts noted

in the recommendations, Bouchard supports mandatory joint health and safety committees for all workplaces.

CSN has its own suggestions, calling for 300 more CSST inspectors, more prudent financial management, better service for injured workers and “an insurance system more responsive to prevention and less [to] non-reporting of accidents and disputes.”

driving home safety message SAINT JOHN — WorkSafeNB is encouraging operators of powered mobile equipment to buckle up for their own safety and for the sake of their families.

A radio campaign — supplemented by a hazard alert, poster and decals — was launched in November to remind forklift, tractor and backhoe operators that seat belts are the only option.

The message of the campaign? Buckle up and stay alive — because you’re not the only one along for the ride.

“The law will be enforced,” advises Richard Blais, chief compliance officer

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for WorkSafeNB in Saint John. “Since 2005, three workers have died because they were not wearing their seat belts.

On top of that, several near-misses and serious injuries have occurred.”

WorkSafeNB offers a quiz on forklift safety to help operators get a handle on best practices. Among the true/false scenarios presented are the following: • I t is very easy to tip over on ramps and sloped surfaces whether the forklift is loaded or unloaded.

•W hen driving on ramps with a grade of 10 per cent or more with a loaded forklift, the load must always be kept uphill, even if it means driving in reverse down a ramp.

•B ecause a forklift weighs more, it is much easier to brake to a complete stop than an automobile.

Motorized vehicles are equipped with roll-over protective structures (ROPS); some have cabs and some do not. “We don’t know why they don’t wear their seat belts — whether they feel these vehicles go too slow to pose a risk or they believe the ROPS will keep them safe,” Blais says of operators.

But low-speed collisions can end in injury, Blais says. “In vehicles with ROPS, the deaths are occurring when drivers are ejected and the machine rolls over on top of them.” Being belted in will not only prevent ejection, it will “minimize the risk of injury within an enclosed cab.”

Seat belts must be present and in proper working condition, he advises.

“Violations can result in written orders, fines and even stop-work orders.”

from the hallway. It was definitely an explosion and a fireball.”

Two employees received burns, one serious, and were taken to hospital.

“Because of the staff’s quick actions and regular fire drills, they evacuated the children to a day-care in the next building,” says Cawley. All staff and children were accounted for by the time first responders reached the scene four minutes after being called, Cawley says.

A WorkSafeNB official says the initial indication is a malfunction with a propane-supplied hot water tank.

Violence spurs home review HALIFAX — A review of the Colchester Residential Services Society in Truro, Nova Scotia has been launched in the wake of reports of violence.

Day-care workers burned RIVERVIEW — Two employees recently sustained burn injuries in a fire and explosion at the Country Kids Daycare in Riverview, New Brunswick.

At about 3:15 pm on November 9, firefighters with Riverview Fire & Rescue responded to the scene, says Milt Cawley, the fire department’s deputy chief.

Cawley says a staff member reported smelling what she believed to be propane and called the day-care’s owner.

Before the owner could call the gas supplier, a second emergency call was received regarding an explosion.

Upon arrival at the scene, Cawley says that he entered the building and was met by “a light haze of smoke.”

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Lucas Wide, communications advisor for the Ministry of Community Services in Halifax, says the review is in response to employee complaints of violence against staff and among residents. A review plan is being developed, Wide reports, but he declined to provide any specifics.

The publicly funded social services agency operates eight homes for developmentally disabled children and adults in Colchester County.

“There have certainly been a lot of claims made to [the WCB] and people off work due to injury in the workplace,” reports Joan Jessome, president of the Nova Scotia Government & General Employees Union in Dartmouth, who raised the issue with the ministry after meeting with agency employees. In all, 38 members have suffered lost-time injuries in the past two or three years, Jessome says.

The WCB website notes there were 1,578 lost-time claims filed in the health and social services sector in 2009.

Jessome says she would like the review to examine what she regards as “inconsistently applied” human resources practices, information dissemination and

staff treatment at the agency. In addition, the hope is that there will be more specific assessments done to ensure the safety of residents and staff, she says.

Chris Hinkle, a workplace violence and harassment consultant with Firm Foundations in Barrie, Ontario, says violence against staff members is “very common” in group home settings. Ideally, Hinkle says, they should be equipped with more staff to provide additional support.

Some facilities use panic buttons for staff, worn around the neck, should residents turn violent. Workers should also have a check-in system.

In terms of training, staff will need to learn “self-defence techniques, like how to withdraw, how not to get yourself cornered,” Hinkle suggests. Workers must know how to defend themselves “without the actual fight.”

worker entrained in machine TRURO — A worker suffered injuries to

his arm during a November 22 incident at Intertape Polymer’s manufacturing fa-

cility in Truro, Nova Scotia.

“From the information that we have available, the worker was operating a rewinding machine,” when he apparently became entangled in the machinery, says Kevin Finch, a spokesperson for the province’s Department of Labour and Workforce Development in Halifax. “My understanding is that they take the large plastic rolls that come from the factory and then cut them down to smaller sizes for orders for their customers.”

Rick Leckner, a spokesperson for Intertape Polymer, reports that the rolls are first unwound and then rewound after being resized. The worker, 41, has been an employee for nine years.

Provincial investigators issued three orders following the incident. Finch says that Intertape Polymer was directed to, among other things, refrain from using the rewinder machine until it has been inspected by a competent person, and perform a check to ensure safeguards and emergency stops on the machine are both available and being used.

When working with such machinery, “we have to take into account the inline

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pinch points, how fast these machines are and, more importantly, how fast it takes them to stop,” says Dennis Bailey, manager of Schmersal Canada, a company in Brampton, Ontario that produces machine-guarding products.

Before working with any machinery, Bailey recommends that risk assessments be done and workers be trained properly to eliminate residual hazards. All machines must be “control reliable,” he says, meaning “the safety system shall detect failures and should not prevent the stopping of the machine, but prevent the starting of that machine if a failure occurs.”

The injury is the first at the plant in 20 years, says Leckner. “We’ll see what the findings of the investigative report are and then we’ll react accordingly.”

six boards merged into one HALIFAX — Nova Scotia is looking to enhance the timeliness of decisions with the legislative move to merge six labour and employment boards into one.

On November 19, the province introduced the Labour Board Act, which will streamline how workplace disputes are handled, says the labour department’s Finch. The bill proposes merging the Labour Relations Board (LRB), the Civil Service Employee Relations Board, the Highway Workers’ Employee Relations Board (HWERB) and the Correctional Facilities Employee Relations Board under the umbrella of the Labour Board in early 2011, Finch reports.

By spring, the Occupational Health and Safety Appeal Panel and the Labour Standards Tribunal will also be brought

into the fold, he adds.

“We think it’s going to speed up the process of scheduled hearings. We think that there will be more consistency among decisions from one arbitration board to the next, and that will partly be the effect of having a full-time chair.”

Right now, there are part-time chairs and vice-chairs for all boards, Finch says.

But the bill, if passed, would allow for appointing a full-time chair for a five-year term, and rotating the current roster of 54 arbitrators as cases come up for review.

There is little consistency in the number of cases heard before the boards, with the LRB averaging as many as 150 arbitrations a year, but the HWERB having heard only a few in the past decade.

Other proposed changes include having an arbitrator reach a decision based only on written submissions, if both parties agree, and video conferencing.

health complaints at school SUMMERSIDE — An elementary school in

Summerside, Prince Edward Island has undergone a safety inspection after staff and students complained of respiratory and rash symptoms.

In early October, three students at Elm Street Elementary School reported rashes on their arms, and a staff member complained of respiratory symptoms, says Dale Sabean, superintendent of the Western School Board in Summerside.

Sabean reports that upwards of 500 students attend the 40-year-old elementary school, which also has additions that are about two years old.

Since the health complaints were first

So, what’s on your mind?

Ever wonder what other oh&s types are thinking about? Find out by making our website poll at www.ohscanada.com a regular stop.

Do you think workers’ compensation boards should cover more alternative medical treatments?

Yes

81%

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No

14%

Too many already

5%

Total Votes

75

raised, he said in late October, approximately a dozen students, another teacher and one educational assistant had reported symptoms.

A spokesperson for the Island’s WCB in Charlottetown says staff are not currently involved in the investigation.

An outside company was commissioned to do the independent review, which included visual inspections of all building surfaces, looking specifically for dust and mould, and checking the airhandling system to ensure it was working properly and that clean filters were in place. Investigators also examined cleaning chemicals used at the school.

Originally, water infiltration around the windows was identified as the primary source of the problem, PEI’s education department notes. Other Island schools were to be surveyed to “identify similar issues that may not be on our radar yet.”

Inspections were expected to be carried out over several months and any remedial work done by next summer.

Shaun MacCormac, general secretary of the Prince Edward Island Teachers’ Federation in Charlottetown, said in October that he supported how the board is handling the complaints.

Registry in final stages ST. JOHN’S — A Newfoundland and Labrador registry established to collect data on the work history and health status of former miners is nearing its final stage.

Information from former employees of the Baie Verte mine site in the town of the same name will provide a picture of asbestos exposure and its possible health impacts, notes a release from the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission of Newfoundland and Labrador (WHSCC) in St. John’s.

The registry is expected to be completed sometime in early 2011.

Many of the preceding items are based on stories from our sister publication, Canadian Occupational Health & Safety News, a weekly newsletter that provides detailed coverage of Canadian oh&s and workers’ compensation issues. For more information, please call (416) 442-2122 or toll-free (800) 668-2374.

Didn’t see it here? Why not check out www.ohscanada.com for more web-exclusive news?

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World of Safety Contest 2011 For over 10 years, OHS CANADA has provided the opportunity for our readers to sample products and receive information from the world’s leading manufacturers of health & safety products and services.

Go to http://www.ohscanada.com/world-of-safety/2011/ to see this year’s participants and to have a chance to win great prizes from OHS CANADA.

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DISPATCHES

Retirement mandatory no more for two veteran pilots

By Jason Contant

A

federal tribunal has ordered Air Canada to reinstate two long-time pilots who had earlier been forced to retire, in line with mandatory provisions of their collective agreement.

In a November ruling, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) in Ottawa directed Air Canada to reinstate George Vilven, 67, and Neil Kelly, 65. Reinstatement is “on condition that they have a valid pilot licence, a valid medical certificate showing that they are fit to fly a commercial aircraft under the applicable Transport Canada medical standards, and a current instrument flight rating,” writes CHRT member J. Grant Sinclair.

The decision came more than a year after the tribunal determined that Air Canada and the Air Canada Pilots Association had engaged in a discriminatory practice against Kelly and Vilven, who had worked for the carrier since 1972 and 1986, respectively. The collective agreement defines the “normal retirement date” as the first month after a worker turns 60.

The claim had also requested that CHRT direct Air Canada to “cease and desist” applying mandatory retirement provisions to all pilots. But the tribunal declined, noting “the more appropriate” remedy would be reinstatement.

“I’m disappointed that we weren’t able to end this process, that the tribunal didn’t issue the cease order and Air Canada may continue to arbitrarily terminate pilots’ employment,” says Raymond Hall, legal counsel for the Fly Past 60 Coalition, which represented the two workers. However, on the whole, Hall says the group “accomplished what we’ve set out to do, and that is to get [Vilven and Kelly] back to work.”

Beyond reinstatement, Sinclair ordered that the two pilots retain the seniority ranks they had before retirement; be enrolled in the next available training course for equipment they are entitled to fly; receive the wages and benefits of an active employee, including accrual of pension benefits on the same terms as before retirement; and be compensated for lost income from September 1, 2009 (when the CHRT ruled the practice was discriminatory) to reinstatement.

Sinclair dismissed the request for each pilot to receive $20,000 in damages for pain and suffering and $20,000 for the airline’s willful and reckless actions. He noted both employees were aware of the mandatory retirement provisions and did not challenge them until after they had been retired.

“The whole purpose of human rights legislation is to

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stop discrimination, and they haven’t stopped [it]. They’ve stopped discrimination against these two individuals only,” Hall contends.

Susan Eng, vice-president of advocacy for the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) in Toronto, concurs.

The CHRT “made it clear that the decision in the case for these two pilots does not conclude the issue of whether mandatory retirement is eliminated for everyone else in federally regulated industries — or even other pilots at Air Canada.”

Although CARP welcomes the ruling, Eng says in a statement that the ultimate goal is to have Section 15(1)(c) of the Canadian Human Rights Act repealed. The section notes “it is not a discriminatory practice if an individual’s employment is terminated because that individual has reached the normal age of retirement for employees working in positions similar to the position of that individual,” she reports.

A private member’s bill by Liberal MP Raymonde Folco sought to prohibit private sector employers subject to federal acts and regulations from setting mandatory retirement ages.

On November 15, it was announced that Bill C-481 would move on to second reading in the House of Commons.

“With a rapidly aging population and an increasing shortage of skills within our work force, offering [a] choice to skilled workers allows for a smoother workplace transition for new employees,” notes a statement on Folco’s website.

Peter Fitzpatrick, a spokesperson for Air Canada, reports that the airline will “continue to comply with the law and regulations that govern our industry.”

Jason Contant is editor of safety news.

canadian occupational health

&

Study gets to the heart of job strain in female workers

By Dan Birch

A

study that analyzes the health effects of job strain on female health care workers points to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Researchers from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston presented their findings at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions in Chicago on November 14. They analyzed information related to job strain and heart disease among 17,415 women, primarily Caucasian health professionals with an average age of 57 years, who had participated in the landmark Women’s Health Study.

Workers who reported having either high or active job

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strain saw their risk of cardiovascular disease increase 40 and 56 per cent, respectively. Job strain is defined as a form of psychological stress produced by “a demanding job that provides limited opportunity for decision making or to use one’s creative or individual skills,” notes a hospital statement.

“Our study indicates that there are possible immediate and definite long-term clinically documented cardiovascular health effects of job strain in women,” adds Dr. Michelle Albert, the study’s senior author and a cardiologist.

Dr. Shari Kirsh, staff psychiatrist at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, says that “often what gets missed is the importance of relational connections — social networks in the work environment.” With the economic downturn and related cutbacks, job strain is “increasing a lot,” Dr. Kirsh says.

From a public health perspective, “it is crucial for employers, as well as government and hospital entities, to monitor perceived employee job strain and initiate strategies to manage job strain,” Dr. Albert advises. Doing so could “positively impact prevention of heart disease, employee productivity and business competitiveness.”

Dr. Kirsh notes that managers should regularly check with employees to see how they are feeling. “That makes a huge difference in someone feeling that they have some importance and they have an impact,” she says.

A fact sheet from the Public Services Health & Safety Association in Toronto notes some job stress is “normal and necessary,” but that “intense, continuous or repeated stress to which a person is unable to cope often leads to psychological disorders and physical illness.”

Dan Birch is assistant editor of

ohs canada.

Top brass voices jitters, titters over Twitter

By Angela Stelmakowich

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hat’s the verdict on Twitter? Well, a survey of top brass suggests that there is both good news and bad news.

Chief financial officers (CFOs) in Canada were recently asked what they thought about employee use of social media, notes a statement from Accountemps, a global staffing services company that commissioned the independent poll.

Feedback from the 270 CFOs who responded reflected a mix of positive and negative.

To the bad, 47 per cent of those surveyed said the biggest concern was that employees (while on company time and the company dime) would

fritter away their days by visiting popular social media sites.

There was also worry that staff may behave unprofessionally or post negative comments about the company, concerns cited by 14 per cent and 11 per cent of CFOs, respectively.

To the good, 24 per cent said social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter can help employees expand networks of business contacts, 22 per cent reported they can help enhance the company’s reputation, and 18 per cent noted they can help with efforts to provide better customer service.

“Executives are concerned with the possibility of added distraction from their employees’ daily duties, which may affect productivity and efficiency on the job,” Kathryn Bolt, president of the Canadian division of Accountemps, says in the statement. “On the other hand,” Bolt adds, “more firms are realizing that the rewards may outweigh the risks.”

Angela Stelmakowich is editor of

ohs canada.

Attendance program in need of revamp: court

By Jason Contant

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ritish Columbia’s high court has ordered a Vancouver transit operator to change how its attendance management program deals with disabled employees.

On October 15, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia agreed that Coast Mountain Bus Company Ltd.’s attendance program discriminated against workers on the basis of disability, representing a violation of the province’s Human Rights Code.

The transit operator was ordered to stop placing employees with disability-related absences in the program. The panel also reinstated awards of either $5,000 or $6,000 for “injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect” to six employees who received adverse treatment as a result of their disabilities.

The appeal court struck down a Supreme Court of British Columbia ruling last year and, for the most part, upheld a decision by the Human Rights Tribunal in early 2008. The tribunal had found that the company’s attendance management program resulted in “systemic discrimination against employees with chronic and recurring disabilities.”

The program has five stages: informal interview; three formal interviews (Level 1 review of attendance record and indication of concern, Level 2 indication of advanced concern and request for medical assessment, and Level 3 medical assessment follow-up); and employment status review.

Transit employees who testified before the tribunal reported conditions such as Crohn’s disease, diabetes, bile duct disorder and osteoarthritis. The adjudicator determined that the employees were treated as “attendance problems,” resulting in 11 workers being terminated under the program. Six grieved the terminations and were subsequently reinstated.

The company “had a systemic approach to dealing with absenteeism and didn’t take into consideration any disabilities or chronic illnesses,” argues Don MacLeod, president of Local 111 of the Canadian Auto Workers in Vancouver, which represents the employees. “Each individual has their own medical issues and they’re each entitled to be addressed separately,” MacLeod says.

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In essence, the appeal court told the employer not to place an employee at Level 3 because of disability-related absence, and to stop including disability absences in the attendance records of workers who had reached Level 3.

At a Level 3 interview, an employee receives a letter advising of the attendance parameters. If the worker is absent more than the specified number of days over the next two years, the employer may conduct a status review, “at which time termination of his or her employment for excessive, non-culpable absenteeism will be considered,” the ruling notes.

“The employee’s employment is expressly put in jeopardy if they do not meet attendance parameters that the adjudicator found were invariably set without any regard to any disabilities that the employees may have,” the panel found.

Coast Mountain spokesperson Derek Zabel says the company will “make the necessary modifications to make sure that we’re compliant and doing things correctly.”

Peer support central to bring bullying to an end

By Dan Birch

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ova Scotia’s largest union launched an interactive program on September 8 that seeks to stamp out workplace bullying and its negative effects.

“The only way to address it is to identify it, call it what it is [and] educate people on what they can do,” says Joan Jessome, president of the Halifax-based Nova Scotia Government & General Employees Union (NSGEU). The NSGEU reports that employee absenteeism, increased stress and reduced productivity are all linked to bullying.

The Bully-Free Workplace Program is a “peer-to-peer facilitation program” developed and tested in various workplaces throughout Nova Scotia, the NSGEU reports. Eleven front-line members have been trained as facilitators to deliver two-hour awareness sessions and six-hour interactive workshops to workplaces employing union members.

Topics to be covered include strategies to reduce bullying, differentiating between normal managerial activities and bullying, observing staff for signs of bullying, and changing unhealthy relationships at work.

The Annapolis Valley Regional School Board in Berwick, Nova Scotia, has already said yes to the program.

The introductory session provides “an atmosphere that allows employees to share their concerns without feeling that there are going to be repercussions,” notes Lesley MacDonald, the board’s coordinator of employee and labour relations for operational/instructional support staff. NSGEU members at the board — educational assistants, library staff and student support workers — will take the short session, and those wanting to complete the longer workshop will likely be able to do so in October, 2011, MacDonald says.

Glenn French, president and CEO of the Canadian Initiative on Workplace Violence in Toronto, says the effort

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is the first Canadian example he has seen of a union offering anti-bullying programming and facilitators to employers.

“The biggest advantage with something like this is that it raises awareness about conduct,” French says. It is then incumbent on employers to respond by formulating workplace anti-violence policies that encompass bullying.

“We look at the physical violence and the bullying and harassment on a continuum. We certainly see them as related,” says George Thomson, the school board’s oh&s officer.

So does French, citing a legislative shift toward including psychological harm in definitions of workplace violence.

Nighttime not the right time for safety

By Jason Contant

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anadian workers on night and rotating shifts are almost twice as likely to be injured on the job as those working regular day shifts, a new study has found.

Published in the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, the study out of the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver examined Statistics Canada data on more than 30,000 Canadians involved in different types of shift work between 1996 and 2006.

The results indicate that while total reported injuries decreased by 28 per cent during that period — from 415,000 to 356,000 — there was little change among night shift workers.

As well, the injury risk was found to be more pronounced for women, particularly if they worked rotating shifts.

“We hypothesized that people who work regular night shift work may be able to adjust because they have a regular schedule, whereas those people who work rotating shift work — are rotating between days and nights — they don’t really get settled into a regular routine,” says Imelda Wong, lead author and a Ph.D. candidate at the UBC School of Environmental Health.

“This is particularly difficult for women, and we hypothesized it was probably created because of work-life balance,” Wong reports, adding that women are usually the primary caregivers and more likely to be responsible for household work.

The findings indicate the excess risk attributed to shift work is 14.4 per cent for women and 8.2 per cent for men. In 2006, this equated to 307,000 claims for injuries at work and $50.5 million in compensation costs.

As well, it is worth noting that more Canadians are now working non-standard hours, Wong says. Between 1996 and 2006, the number of women in rotating and night shift work almost

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Future looking bright-ish for occupational hygienists

By Caitlin Crawshaw

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ntario employers with histories of poor compliance when it comes to conveyor safety were recently told to anticipate a knock on the door.

Inspectors with the Toronto-based Ministry of Labour (MOL) were expected to come knocking during an enforcement blitz from November 1 to December 31. The campaign targeted employers in the know: those known to have conveyor systems, known to have hazardous processes and equipment, or known to have been non-compliant.

MOL spokesperson William Lin says the workplaces include farming operations, large bakeries, chemical and electrical plants, the automobile and printing sectors, sawmills and anywhere else conveyor systems are used.

Inspectors were to look at guarding and lockout issues. “Conveyor injuries occur less often than other types of injuries in industrial workplaces, but the injuries that do occur tend to be more severe,” Lin says.

Citing statistics from Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board in Toronto, he says that from 2005 to 2008, workers with conveyor-related injuries missed an average of 68 workdays. These injuries accounted for a total of 74,459 days off the job and racked up associated costs of $7.3 million, Lin notes.

Jeff Bakker, vice-president of Canadian operations for Weetabix Canada in Cobourg, Ontario, notes that conveyor safety is central to the company’s new automated palletizing equipment. The elevated conveyor systems are equipped with netting, perimeter barriers and guarding, says Bakker.

The most common hazards associated with waist-level conveyor systems are in-running nip points, reports Renée Frigault, principal machine safety consultant for Lucid Engineering, a machine safety consulting firm in Toronto. These points are “where the moving component, like the belt or the chain, meets and begins to wrap around the rotating piece,” either the end roller or drive pulleys, Frigault explains.

Pinch points can catch clothing or gear, resulting in impact against a machine or hands being drawn into a mechanism.

Frigault suggests that fixed guarding is the simplest way to safeguard a conveyor, while perimeter guarding can ensure that workers are physically separated from the systems.

With conveyor systems being common in so many industrial workplaces, though, Frigault suggests that sometimes people “don’t see [pinch points] as hazards.”

Bakker concurs, noting that Weetabix Canada conducts regular re-training to ensure the hazard remains top of mind.

ob security may need to brace itself for another hit. As the North American economy staggers like a heavyweight fighter entering the final round, fears of a stalled financial recovery cannot help but mount.

And so current and future occupational hygienists likely breathed a sigh of relief when a Yahoo! Finance article in September ranked their job as one of seven that employers are “desperate” to fill.

Wil Pulfer, a consultant and president of the Canadian Registration Board of Occupational Hygienists (CRBOH) in Calgary, says demand for hygienists is on the rise.

But Hugh Davies, Ph.D., a certified industrial hygienist and an associate professor with the University of British Columbia’s School of Environmental Health in Vancouver, tempers that enthusiasm somewhat.

Fifteen years ago, Dr. Davies says, the university could not produce enough hygiene graduates. Employers are no longer beating down their doors, he suggests, but prospects are still very promising “for the highly skilled graduate.”

If a hygienist does land a job, the gettin’ is good. A 2010 salary survey conducted by the CRBOH and provincial associations indicates that average salaries range from a low of $69,000 in Quebec to a high of $102,500 in Alberta and the Northwest Territories. Ontario sat somewhere in between at $89,600.

Lorraine Shaw, a registered occupational hygienist and the laboratory manager at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, says one trend is that companies are hiring safety generalists, who may use occupational hygiene consultants from time to time. The downside “is that your consultant won’t be as familiar with your workplace as your health and safety person is, and isn’t available immediately,” Shaw says.

“The anticipation, recognition, evaluation and control of workplace hazards or stresses which may lead to illness or discomfort are the primary roles of the occupational hygienist,” notes information from the Occupational Hygiene Association of Ontario (OHAO) in Mississauga, Ontario.

“The role of the occupational hygienist has expanded [beyond industrial settings] into offices and other workplaces such as farms, retail establishments, hospitals, laboratories and teaching institutions,” the OHAO notes.

“Scientific research is continuing to identify additional workplace hazards we didn’t know about,” Pulfer offers, citing as one example nanoparticles, whose health effects remain largely unknown.

That is where occupational hygienists can likely help fill the gaps, now and for years to come.

Emily Landau is editorial assistant of

Caitlin Crawshaw is a writer in Edmonton.

Blitz sets sights on locking down conveyor hazards

By Emily Landau

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Illustrations: James Wardell

doubled, while for men, the increase was about 50 per cent.

By the end of 2006, Wong reports that the number of women and men in shift work had almost converged. “Perhaps we should be concentrating our efforts to be aimed more at women,” she suggests.

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By Peter Kenter Blame it on the holodeck. Whenever writers of any of the numerous Star Trek television series ran out of ideas, they would generate a fresh piece of hokum by getting crew members stuck in a simulated three-dimensional environment that would invariably malfunction. Small wonder the United Federation of Planets Safety Authority did not simply issue an

photos: thinkstock

order to shut down the whole mess, permanently.

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Near right: Saving this “unreal” patient gets up close and personal for trainees; far right: Making it look real comes down to the details; lower right: The finishing touches are put on a painful face injury.

Virtually real The holodeck is the logical extension of virtual reality training that dates back to simulated cockpits used by France’s Antoinette airplane company to train pilots prior to the First World War. Almost a century later, the concept of simulated training remains the same: get the nuts and bolts of the skills required for a task, but also experience the worst of an “actual” event without risk to life, limb or expensive equipment.

The use of virtual training devices shows no signs of slowing down, a fact partly related to the steady decline in their costs. What may have once been a million-dollar unit with dedicated hardware is now a software-driven system, easily adapted to multiple types of training.

“Simulation training will continue to gain ground as the cost of delivering the training drops,” states Martin Derepentigny, operations officer for DriveWise, a driver training service in Barrie, Ontario. “If you can now deliver what used to cost a half a million dollars using an offthe-shelf computer that costs under $1,000, it’s a trend that will continue,” Derepentigny suggests.

Leaps in technology have allowed complex simulation training involving control devices to approach a level of accuracy impossible even five years ago. Today, suppliers of safety training equipment face few limitations in the type of simulations they can offer.

Now, clients have a new question: how real do they want it?

As real as it can get, officials at Ornge in Mississauga, Ontario would likely respond. The not-for-profit organization is responsible for air transport of critically ill or injured patients between Ontario hospitals. Its Academy of Transport Medicine offers training programs that include a large simulation component using computer-controlled “patients” who

can mimic any condition paramedics are likely to encounter in the real world.

Jeremy Knight, simulation program manager at Ornge, heads up the organization’s high-fidelity simulation assets, dubbed “Stan,” short for standardized patient.

Simulations with the patients “are ultra-realistic to the point that they demonstrate the same physiological responses as humans, consume the same amount of oxygen as humans and expire the same percentage of gases as we do,” Knight says.

Trainees are asked to diagnose the conditions of their computerized patients and to then prescribe proper treatment.

“If you feel the patient needs a certain type of medicine, then you can administer that drug,” he says.

“If you got the dosage wrong, the pupils will contract or dilate, the eyes will close and the blood pressure will change.”

Knight suggests that this type of simulation training works not only because it is hands-on, but also because the trainee is drawn into and becomes part of the scenario.

“It’s a visceral experience,” he says. “This is not just a simulation at that point — they’re losing the patient. You can see that level of engagement when they begin to sweat and their eyes dart around the room,” he says of trainees negotiating the real, but unreal, situations.

Students seem to be taking things to heart. In fact, trainee heart rates have been measured after medical scenarios, and “there’s no mistaking the level of engagement,” Knight says.

The more realistic, the better to train for what might be encountered on the job. Ornge recently partnered with the

Trainees are asked to diagnose the conditions of their computerized patients and to then prescribe proper treatment.

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photos credit: Ornge

Complections International Academy of Make-Up Artistry in Toronto to up the authenticity of injuries and conditions.

“We now have the skills to mimic those injuries, and [to] mold and colour the mortician’s wax to get the effect just right,” Knight says. That can make a deep thigh laceration, for example, appear painfully obvious.

Beyond sight is sound — and smell. “We can atomize different odours into the air, play different hospital noises. Now everything is engaged. Now we are almost literally in the real critical care unit, and standing before a real patient,” he says.

To his mind, the most effective use of simulated patients is the ability to safely recreate conditions of high acuity and low frequency — situations that paramedics are likely to face only a few times in their careers. “At some point they will encounter a patient with multiple pathologies,” Knight says, and medical personnel should be able to respond.

In the details The need for quick and effective response is obvious when a patient’s life is on the line. But what about other decisions that can still have consequences?

Students at Loyalist College in Belleville, Ontario are now learning the skills required of border crossing guards using Second Life, a virtual reality platform accessible on the Internet. Participants buy property and develop real estate to their virtual specifications, accessing the facilities using avatars.

“When the students are developing their avatars, they’re noisy and having a lot of fun making them fly around,” says Ken Hudson, manager of Academic and New Media Services at Loyalist College and director of its Virtual World Design Centre. “The moment we hand out the virtual border guard uniforms for the avatars, there’s a sudden change. The students fall silent and sit up straight in their seats. It’s startling to see the pro-

found effect that the simulation has on the user,” Hudson says of the participants.

The current simulation recreates the Thousand Islands border crossing near Belleville, complete with a booth, a

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GO DEEP working gate, vehicles and a host of other realistic features.

Hudson teaches the unit as a mixed-reality simulation, considered mixed because the students taking part in the simulation are also being observed by the rest of the class.

Simulating reality can be a time- and resource-consuming process. That means making the right choices to achieve the greatest effectiveness is critical.

“We find that what we place in the distance of the environment is less important than what we place up close,” says Hudson. “The most important consideration is to ensure that there are no distractions on the landscape — Cinderella’s castle on the horizon is a deal-breaker.”

Hudson says that students are involved in scenarios involving anything from a cross-border shopper to someone with ulterior motives, which might lead to an arrest. It may be likened to facilitated role play, with people outside of the room taking on the characters of those trying to cross the border.

Its capacity to make trainees feel is what distinguishes simulation training, Hudson suggests. “You get a visceral jolt when someone does something as simple as touching your arm or bumping into you. At that moment, the media disappears and the situation becomes real to the user. You simply learn best when you actually feel what you’re experiencing.”

Students are graded on their border interview skills, an important component of their personal safety in determining who might present a security risk. In 2007, before using Second Life simulation, the students received an average grade of 58 per cent. After its introduction in 2008, the average skyrocketed to 86 per cent.

Flying high And learning how best to remain safe, thereby helping to ensure the safety of others, should always be top of mind. The Calgary Flight Training Centre, in partnership with The Air Academy, is now offering advanced pilot training using an ALSIM 200 MCC flight simulator, which features state-ofthe-art controls and a 270-degree, wrap-around screen.

It can also simulate 10 different airplanes that can be used to train both private and commercial pilots, says Dan Nash, chief instructor at the centre. “The main advantage to us as trainers is not only the realism the simulator offers, but the fact that we can allow students to experience situations that we could never create in real life,” Nash says. “We would never take a student out in bad weather so they could experience a storm, but we can do that here.”

Nor would Terry Abrams put trainees in the midst of a fire just to see how they cope. Rather, Western Living Safety Solutions in Port Moody, British Columbia has a fire extinguisher computer simulator to lend a helping hand.

Because the simulator does not have heat or fire, “it is not identical to a live fire. However, it does have a huge upside regarding the safety, teaching and ease of operation,” says Abrams, owner of the company and a retired captain for the District of North Vancouver Fire Services.

GO DEEP Virtual reality and simulation may be more than effective training tools; they could have the power to alter choices made in real life.

“In a 2009 [National Football League] game, Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Stokley caught the ball after a Cincinnati Bengals defender deflected a pass,” says Ken Hudson, manager of Academic and New Media Services at Loyalist College in Belleville, Ontario.

Instead of running straight to the goal line, Stokley turned and “ran along the goal line to the end zone to drain off some of the 17 seconds remaining in the game,” Hudson says. Asked why he chose the strategy, Stokley responded that he had done that very thing “hundreds of times” while playing football video games.

More and more, Hudson suggests, life is imitating experiences in the virtual realm. He recounts an incident in 2007 in which a driver pulled over to staunch the bleeding of a car crash victim.

“When the paramedics arrived, they congratulated him on his work and asked him where he trained,” Hudson says. The motorist “told them that he had taken his medic’s training with America’s Army, a video game developed by the U.S. Army as a public relations initiative. He was able to perform the medical procedure without really thinking about it.”

Martin Derepentigny, operations officer for DriveWise, a driver training service out of Barrie, Ontario, suggests that in many cases, the effects of simulation training are immediate. “We’ve had firefighters break driver simulation training to respond to an actual emergency,” Derepentigny says. “When they come back, they tell us that they actually changed their driving strategies based on what they’d experienced in the virtual realm a half-hour earlier,” he says.

“In many ways, these simulations are affecting us in ways we may not have anticipated,” Hudson says. “The content is supporting deep learning in very strong ways.”

Simulating reality may also serve a healing function after the fact. Last year, the Department of National Defence dedicated $1.5 million toward the purchase of a computer-assisted rehabilitation environment system at Edmonton’s Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital.

Military personnel will be among those gaining access to the new technology, which can be used for amputees, those with spinal cord injury and individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder, Isabel Henderson, vice-president of the hospital, noted in a statement last April. “The technology will engage our patients at a whole new level and boost their progress through the rehabilitation journey,” Henderson suggested.

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Helping Hand Underground mine accidents can be scary. While available facilities, equipment and methods have improved, the thought of workers trapped below surface — and in need of assistance — remains unnerving.

Anticipating what may happen and how to address developing conditions can only help with rescue efforts.

Making good decisions in tense situations was the goal of research at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario.

With funding from Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), a demonstration model was developed that could adjust for environmental conditions, select mine layout and highlight the potential of virtual reality (VR) for Mines Rescue Control Group training.

A computer 3-D mine model was created based on 2-D plans used in mine rescue training exercises, notes a July, 2009 update by the WSIB Research Secretariat. “The 3-D model is viewable from all sides by manipulating a camera, which can rotate around the mine model, allowing a control group to view the whole mine from any side or angle at any time,” the secretariat reports.

A fire emergency — with two randomly spawning fire locations — was selected for the demonstration project. A tree structure of successive decisions helps guide the user on how best to properly instruct the mine rescue team over the course of the emergency.

The research “not only developed a technology that can enhance training, but will also be useful in helping mine rescue teams deal with emergency situations in a VR environment,” the update notes.

VR laboratory exercises “have also proven themselves to be excellent knowledge transfer and data comprehension facilities, where the impact of emergency situations on mine worker health and safety can be better understood and transferred efficiently to relevant industry and government personnel.”

“When the student uses the training extinguisher on the simulated fire and practices good techniques, the fire will diminish and extinguish on the big screen of the simulator,” he says. “If poor techniques are used, the fire fills the screen until correct techniques are used.”

Nash suggests that another important advantage of simulation training is its ability to stop time while a flight exercise is under way. “The students really benefit from being able to pause the simulation and have an instructor explain in detail what’s going on.”

Simulation training can take flight not only in the air, but on land. Nuna Training Technologies, based in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, provides ground-based simulation for heavy equipment operation in remote locations.

Simulators, weighing in at more than 6,000 kilograms each, have been transported by air or shipped by sea to places as far away as the eastern Arctic and the Northwest Territories, says Bob Huculak, the company’s manager of training.

The primary audience is workers considering employment in the mining sector. Although the simulator has interchangeable dashboards and multiple programs to mimic a range of heavy equipment, Huculak reports that rock truck

training is the most popular option.

“Even when we’re training in an Inuit or a First Nations community, we find that the simulator completely transcends any language barriers that might exist,” he says. “We find people who have little experience with simulators to be far more open to simulation training than those who believe that equipment operation is a skill that should be passed down.”

Having students complete a rock truck training module not only promotes safe vehicle operation, says Huculak, but also helps to weed out students who are not good candidates for the job in the first place. “If you don’t demonstrate good hand-eye coordination on the simulator, you won’t suddenly develop those skills driving a real truck,” he points out.

After completing the module, some trainees simply bow out. “If they’re easily bored and not cut out to drive a truck, they likely won’t be safe operators either,” Huculak contends.

All the norm DriveWise’s Derepentigny suggests that simulation training is becoming the norm for many occupations. “We train customers ranging from 16 to 60, and the younger population who grew up on video games and the Nintendo Wii just assumes that this is how they’ll be trained,” he says.

More companies are opting to buy their own simulator rigs, with businesses like DriveWise developing the training modules to simulate specific occupations and settings, Derepentigny says. For example, his company recently developed a driver safety training module specific to airports.

Abrams points to portability as an attractive feature of his company’s fire simulator. “This teaching tool is very portable and can be taken anywhere there is a boardroom, training room or large office,” he says.

Derepentigny does not see any single industry or type of company more likely to invest in simulation training than another. “Companies that understand the importance of personnel safety training buy into simulation training. Whether they see value in training at all is usually the defining factor,” he says.

Will safety training ever reach the point where students put on a set of goggles and enter a completely immersive 3-D environment that is a 100-per-cent reflection of reality?

“I don’t think so,” says Tim Danter, owner of a DriveWise training facility in Oakville, Ontario. “When I’m training firefighters to negotiate traffic on the way to a fire, the controls we use have real feedback mechanisms,” Danter says.

He suggests, however, that there is potential for too much of a good thing. “Absolute reality is a good thing to aim for, but when you go too far, it stops being educational,” Danter says.

Consider the holodeck, he says. “If we had our students entering the holodeck, the consequences of an error in judgement would be a crash that could actually cause them to feel the injuries they would sustain.”

Peter Kenter is a writer in Toronto.

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Bioaerosols

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By William M. Glenn Organics composting stinks — literally. This is a fact that many now intimately understand, like the homeowner who gets a daily whiff of the green bin. But what happens after that well-intentioned receptacle has been placed at the curbside?

In a growing number of Canadian municipalities, both big ing depots, where front-line workers contend not only with odour, but something potentially more hazardous: bacteriaand fungi-rich bioaerosols.

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illustration: Scott Page

and small, that material is transferred to large-scale compost-

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Growth industry Commercial composting is booming, with the number of facilities skyrocketing over the last 20 years, says Susan Antler, executive director of the Compost Council of Canada in Toronto. “The amount of waste they collectively handle each year has also increased dramatically, from 275,000 tonnes in 1992 to more than four million tonnes,” Antler says of results from the most recent council survey.

Those many tonnes of organic waste feedstocks are made up of lawn and garden debris, residential food scraps, pulp and paper materials, industrial and commercial wastes, agricultural wastes, manure, biosolids from wastewater treatment and more, she says.

And along with commercial composting come bioaerosols, a classic “bad news/good news” story. The bad news is that elevated levels of bacteria and fungi — the kinds of bioaerosols routinely measured in the air at large

composting facilities — can pose a risk to the respiratory health of workers. The good news is that exposures can be held to safe levels through well-conceived operating procedures and proper hygiene practices.

Bioaerosols are airborne micro-organisms — living fungi, moulds and bacteria, as well as bits and pieces of those microbes — released when organic matter degrades. Certain bioaerosols are of concern from an occupational health and safety perspective, suggests a 2008 report by Alison Searl, Ph.D., director of analytical services for the Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) in Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

These include endotoxins that form part of the cell wall of certain bacteria, Aspergillus fumigatus fungus, which proliferates in hot environments, and the beta (1 3) glucans found in the cells of those fungi, Dr. Searl notes.

While the severity of health risk is dependent on the dose and the individual worker’s susceptibility, there are other factors to consider. In a study, Peter Sykes, director of enterprise at the University of Wales Institute Cardiff (UWIC) in the United Kingdom, found that continued exposure to elevated levels of the aforementioned bioaerosols may cause, or exac-

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erbate, a number of serious allergic and respiratory health problems. Among these conditions are the following: • aspergillosis — fungal infection of tissue, most commonly the lungs; • asthma and allergic rhinitis — the latter causing inflammation of the nose’s mucous membrane; • extrinsic allergic alveolitis (farmer’s lung) — inflammation of the lung’s air sacs; • chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — a condition that impairs breathing; • toxic pneumonitis or organic dust toxic syndrome (ODTS) — the latter an illness associated with symptoms such as chills, malaise, dry cough and nausea; and, • accelerated decline in the forced vital capacity (FVC) of the lungs.

Exposure to naturally occurring bioaerosols is a constant, but certain activities — commercial composting, spreading sewage sludge on agricultural lands, or handling dusty animal bedding and feed — can raise those levels considerably. Concentrations vary with the season, the mix of organic materials, temperature, moisture levels, and a dozen other environmental factors.

Over the last five years, scientists in the United Kingdom and across Europe have been diligently investigating the impact of bioaerosols generated during composting. Data are being compiled on occupational exposure levels, potential health risks, sampling protocols and control methods.

While academics in North America have not produced as much research, composting is still big business on this side of the pond. “The major drivers in the growth of the [Canadian] sector have been a mix of government waste diversion policies and increased pressures on landfills,” says Antler.

Organics constitute one-third to one-half of all wastes being dumped into landfills. Antler notes that organics are also responsible for most of the environmental problems associated with landfills, including leachate leaking out of sites and methane and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) being generated. Some 38 per cent of Canadian GHGs are produced during the deterioration of organic wastes in landfills, she adds.

Dust up During the most widely used aerobic composting process, incoming feedstocks are screened and shredded, formed in long piles (windrows), turned at set intervals to aerate the pile and break up clumps, and finally screened into the various grades of finished compost. Each time that organic material is agitated, clouds of fine dust are released into the air.

“Consequently, concerted action is needed to identify

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those areas where high exposure to bioaerosols could occur and to put in place proportionate controls,” says Brian Crook, Ph.D., microbiology team leader for the Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL) in Sheffield, United Kingdom.

HSL researchers collected samples at four composting facilities, both upwind and downwind of compost-handling activities, to document bioaerosol dispersal patterns. Samples have also been taken inside and outside of the cabs of mobile compost machinery to better understand the occupational exposures.

In a report to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the United Kingdom’s oh&s regulator, the HSL team concluded that compost bioaerosols are potential respiratory sensitizers and pose a health risk to unprotected workers. Bacteria and fungi, frequently in excess of 100,000 colony-forming units per cubic metre of air (cfu/m3) and sometimes exceeding one million cfu/m3, were measured immediately adjacent to studied windrowturning operations.

Despite these high levels, bioaerosols tended to disperse rapidly. By 50 metres upwind and by 250 metres downwind, measurements fell well within normal background levels, which the IOM report pegs at roughly 1,000 cfu/m3.

There is also tremendous variability in the readings. A research team from the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences at Utrecht University in the Netherlands analyzed more than 450 personal bioaerosol samples from various points along the wasteprocessing chain. These included samples from curbside collectors and compost facility staff.

Variations in exposure levels ranged as much as tenfold from one worker to the next, depending on the particular company and the technology employed, and up to 25 times for a single worker, depending on the season, weather conditions, and the operations being carried out at the time.

Study results, published in 2006 in the Annals of Occupational Hygiene, indicated that exposures routinely exceeded the Dutch provisional guideline of 50 endotoxin units per cubic metre (Eu/m3), as well as the higher 200 Eu/m3 guideline thought to protect against respiratory problems.

One thing is very clear: working with compost will result in bioaerosol exposure. The issue is how to control, minimize or eliminate that exposure.

Dr. Searl says that “the major changes that have occurred in waste management practice over the last decade are likely to have led to many more workers be­ing exposed to abovebackground concentrations of organic dusts and bioaerosols.” And those higher exposures increase the risk of developing upper and lower respiratory symptoms, and chronic

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respiratory illness, Dr. Searl adds.

Based on the IOM’s research review, the HSE has concluded that inhaling the micro-organisms in what it describes as “large numbers” over a long period can trigger allergic reactions. “This can range from a short-term, flu-like reaction (inhalation fever) to longer-term ill health, such as asthma or bronchitis. Once a person has become sensitized, subsequent exposure to even a smaller quantity can trigger the allergy,” the HSE notes.

Dr. Searl says there has been little epidemiological investigation of waste workers, but that the limited data available points to an increased prevalence of respiratory symptoms. “I would anticipate that serious, irreversible respiratory problems could take a number of years to become apparent in most individuals. The current levels of work-related respiratory illness in the industry are likely to be relatively low because most workers will have had only a few years of exposure, at most,” Dr. Searl says.

The lack of epidemiological data can make it difficult to compile a complete risk assessment, says Dr. Juergen Buenger, endowed chair of experimental occupational medicine with the Institute for Prevention and Occupational Medicine of the German Social Accident Insurance in Bochum, Germany.

In a 2007 paper published in the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, Dr. Buenger outlines how he and his team tracked the health of 218 compost workers and 66 control subjects over a five-year period using a standardized questionnaire, clinical examinations and spirometric (lung capacity) measurements. Over the study period, cases of chronic bronchitis had doubled in the compost workers, while two cases of allergic alveolitis were reported for compensation and one worker was treated for ODTS. Forced vital capacity — a measure of respiratory health — among the non-smoking compost workers had decreased significantly. In 16 workers, it declined more than 10 per cent.

Participants also reported more eye, skin and upper-airway problems and suffered a higher incidence of both mucous membrane irritation (MMI) and conjunctivitis, the study findings indicate.

The research also uncovered a higher than expected dropout rate among compost workers, with 95 of the original 218 moving on to other jobs over the five-year study period.

While most of these participants cited socio-economic reasons for seeking new employment, 12 reported various airway and respiratory problems and nine were still receiving regular pharmacological treatment.

“Given that 10 to 30 per cent of us are potentially allergyprone,” says Dr. Searl, “the impacts of a constantly runny nose, exacerbated asthma and itchy eyes on somebody’s quality of life are likely to encourage affected individuals to seek alternative employment.”

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A Long List “There is relatively little awareness of bioaerosols as a workplace health issue… because the waste industry has much more basic safety issues to contend with,” suggests Alison Searl, Ph.D., director of analytical services for the Institute of Occupational Medicine in Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

Among the many related health risks are the usual slips, falls and strains associated with heavy labour; threats posed by moving vehicles and heavy machinery; thermal stress caused by high heat and humidity; and excessive levels of fine dusts, volatile organic compounds and exhaust from grinders, chippers and other equipment, notes information from the United Kingdom’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Beyond bioaerosols, the HSE cautions, composting sites may have harmful levels of methane, hydrogen sulphide and other biogases that can build up in enclosed and poorly ventilated buildings. If sewage sludges are being treated, there is the possibility of exposure to infectious bacteria and viruses. And if food wastes attract rats and other vermin, workers exposed to contaminated rat urine can develop leptospirosis.

“Like any other workplace, you have to provide the proper safety training, the proper equipment and the proper management,” says Susan Antler, executive director of the Compost Council of Canada in Toronto. “There aren’t enough trained compost workers to go around. You certainly have to protect those you have,” Antler says.

Win win “The science surrounding bioaerosols is certainly not unequivocal,” says Paul van der Werf, president of 2cg Inc. in London, Ontario, a consulting firm that focuses on waste prevention and diversion with a special interest in composting. “There is still little information about the long-term health effects of exposures. And some bioaerosols only impact people who already have severely compromised immune systems,” van der Werf says.

“Still, if someone’s going to get sick, it’s probably going to be a compost worker,” he adds.

One good thing, however, is that many of the process standards used to produce good compost also help to reduce bioaerosol levels.

“As long as your compost is kept properly moist, you won’t generate a lot of dust,” van der Werf advises. It is also important to ensure that compost piles reach the high temperatures needed to kill bacteria and that leachate does not re-contaminate piles of maturing compost, he adds.

The key to reducing exposures at outdoor sites is to automate operations where possible, and to protect equipment operators by using mobile equipment that has filtered, environment-controlled cabs.

To this end, Vermeer Canada in Brampton, Ontario offers customers a wide range of waste management equipment for compost facilities, including a number of turners, wood waste grinders, brush chippers and “trommel” screen separators.

Rob Haines, the company’s recycling specialist, says he would like to be clear about something: he is not convinced that bioaerosols pose an occupational threat. “Anything you are exposed to at a composting facility, you are just as likely to be exposed to in a brush pile or leaf cuttings in your own back yard,” Haines contends.

Nonetheless, the equipment is designed to ensure that,

even if a hazard does exist, operators will be protected. For example, the air intake to the cab of the company’s compost turner is charcoal filtered, the windows do not open and the driver must remain seated with the door closed for the unit to operate, Haines notes.

As for horizontal grinding units and trommel screens, these are equipped with wireless remote controls so that the machinery can be controlled from as far as 90 metres away, Haines says.

Unfortunately, even the best-laid safety plans can unravel through ignorance or neglect. UWIC’s Sykes says he has found that opening a cab door or window for even a very short period severely reduces the cab’s protection factor.

His research, presented in September at the 11th World Congress on Environmental Health in Vancouver, indicates that dust reductions of 100-fold or more were feasible inside a properly ventilated cab. In practice, however, 33 per cent of the personal samples exceeded the published reference dose for MMI, 27 per cent surpassed 200 Eu/m3 and 37 per cent topped 50 Eu/ m3.

Keeping cabs clean and filters properly maintained can be a challenge, Sykes suggests. Two of the composting vehicles that his team inspected even had door panels missing, and only half of the units had a maintenance schedule that required filters to be replaced every 500 hours, he reports.

In the United Kingdom, the HSE advocates the use of pre-filters to protect the main HEPA filter, pressure gauges to show the system is working properly, alarms to sound when filters clog, self-closing doors with suitable seals, and over pressuring cabs to prevent dust ingress. If these measures are not practicable, respirators should be worn whenever moving compost, the agency adds.

“As long as your compost is kept properly moist, you won’t generate a lot of dust,” van der werf advises.

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A Helpful Guide Ontario has no occupational exposure limits for bioaerosols, although some provincial requirements do touch on “chemical agents germane to composting,” including ammonia and hydrogen sulphide, notes the draft Guideline for Composting Facilities and Compost Use in Ontario. The guideline was released for public comment in late 2009 by the provincial Ministry of the Environment in Toronto.

While the ministry notes that bioaerosol risks are “minimal,” it advises that they can be further mitigated by implementing, among others, the following management practices: • r egularly and thoroughly mix compost piles to help minimize the presence of Aspergillus fumigatus; • m aintain a clean site and wet down all dry and dusty surfaces; • r educe dust levels by keeping moisture content for windrows in the 50 to 60 per cent range; • e nsure there is adequate ventilation and air exchange in enclosed facilities; • i nstall a HEPA filter in loaders and windrow turners, and provide flow-through ventilation from the ceiling, past the operator’s breathing zone and out through the floor of the cab; • e nsure the door and window seals of all cabs are sufficiently airtight; • r egularly clean surfaces in cab interiors; • e nsure operators of unfiltered loaders or windrow turners use N95 masks during dusty activities; • e nsure workers wear protective clothing and shower following their shifts; • s chedule worker rotations to minimize exposure to high bioaerosol-generating activities; • c onsider prohibiting workers with asthma, bronchitis, tuberculosis, emphysema or severe allergies from working at composting facilities; and, • i mmunize workers to protect against pathogens.

Containment strategy Wright Environmental Management in Maple, Ontario sells and operates in-vessel composting systems that control temperature, moisture, carbon/nitrogen ratios and oxygen levels.

Sister company Wright Tech Systems markets bio-dryers to transform municipal solid waste, foods wastes, wood waste, biosolids and animal wastes into clean, high-energy biofuel.

Scott Sullivan, president of both firms, says that in-vessel systems allow operators to control air flow and, by extension, the potential for bioaerosol exposures. The bio-dryer and composting units are each fully enclosed and operated under negative pressure.

Sullivan notes that by mechanically aerating and automatically fluffing compost, no employees are directly involved in

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the process. “Even when you open a unit to add new feedstock to the front or remove finished compost from the other end, the negative pressure means none of the gases and dusts rush out,” he says.

As well, all exhaust air passes through a heat recovery unit and is vented to a bio-filter before being released.

But even at in-vessel facilities, some would argue that not all operations can be automated or controlled from within a sealed cab. At some point, whether during unloading, sorting, turning, sieving or bagging, a worker might be forced to get up close and personal with compost.

The HSE is developing a “risk zone approach” as a simple exposure management tool. “The principle is to identify those areas or activities in waste management that require greater attention to ensure workers are protected from exposure,” Dr. Crook says.

Rather than workers always having to wear respiratory protection, the risk zone operates on the premise of proportionate controls. “It can also be used to implement practical exposure-control procedures,” says Dr. Crook. For example, operators would keep vehicle cab doors closed when working in high-exposure areas and must move out of such areas before opening doors.

“Turning, shredding and screening operations will produce an elevated but localized release of bioaerosols,” says Trevor Barton, waste planning supervisor for composting operations in the Region of Peel, just west of Toronto.

“However, both the literature and experience has demonstrated that properly fitting [personal protective equipment], good hygiene and adherence to standard operating procedures will protect workers at composting plants,” Barton suggests.

That said, he notes he is still glad to see ongoing research around bioaerosols. With more organics processing coming on stream, oh&s issues related to centralized composting are “ripe for academic review,” Barton says.

The compost council’s Antler also welcomes the recent scientific focus on bioaerosols. Like many other occupational concerns in the sector, she suggests that not enough attention is being paid to bioaerosols.

“Composting is an old, old technology and may not be sexy to researchers,” Antler says. She calls on oh&s experts to compile the scientific evidence needed to get the job done safely and properly.

“It’s all common-sense stuff,” Barton contends, but employers and workers still need to be reminded of the importance of minimizing bioaerosol exposures.

“We understand the science and technology of composting very well,” he says. “Mastering the human component?

Well, that’s the art.”

William M. Glenn is associate editor of hazardous substances.

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MOBILE DEVICES

what’s a p p ening?

By Dan Birch

The idea came to John Holtan while he was attending a week-long training event in Atlanta about five years ago. A refinery and power plant operations instructor in North Dakota at the time, Holtan made the trip to Georgia Tech hoping to beef up his health and safety skill set.

As part of a gas-monitoring exercise, he found himself clad in a bulky Level A hazmat suit, staring down at a six-gas meter with a cracked screen and no battery.

Post-it notes attached to a wall supplied the imitation readings. “All of a sudden, the wind came up and blew all of the Post-it notes away,” he recalls.

Later, on the flight home, it occurred to Holtan that there must be a better way to learn about gas monitors. And though the solution would evolve over time, it ultimately involved creating an application (better known as an app) for a mobile device that would not hit store shelves for another two years.

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redivideos; symbolic armageddon llc

Photos: Apple Inc.; ashrae, inc.;

Photos: Thinkstock; faber acoustical; blackline gps; sillens ab; redivideos; symbolic armageddon llc

Fresh start Fast forward five years to October, 2010.

Holtan, now a resident of Spring, Texas, is discussing his company’s Gas Monitor Simulator, an app available for all three members of the Apple triumvirate: iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

“All of these products are going to revolutionize the way that we get data for safety,” suggests Holtan, president of LightsOn Safety Solutions.

A smartphone or other mobile device, he points out, can easily play host to a multimedia library — potentially bursting with occupational health and safety information — right at a worker’s fingertips.

The simulator is welcoming new players to the party, as oh&s apps come online for use on iPhones,

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BlackBerrys and other devices. Still, despite the crowd, there seems to be no end to the possibilities.

“We’ve barely scratched the surface in terms of potential,” David Blais, senior manager of e-business for WorkSafeBC in Richmond, British Columbia, says of safety apps. Late last year, the board test ran an app that allows iPhone users to view and search the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, policies and guidelines.

“It is inevitable that more oh&s bodies will embark on the path of adapting to mobile delivery. It’s the future of the web,” says Blais, who adds that versions of the WorkSafeBC app for the BlackBerry and Android operating systems are expected early this year.

For those who may be somewhat tech-challenged, important questions need answering. Sure, “smartphone” has become a ubiquitous part of the vernacular, but what does it really mean? What health and safety apps are available? And why are they needed?

Open any dictionary and it may define a smartphone as a cellphone that can interact with computerized systems, send e-mails and access the web wherever and whenever a person chooses to do so. Add to this the availability of thousands of apps — software programs for smartphones or other mobile devices — and possibilities abound.

Apps range from the pointless yet fun (consider the array of games) to electronic depots brimming with practical information. Able to function with or without an Internet connection, depending on their design, many apps are created as smartphonefriendly versions of traditional websites whose layouts do not jibe with relatively small screens.

Consider, as one example, the new WorkSafeBC app. Created in partnership with a leading app developer based in Vancouver, Blais notes that it “is designed to optimize the user experience on a mobile device in a way surfing the existing website cannot.”

Navigation, page layouts and functionality have all “been completely rethought to enhance the user experience on a mobile device,” he points out.

Many possibilities Remember the predictions about how the Internet would revolutionize the way that people access information? Nowadays, few people would tend to disagree, and similar arguments are being made about mobile devices and apps.

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Apple’s iPod touch can be pressed into service as a gas monitor simulator with an app from LightsOn Safety Solutions in Spring, Texas. Instructors are able to wirelessly send simulated readings to trainees in real time.

going to work,” he adds.

One possible hurdle preventing companies from warming to apps, Swanson suggests, is that many have not standardized the smartphones used by all of their employees.

This can be problematic if an app operates on only one platform, say, a BlackBerry. As well, smartphones require data plans from cellular providers, further increasing costs, he points out.

No profit, thanks Holtan says an instructor and trainee can run the gas monitor app — available free through the Apple app store — for five minutes to get a feel for the program. For actual training, anyone who is interested would need to contact the company to buy training time. The starter kit, which costs US$1,500, consists of three iPod touches, training time and other resources, although time can be bought separately, he says.

The free-app-plus-upgrade business model is an approach adopted by many developers. Motolingo LLC of Bartlesville, Oklahoma offers MotoRiety GPS, a free driving safety app on the Windows Mobile platform, designed to monitor drivers who are texting, e-mailing or making phone calls while behind the wheel.

For a fuller array of features, these are available with the MotoRiety Connect app, which costs US$10 a month. “We’re looking for people to upgrade,” says Motolingo president Charles Nesser.

Still, the free version of the app has some interesting offerings. GPS on the smartphone detects when the device is moving, and the app determines if distracted driving has occurred. The phone records the monitoring results and broadcasts them on a Twitter account.

The app also keeps tabs on a driver’s location. If he travels outside of a defined geofence, or specified area, a company fleet manager would be notified via Twitter and be able to log into a secure web page to view the current location.

The main limitation of the app may be that it cannot distinguish if the monitored person is the driver or a passenger.

Nesser responds that the service is aimed at fleet management scenarios, where typically the driver of a certain vehicle is a specified employee.

A growing number of free apps backed by non-profit entities, such as WorkSafeBC and the United Steelworkers south

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B JanFeb Apps.indd 41

photos: Lightson safety solutions

Still, the same cautions apply: these tools only benefit those who have access and, more significantly, those who choose to use them.

Oh&s apps range from sound level meters to hazardous material guides and largely fall into two broad categories — tools and reference materials.

“When I got into it, everyone said, ‘No one is going to want to buy your apps. Guys want to buy [app] games,” recalls Mike Bennett, managing partner of phoneflips.com in Ottawa, which offers an Emergency First Aid & Treatment Guide app. Now, however, Bennett suggests that “people are starting to look for more value out of their apps.”

Holtan’s app could be slotted into both the tools and reference categories. It offers facts about hazardous gases, lower explosive limits and exposure-related health effects, but it also seeks to transform how training is conducted. The program does away with Post-it notes or instructors who announce gas readings, and replaces them with mobile devices that receive and display readings.

Here is how it works: an instructor using any one of the three Apple devices — the app is not yet available on other platforms — can create and wirelessly send simulated gas readings to students’ devices. The instructor can alter readings to reflect changing environmental conditions, and can also enable or disable the app’s visual and audible alarms.

Holtan suggests the changeable environment forces students to think critically and pay closer attention to the readings being received. During one training exercise, about 20 of the 23 trainees failed the task when alarms were deactivated.

The app does not run through the Internet, but rather a WiFi network, meaning that the instructor and students need to be in the same vicinity. Holtan says it would be difficult, although not impossible, for a student to use an iPhone to join a session from a remote location. He suggests the type of training offered by LightsOn works best when the teacher and students are in close proximity.

But sometimes a worker has company, sometimes he does not. Blackline GPS, a Calgary firm that offers lone worker monitoring technology solutions, has both a wireless monitoring system called LonerGPS (a hardware product worn on the hip) and a new stand-alone Loner Mobile app for the BlackBerry platform, which was released last May. The app has “all the similar benefits of LonerGPS, only it is within a smartphone,” says Clark Swanson, president and CEO of Blackline GPS. It can be used independently or together with the hardware product, Swanson says.

With the app, a worker can trigger a safety alert. A message is sent via the Loner Portal Internet browser-based monitoring interface, as well as through e-mail and text message.

Check-in, as simple as removing the BlackBerry from its holster, monitors whether or not a worker is present and alert.

If the worker fails to check in, a missed alert is generated.

The app also publishes the BlackBerry’s GPS location periodically, based on how its configurable timer has been set.

Locations can be viewed within the Loner Portal event history for interactive mapping.

Another feature is that the monitor can view the strength of the smartphone battery and signal, Swanson says. “I can know with a greater degree of certainty that your system is

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of the border, are finding their way into the oh&s realm.

“WorkSafeBC sees tremendous potential in mobile content and service delivery,” Blais says.

Apart from its mobile-friendly design, a big plus of the agency’s app is that once it has been downloaded to a device, it can operate without an Internet connection. Working at a remote site or in a building with poor cellular reception would render useless any app that requires that connection, he says.

The Steelworkers released the USW Safety app in September, 2009. Designed as an easy and accessible chemical safety reference, the app allows users to view and search the New Jersey Material Safety Data Sheets database and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards.

Jim Frederick, the union’s assistant director of health,

safety and environment in Pittsburgh, cites a couple of motivations behind creating the app. One was to get oh&s information out to members (and anyone else with an interest) via the ever-expanding mobile device network. Another was to simply establish a Steelworkers presence in this new universe.

“It’s a way for us to pull in some younger members and provide information in a format and in a platform that’s more comfortable for them,” says Anna Fendley, a member of the union’s Tony Mazzocchi Center for Health, Safety and Environmental Education, also in Pittsburgh.

Background check As with any information-based product, accuracy and credibility are key considerations for consumers. “It’s a little bit like the Wild West right now,” Bennett laughs.

apps of note App

42

Developer

Description

Platforms

Cost (US$)

WHMIS Training Course and Reference

Redivideos

An audio/video training course, delivered by certified WHMIS trainers and displayed in high-resolution video.

Apple, BlackBerry

$14.99

HazRef 2008

Symbolic Armageddon LLC

Allows users to browse and search a database of almost 3,000 hazardous materials identified by the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations.

Apple

$3.99

HVAC ASHRAE 62.1

ASHRAE, Inc.

Performs minimum ventilation rate calculations for a variety of commercial buildings, based on ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2007.

Apple

$19.99

Safety Button

Sillens AB

With the press of a button, the app sounds an alarm and sends a text and an e-mail of the user’s location.

Apple

$0.99

Pain Free at Your PC by Pete Egoscue

Iceberg Reader

Guidance is provided on how to avoid or treat debilitating repetitive stress injuries, and how to avoid postures and movements before they can lead to pain.

Apple

$14.99

NIOSH Chemical Hazards Pocket Guide

ThatsMyStapler Inc.

Allows searches of the NIOSH Pocket Guide for chemicals by using any portion of the name or CAS/RTECs number, and offers access to International Chemical Safety Cards.

Apple

$7.99

Calorie Tracker

Livestrong.com

Users can track daily calorie intake and exercise.

Apple, BlackBerry

$2.99

dB

Faber Acoustical

Allows iPhone or iPod touch to be used as a simple sound-level meter, and to take photos with sound readings attached.

Apple

$0.99

Gone Flying Aviation Safety

LBS Wireless

Uses iPhone’s GPS, Google maps, calendar and camera features to record departure, destination and waypoint details, and to e-mail or post Twitter messages with flight information.

Apple

$1.99

iOSHA e-Reference

Integrated Safety Technologies LLC

Provides access to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s regulations on worker oh&s for general industry.

Apple, BlackBerry

$8.99

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photos: worksafebc; symbolic armageddon llc

His company’s emergency first aid app offers medical information based on guidelines from the American Red Cross and other health organizations. Eye injuries, CPR, burns and other topics are covered.

“The fact that I’ve teamed up with an established, bricks and mortar-type [publishing] company that has been in the business for 40 years, I hope that that gives customers some sort of peace of mind,” Bennett says.

Holtan agrees that consumers should consider carefully a developer’s partners, noting that his gas monitor app was further developed while under contract with NIOSH’s Office of Mine Safety and Health Research.

As well, buyer beware when it comes to an app seller’s background, advises Blackline GPS’s Swanson. A useful question to ask, he suggests, is if the seller is primarily a safety-related company.

Consumers could call a company’s customer support line to gauge its depth of knowledge, he adds.

With regard to accuracy, Frederick says “users have to do quite a bit of that review themselves and make certain that it’s the real information that they’re looking for.”

Bennett cautions customers against assuming that if “they pay more, they’re getting more.” While many oh&s apps cost just a few dollars, some can run as high as $20.

Smartphone users on Google’s Android operating system can test drive an app for a 24-hour period before having to purchase, Bennett says. While this is great for customers wanting to check out what is being offered, it is less appealing for developers of information-based apps. “It’s like buying a newspaper, reading it and giving it back to the guy you bought it from and getting your money back,” he says.

Another concern may be the potential for an app to distract. “Just like in any other facet of life, there are appropriate times to be using your phone or mobile device and times that it’s not appropriate,” Frederick says.

Holtan wholeheartedly agrees. “In the safety field, that one distraction can take you away forever,” he says.

Blais suggests that “the vast majority of people understand the importance of using their phones under safe conditions, and we assume our customers will use the same discretion when using our mobile apps.”

But reminders here and there certainly don’t hurt. Employers should advise and re-advise employees about acceptable usage, Holtan suggests.

Made in Canada Although the focus of USW Safety is information sourced in the United States, the material is still relevant to Canadian members, Frederick suggests.

Strictly Canadian oh&s content can be hard to come by in the app sphere. For example, neither the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety in Hamilton, Ontario nor the province’s Ministry of Labour (MOL) currently offer any apps.

MOL spokesperson William Lin says that the ministry does provide “online interactive tools for health and safety, including a tool to learn more about musculoskeletal disorders and how to prevent them.” Lin reports that more of these online tools will become available down the road.

Frederick suggests that it would be helpful if more government bodies were to create apps detailing oh&s laws and standards. “If the government entities were to put those out on free apps… that certainly would be an opportunity to help them extend their reach to many more workplaces and many more workers,” he argues.

Beyond reaching more people, the features of mobile devices should be fully explored to maximize potential benefits.

“There are a lot of unique tools that are already on the devices that we can use in unique ways,” Holtan suggests, citing one app (Camera for iPad) that makes good use of the iPhone’s camera function.

Pointing the camera at an object, the user can broadcast the live image from the iPhone to an iPad or iPod touch and can also snap a digital photo. In a workplace setting, Holtan notes that this would allow a worker in one location to film something — perhaps a damaged piece of equipment — and show it to a co-worker in another location.

Another potentially useful tool is the built-in microphone on a mobile device that, with the right app, can be turned into a sound level meter, says Frederick.

“It sure is a useful, quick read for a worker in a facility who is worried about noise exposure,” he says. This reading can then be compared to those from a professional meter.

Beyond information on work-related hazards is the potential to enhance services that can help foster health and safety. “Mobile delivery represents a big opportunity to connect and to provide service in a more meaningful way,” Blais suggests, noting that WorkSafeBC is currently developing an app for viewing safety videos, and another to provide clearance letters to mobile devices.

Nesser says he can see the day when workers with smartphones will have on-the-spot access to all of a company’s health and safety policies/procedures and regulations. “Those are good opportunities and a mobile app is the perfect way to do that,” he says.

For all the excitement around mobile devices and apps, they should not be viewed as a replacement for existing health and safety practices.

As Bennett and Holtan point out, their apps do not eliminate the need for broader first aid and confined space training to take place. But they sure do complement workplace safety as a whole.

Dan Birch is assistant editor of

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ACCIDENT PREVENTION

asbestos

Danger Lurks Persistent threat: One would think that asbestos exposure — what with the lessons learned from its startling human and financial toll — would no longer be a work concern. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Recently, an Ontario supervisor was fined $8,000 for failing to ensure a worker wore protective clothing while removing asbestos insulation, and for not ensuring that the work area was sealed off.

Good and bad: Asbestos has proven impressive, to be sure. It possesses high tensile strength, flexibility, electrical resistance and resistance to chemical and thermal degradation, notes information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. These properties allow for use in goods such as roofing shingles, ceiling and floor tiles, paper products and asbestos cement products; friction products like automotive clutch, brake and transmission parts; heatresistant fabrics; packaging; gaskets; and coatings, adds the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Protection Agency.

Hard hit: “Working on or near damaged asbestos-containing materials (ACM) or breathing in high levels of asbestos fibres, which may be hundreds of times that of environmental levels, could increase your chances of getting an asbestos-related disease,” notes the Health and Safety Executive in the United Kingdom.

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety in Hamilton, Ontario points to a number of asbestos-related health conditions, including the following: • Asbestosis, characterized by pulmonary fibrosis, which has a slow onset that usually requires several years of exposure.

• Lung cancer, which can take years to develop.

Asbestos exposure, however, can produce almost immediate changes in the lung.

• Pleural plaques, which involve both thickening and hardening of the pleura.

• Mesothelioma, a cancer of the pleural and peritoneal cells (affecting the lining of the chest or abdominal cavity), which can have a latency of as long as 40 years.

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Industry wide: Asbestos is the name for a group of naturally occurring, fibrous silicate minerals, notes CAREX Canada in Vancouver. This includes chrysotile, the only serpentine variety, and the five amphibole varieties, namely amosite, crocidolite, actinolite, template and anthophyllite.

Use of the fractious fibre has been greatly reduced, even banned in some cases. Still, absent best practices, harm may occur in mining, asbestos-product manufacturing, automotive brake and clutch repair, and renovation and demolition of buildings constructed in years gone by, to name a few settings.

Break down: Along with the far-ranging uses of asbestos are its far-reaching effects. The CDC notes the potential for harm is born of the tendency for asbestos to separate into microscopic particles that can remain in the air and be inhaled. CAREX Canada reports that asbestos fibres vary in length, diameter and chemical composition, all of which affect their ability to enter and deposit in the lungs. “Inhalation is the most important route of occupational exposure. Ingestion may also occur, and dermal absorption is expected to be minimal.”

Low, mid, high: Different activities pose different levels of risk, notes “Safe Work Practices for Handling Asbestos,” a guide available from WorkSafeBC in Richmond, British Columbia.

Low-risk activities include working adjacent to undisturbed ACM, or moving waste material that is contained within a cleaned, properly sealed bag.

Moderate risk includes using hand tools to cut, shape, drill, grind or remove non-friable manufactured products containing asbestos, collecting asbestos samples, or dismantling a treated enclosure at the end of an asbestos removal project. Finally, high risk includes removing, encapsulating or enclosing friable ACM during the repair, alteration, maintenance, demolition or dismantling of any part of a building, structure, machine or piece of equipment, or repairing, altering or dismantling any part of a boiler, furnace, kiln or similar device in which insulating materials containing asbestos have been used or applied.

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On the record: A WorkSafeBC bulletin from 2007 makes clear that as part of an asbestos management program, the following requirements apply: an inventory of all ACM present in the workplace must be prepared and be kept current; ACM must be identified by signs, labels or other effective means; records of ACM inventories, risk assessment, inspections and air-monitoring results must be maintained for at least 10 years; and any work that could possibly disturb ACM must not be done unless precautions have been taken.

Keep it clean: Asbestos operations should have hygiene facilities, ranging from units where workers can wash their hands and faces to complete decontamination areas. The WorkSafeBC guide cites these steps for the latter: • enter the clean room, remove all street clothes and personal belongings, leave them in the clean room, and change into protective clothing; • don a respirator that both fits and works properly; • p ass through the shower room into the personnel transfer room and put on any other protective equipment required for the work being done; and, • e nter the contaminated work area.

Just my type: In Ontario, an asbestos-related work project is classified as Type 1, 2 or 3, with protective measures growing progressively stringent. A guide released by the provincial Ministry of Labour in 2007, meant to foster regulatory compliance and enhance worker protections during construction and renovation work, cites numerous requirements, a selection of which follow: • Type 1: damp wipe or use a vacuum with a HEPA filter to clear visible dust on surfaces in the work area; use drop sheets or other measures appropriate to the work to prevent the spread of dust; clean up dust and waste at regular intervals; and ensure a competent person provides instruction and training.

• Type 2: post signs warning of an asbestos dust hazard in sufficient numbers; ensure signs note that access is restricted to persons wearing protective gear; use drop sheets made of polyethylene or other material that is impervious to asbestos to control the spread of dust; and damp wipe or HEPA vacuum any friable material before beginning work that is likely to disturb friable ACM on any surface.

• Type 3: use walls, barricades, fencing or any other suitable means to separate the work area from the rest of the workplace; locate a decontamination facility as close as practicable to the work area; ensure that dust and waste cannot fall from one work level to another; and ensure protective clothing is made of a material that does not readily retain or permit penetration of asbestos fibres.

Protective fit: In most cases, WorkSafeBC reports, workers must use respirators during all stages of projects in which the risk of exposure to airborne asbestos fibres exists or could develop. Respirators appropriate for asbestos concentrations are noted as follows: half-facepiece respirator for up to one fibre/millilitre (f/ml); full-facepiece respirator for up to five f/ml; powered full-facepiece respirator for up to 10 f/ml; pressure-demand, full-facepiece supplied-air respirator or a continuous-flow, full-facepiece supplied-air respirator for up to 100 f/ml; and pressure-demand self-contained breathing apparatus for up to 1,000 f/ml.

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HEALTH WATCH Electromagnetic fields

Dirty Deeds

By Emily Landau

T

hese days, employers and workers alike are becoming more aware that environmental hazards on the outside can infiltrate workplaces on the inside. Lately, though, the buzz has been growing around a potential enemy launching a sneak attack through wires and plugged-in devices.

“Dirty electricity” is a simpler term for high-frequency voltage transients, which are electromagnetic fields (EMF) produced whenever power signals are transformed. “Dirty electricity is caused by sparking, arcing and anything that interrupts current flow,” explains Dr. Samuel Milham, an epidemiologist The rub, Byrne in Indio, California. suggests, is Kevin Byrne, an engineer and the president of EMF Solutions in Tothat not all ronto, says that any electronic devices commonly found in workplaces energy is — including computers, monitors, printers, phones and compact fluotrapped in rescent light bulbs — are capable of producing dirty electricity. the wire, and Some experts suggest that these filthy fields pose health risks; others this is where insist claims of adverse bio-effects are unfounded. So, what’s the dirt? concerns Before the advent of modern electronics, electrical current was smooth begin to and continuous, vibrating at a base frequency of 60 hertz (Hz), says Lawmanifest. rence Gust, an engineer and environmental consultant in Ventura, California. But newer electronics rely on voltage converters, which transform the standard 120 volts (alternating current) into lower voltage (direct current) to allow plugged-in devices to run, Gust says.

“The process for doing that creates different frequencies that are much higher than the base frequency of the electricity,” he explains, adding that these frequencies can reach levels ranging from two to 100 kilohertz (kHz).

The rub, Byrne suggests, is that not all energy is trapped in the wire, and this is where concerns begin to manifest. Some of the energy emitting from the wire creates an electric field, he says, and “dirty electricity rides on the electric field.”

As to how far beyond the wire dirty electricity radiates, Gust can offer no specific measure, but posits that its effect depends on the sensitivity of the user. If a person is two metres away, “probably no problem,” he says. If just one metre away, however, “maybe there’s some sensitivity there.”

In an office environment, Gust says, “everyone is close enough to one of these things” to be within two metres.

While devices such as computers and printers carry dirty electricity, Byrne says the levels associated with laptop com-

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puters might be particularly high. “Electrical fields are looking for capacitance” — the ability of a system to store an electrical charge, he explains. “The laptop is basically a battery being charged right under your hands,” creating an electric field that “will want to go through you to ground.”

Dirty electricity is measured in GS units, the units read by the Graham-Stetzer microsurge meter. “You want it to be below 50 GS for a safe level,” Byrne advises.

To reduce dirty electricity in wiring, he recommends installing a GS filter. Gust suggests the filter “gives the electrical line a haircut. It chops off all these [voltage] spikes. Therefore, it prevents these things from getting back on the wiring.”

But filter effectiveness is not without debate. A 2006 report from Health Canada, focusing on residential settings, states that the “filter does not clean up line voltage harmonics.”

In fact, the report notes, the filter’s “distortion products (harmonics) are carried on the electricity supply and add to the level of ‘dirty electricity’ in the house.”

Body electric If dirty electricity is regularly surging through offices, the million-dollar question is bound to arise: is it having a negative impact on worker health?

In the opinion of some researchers, the answer is yes. “In animal work and other work, they’ve noticed that if you pulse or if your [EMF] wave forms rise and fall steeply, you get more bio-effects,” Dr. Milham says.

Bodies are bio-electric, Byrne notes, suggesting that “when you interfere with your body’s natural processes, you start to get symptoms and development of diseases.”

And when “you stick exogenous currents into this delicate electrical soup that evolved over years,” adds Dr. Milham, “it screws things up.”

Some research has even linked dirty electricity to longterm health conditions, such as diabetes and cancer. In 2009, Magda Havas, Ph.D., an associate professor of environmental and resource studies at Peterborough, Ontario’s Trent University, conducted a study that found “the increasing exposure and ubiquitous nature of electromagnetic pollution may be contributing to the increasing incidence of [diabetes].”

Specifically, Havas’s findings suggest the plasma glucose levels of patients with diabetes “respond to electromagnetic pollution in the form of radio frequencies in the kHz range associated with indoor wiring.”

Dr. Milham’s own retrospective study of teachers at a school in California, published in 2008, correlates exposure to high-frequency voltage transients with an increased incidence of cancer. Sixteen teachers in a cohort of 137 hired between 1988 and 2005 were diagnosed with 18 cancers.

The study notes that 60-Hz magnetic fields showed no association with cancer incidence. However, teachers who had worked at the school for more than 10 years and “had ever

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Down to the Wire

Wired electronics are not the only cause for health concerns, some experts say. Wireless devices like cellphones, portable telephones and WiFi routers can also produce significant electromagnetic fields (EMF).

Consider cellphones, notes Alasdair Philips, an engineer and director of Powerwatch, based in the United Kingdom.

“Cellphones emit quite high levels of both low-frequency magnetic fields from the battery current pulses, that go right through the user’s head and, of course, significant levels of microwave signals,” Philips reports. “All offices should have fully wired phones for a healthy work force,” he contends.

The farther from the source, the better, agrees Dr. Samuel Milham, an epidemiologist in Indio, California. “Putting a cellphone or a portable phone against your head is like sticking your head in a microwave oven,” Dr. Milham offers.

Unlike wired devices, which produce electricity only when in use, wireless communications emit “radiation full-time, 24/7, from the base, even when you’re not using them,” says Kevin Byrne, president of EMF Solutions in Toronto.

Wireless devices create both magnetic fields and radiofrequency (RF) fields, Byrne says. Keeping wireless routers in separate rooms from workers should be a priority, he advises, since RF exposure can be mitigated by walls.

Philips says that wireless exposure produces similar symptoms to those experienced by people suffering electrical hypersensitivity. “Symptoms of wireless exposure include concentration difficulties, headaches, high levels of fatigue and tiredness — the last things you want in a workplace,” he notes.

However, the World Health Organization in Geneva reports that although exposure to RF fields in cellphones has been scientifically connected to “changes in brain activity, reaction times and sleep patterns,” these changes are minor. “No recent national or international reviews have concluded that exposure to the RF fields from mobile phones or their base stations cause any adverse health consequence,” the organization adds.

worked in a room with an overload GS reading had a much higher rate of cancer,” Dr. Milham found.

“The cancer incidence in the teachers at this school is unusually high and is strongly associated with high-frequency voltage transients, which may be a universal carcinogen, similar to ionizing radiation,” the study contends.

Other less severe symptoms have also been reported by workers, including some who claim specific vulnerability to EMF, called electrical hypersensitivity (EHS).

The Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) states this hypersensitivity is “characterized by a variety of non-specific symptoms,” the collection not being part of any recognized syndrome. It lists potential symptoms as dermatological (redness, tingling or burning) and neurasthenic and vegetative (fatigue or tiredness, difficulty concentrating, dizziness, nausea, heart palpitations and digestion problems).

While EHS may not be linked to any specific condition, the WHO notes that its reported symptoms are “certainly real and can vary widely in their severity.”

Indeed, many members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF), based in Toronto, have complained of EHS, reports Jane Ste. Marie, the federation’s executive assistant of health and safety. “We’re having a very difficult time trying to accommodate them in the workplace,” Ste. Marie says of affected employees.

Because of a dearth of concrete information on the health impacts of dirty electricity, she says the OSSTF must address concerns on a case-by-case basis.

While GS filters are recommended, Byrne suggests the best way to minimize exposure is to reduce contact with and proximity to devices of concern. “Distance is your friend,” Gust says, although office layouts make this tough to achieve.

Truth or consequences Like many emerging concerns, dirty electricity has generated widespread debate among researchers, medical personnel and those who report experiencing EHS. Dr. Milham acknowledges that this is all “new stuff,” but adds he has no doubt that dirty electricity can negatively impact health.

Not so for Linda Erdreich, Ph.D., an epidemiologist and senior managing scientist at Exponent, an engineering and scientific consulting firm in New York City.

“I have concerns about the validity of the question that there’s dirty electricity that adversely affects your health,” Dr. Erdreich states. “I find the studies have flaws in the methodology of doing studies with people and in the exposure assessments,” she adds.

Tara Hargreaves, a staff scientist at the Radiation Safety Institute of Canada in Toronto, is also skeptical. “Right now, the only effect that these types of fields can seem to have on the body is heating effects,” Hargreaves says.

“Distance is In terms of EHS, she agrees that “there are certainly people who do your friend,” have symptoms.” However, adds HarGust says, greaves, “whether those symptoms can actually be attributed to the elecalthough tromagnetic fields is something that is being determined.” office layouts A fact sheet from the WHO seems to support that view. While recognizmake this ing that real symptoms exist, the information goes on to say “EHS has no tough to clear diagnostic criteria and there is no scientific basis to link EHS sympachieve. toms to EMF exposure.”

EHS might be related to psychiatric symptoms or to the “stress reactions as a result of worrying about EMF health effects, rather than the EMF exposure itself,” the fact sheet notes.

Gust dismisses these suggestions, contending that the lack of any conclusive evidence is the result of “limited resources,” rather than the absence of a link.

Until the time when more conclusive results have been unearthed, Byrne recommends that workers avoid close exposure to electronic devices as much as possible. Proximity “is the cause of a lot of today’s modern illness,” he insists.

Emily Landau is editorial assistant of

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OCCUPATIONAL HYGIENE WELDING

Left Fuming

By Jason Contant

I

t is a simple and oft-repeated message for workers who may encounter hazardous chemicals, gases or fumes: adopt appropriate controls, whether these relate to substitution, engineering, administration or personal protective equipment (PPE).

Despite the consistent messaging, a new Manitoba study reveals it is a caution that often falls on deaf ears.

Funded through a grant from the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba (WCB), the two-year study examined 40 companies that weld on mild and stainless steels. Results indicate that about half of the workers who did not use respiratory PPE or local exhaust ventilation (LEV) were overexposed to welding The “dominant fumes. Specifically, 52 of 100 workers welding on mild steel with no controls health effect” were found to be overexposed, while eight of 26 workers working on stainfor each less steel were overexposed, notes the report penned by Doug Wylie, a certimetal was fied industrial hygienist at OHG Consulting in East St. Paul, Manitoba. examined Welders were placed into three broad categories: no controls, respiusing the rators and LEV. When controls were threshold in place, affected workers were “consistently found to be exposed to safe limit values. levels of welding fumes,” Wylie writes.

Effectiveness of the controls is confirmed by the study, says Wylie. The ongoing issue is “getting people to recognize the potential hazard.”

OHG Consulting monitored the air that welders breathed, and analyzed samples for 27 metals. Wylie says these included “big players” like manganese, iron, nickel, copper, zinc and lead, as well as lesser-used metals, like silver and uranium.

The “dominant health effect” for each metal was examined using the threshold limit values (TLVs) recommended by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) in Cincinnati. For example, Wylie notes, lead affects both the central nervous system and reproductive system, but if the cumulative effects on the nervous system are greater, that is the dominant health effect.

After analyzing the metals, manganese was found to typically be the most common source of overexposure, he says.

Manitoba does not have an exposure limit for total welding fume; rather, the province uses the ACGIH’s TLVs for each individual component, says Warren Preece, director of communications for the WCB in Winnipeg. Between 2001 and 2009, the board accepted an average of four to six claims annually for welding fume exposure.

Steve Hawkins, a certified industrial hygienist with Lon-

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don, Ontario-based OSHTECH Inc., says his home province relies on the Regulations for Control of Exposure to Biological or Chemical Agents. If a substance is not listed in the regulation, “you refer to an ACGIH booklet,” says Hawkins.

And so it goes for British Columbia. “The employer must comply with the exposure limit for each of the individual constituents in the welding fume,” notes a guideline from WorkSafeBC in Richmond, British Columbia.

Hawkins says the possibility of overexposure depends on factors, including the type of welding, if the process involves mild, carbon or stainless steel, and the controls being used.

Wire less The Manitoba study focused on metal inert gases (MIG) welding. As part of the process, filler wire is pulled through a feeder to the welding gun, explains Dan Tadic, director of the Canadian Welding Association in Milton, Ontario.

Inert gases such as argon and carbon dioxide are used to protect the weld from ambient air, Tadic notes, but both the wire and the base metal contribute to the fume.

The concern is the wire. “It has been suggested as much as 95 per cent of the welding fume actually originates from the melting of the electrode or wire consumable,” the study notes.

Wylie’s report cites a company in which seven of the tested workers had elevated exposures to welding fume (largely comprised of manganese), with the average being 192 per cent higher than the permissible amount. When the company switched to welding wire with a lower manganese content, retesting revealed the average exposure had dropped to 52 per cent of the permissible level.

When examining material safety data sheets (MSDSs) for welding wire, Wylie found that manganese content ranged widely, from one to 10 per cent. “If it’s two per cent manganese or eight per cent manganese, that makes a huge difference in terms of workers’ exposure,” he argues.

The MSDS “was a little vague and really not that useful,” Wylie says, but the spec sheet from the manufacturer “has the information you need to tell you the actual manganese content.”

And when employers know what they are dealing with, it becomes easier to identify appropriate controls.

These may include substitution, such as using a welding wire with a lower manganese content; administrative practices, like using tilted tables to ensure workers are not directly in the path of the plume; engineering, such as LEV situated close to the welding source or general ventilation to bring in fresh air; and PPE, such as an N100 respirator, which removes 100 per cent of particles 0.3 microns or smaller.

Says Hawkins, “The higher the toxicity, the higher the level of protection you want.”

Jason Contant is editor of safety news.

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SAFETY GEAR Noise exposure

Hear for Tomorrow

By Angela Stelmakowich

S

ound can be transformed into the unsound when excessive: too much noise, too much vibration, even too much exposure to solvents can lead to hearing loss that no amount of second-guessing will restore.

A whole host of controls should be considered to protect workers from noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), but the two main categories of personal protective equipment (PPE) to achieve this are earplugs and earmuffs.

Perhaps the strangest thing about protective gear is that the ultimate goal is that it be rendered unnecessary. Until that time, however, it may be best to take the conservative approach to hearing conservation.

Bev Borst, a technical specialist with 3M Canada in London, Ontario, says that a hearing protection program has a number of essential elements: noise exposure assessment/ monitoring; education/training/motivation; engineering and administrative controls; hearing protector devices; audiometric testing; record keeping; and “It can be program evaluation.

Conservation has long been a tempting to song sung by the choir. “If prescriptions for eyewear are important for gloss over workers to see properly to preserve their vision, then it makes sense for workers to take care of their hear- engineering and ing the same way,” Brad Davidson, administrative president of HearSafe Canada in Mississauga, Ontario, noted in a controls and statement in the summer of 2009.

But is this buy-in resulting in onsee PPE as the-floor protection? Borst says her view is that “most employers today the answer.” explore engineering and administrative control options first and elect hearing protection if those options don’t lower the noise to below hazardous levels.”

Theresa Schulz, Ph.D., hearing conservation manager for Howard Leight/Sperian Hearing Protection, based in San Diego, notes that peer-reviewed studies and research data show that workers are more motivated to use PPE consistently when noises are louder than 90 to 95 decibels (dB).

At lower levels, Dr. Schulz says, “the noise is still hazardous, but not as annoying, and workers can be lulled into thinking they don’t have to use PPE.” That false security is of concern since workers exposed to noise in the 80 to 90 dB range can develop NIHL. “It can be tempting to gloss over engineering and administrative controls and see PPE as the answer,” she cautions.

If protective gear is needed, working conditions will certainly have some influence on product selection. But choices — particularly as they relate to comfort, fit and practical-

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ity — can get downright personal, notes information from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) in Hamilton, Ontario.

Earmuffs and earplugs each offer their own level of attenuation and protection, says Borst. Some things to bear in mind when determining which option is best for a workplace include the following: • workers generally prefer earplugs in hot environments; • banded earplugs are a good choice for intermittent, lownoise environments; and, • communications headsets offer protection while allowing workers to communicate in high-noise environments.

Compliance is a healthy sign of a conservation approach, but compliance without proper fit can nullify benefits.

Fit to protect Through 3M Canada’s validation fit testing for earplugs, it was found “that workers do wear hearing protection, but may not have chosen a product that fits properly or they may require additional instruction on proper insertion techniques,” says Borst. “Through instruction, workers can learn proper fitting techniques, such as insertion, fit checks and visual inspection,” she suggests.

Dr. Schulz says that “a poorly fit hearing protector can be uncomfortable, can let in too much hazardous noise or can overprotect, blocking too much noise and creating other safety issues.” To fit earmuffs, the main considerations are correct size and donning method, while earplug fitting may be trickier. “Earplug fitting is much more variable between workers, between different earplugs and even one worker fitting and refitting the same earplug repeatedly,” she cautions.

3M Canada offers a service to quantitatively fit test earplugs, which “uses proprietary algorithms to quickly analyze real-ear data to provide personal attenuation rating (PAR) and fit variability for a given pair of earplugs for the individual,” Borst says.

Gear must be worn at all times during noisy work; otherwise, protection drops off dramatically. Australian-based ProChoice Safety Gear notes “a hearing protector that gives an average of 30 dB of noise reduction if worn continuously during an eight-hour workday becomes equivalent to only nine dB of protection if taken off for one hour in that noise.”

The CCOHS also offers some examples of the maximum protection provided for the percentage of time used: 50 per cent, three dB; 60 per cent, four dB; 70 per cent, five dB; 80 per cent, seven dB; 90 per cent, 10 dB; 95 per cent, 13 dB; 99 per cent, 20 dB; and 99.9 per cent, 30 dB. Comfort clause Whatever part of the body equipment is meant to protect — eyes, feet, hands or ears — comfort is a critical part of the equation. HearSafe Canada reports that a lack of comfort

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photos: Top - 3m canada; bottom - sperian hearing protection

and difficulty with properly inserting form to the shape of the ear canal and an earplug can bring with it a lack of its attached triangular stem “assures compliance. And equipment that is not better control when workers insert the used cannot protect. plug into their ear canal. They get betThe company cautions that disposter fit and it doesn’t work itself loose able earplugs may come with a risk that as easily,” Claudio Dente, president of they will either over- or under-protect.

Dentec Safety Specialists, said of the While the work-related hazards around earplugs at the time. under-protection are clear, it notes, And unlike foam plugs, it “needs no over-protection can result in gear being rolling to insert and it can be washed removed repeatedly. for better hygiene,” the company notes.

For maximum comfort and protecThe need to keep it clean cannot be tion, HearSafe Canada notes there is no overstated, particularly since this can better option than custom-made gear. directly influence product performance By taking an impression of the ear caand the protection provided. nal, the plug will be custom contoured.

“Hearing protectors do their job by Fit tests and proper filtration must also creating a seal so that acoustic energy is be part of the mix, Davidson says. blocked, to varying degrees,” Dr. Schulz Sometimes comfort and associated explains. Dirt or grime on the proteccompliance issues are more a matter of tor will compromise its ability to obtain big and small. In July, Chicago-based and maintain that seal, she notes.

Magid Glove & Safety Manufacturing rate it tops Company introduced jumbo disposWhen a worker remains in one noisy able earplugs for industrial workers location for much of his day, the need who have larger, deeper ear canals. for hearing protection is an easy call.

The earplugs come in corded and But what if noise exposure is intermituncorded styles, are made from hypoal- Top: Hearing protection may need to tent and levels are varied? lergenic polyurethane foam, feature a work in concert with other types of Last January, Magid Glove & Safety tapered design and offer a noise reduc- safety gear. Bottom: Hybrid push-in introduced a banded hearing protection rating (NRR) of 32 dB. The fluo- earplugs provide both comfort and tor made from black polyurethane. rescent orange earplugs with bright red control over fit.

The lightweight and flexible head band cord make compliance checks easier.

Kimberly-Clark Professional, located in Roswell, Georgia, stretches to fit a wide range of head sizes, rests around the also sees colour as a compliance tool for work in food and neck when not in use and is easy to put on and take off, the pharmaceutical processing. In November, the company an- company reports. The protector comes with a pair of soft, nounced the availability of metal detectable, disposable and hypoallergenic, cone-shaped foam earplugs that provide an reuseable earplugs specifically designed for use in the sectors. NRR of 24.

Any information can be helpful, although one proviso is The earplugs, which have embedded metal that can be easily detected through scanning, come in a distinctive blue co- that users must understand what the information means.

Borst points out that “all products sold into Canada have lour for easy monitoring and are available in universal sizes. a CSA [Canadian Standards Association] class as well as an Shape of things NRR identified, and customers do select hearing protection At first glance, shape may be regarded as a feast for the eyes, based on these ratings.” but it can be equally beneficial to the ears.

Noise ratings are not a measure of the protection received In 2009, Dentec Safety Specialists in Newmarket, Ontario by the user, Dr. Schulz explains. “Noise ratings are measured released a new pre-molded earplug with a spherically curved to show what that protector can provide, not what it does proflange design that was about far more than looks. It can con- vide,” she advises.

Hard on the Heart

Beyond the potentially devastating and debilitating effects of permanent hearing loss, a new cross-sectional study out of British Columbia hints at a link between chronic exposure to occupational noise and heart disease.

Researchers note the exposure was strongly associated with prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD), especially for young, male current smokers. “This study suggests that excess noise exposure in the workplace is an important occupational health issue and deserves special attention,” notes the abstract, published online in October in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Noise exposure assessments for the 6,307 participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 19992004 were based on self-reported exposure to loud noise on the job. All participants were 20 years of age or older.

Compared with never-exposed participants, subjects chronically exposed to occupational noise had a two- to three-fold increased prevalence of angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, CHD and isolated diastolic hypertension.

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Get smart Carefully weighing factors when selecting equipment, clearly, is the smart thing to do. But some equipment itself is getting downright intelligent.

Intelligent hearing protection includes electronic earmuffs, which amplify quiet sounds, but still protect against impulsive noise, says Dr. Schulz.

Nacre, a brand offered by Sperian Hearing Protection, has teamed up with the international energy company, Statoil, and SINTEF, Scandinavia’s largest independent research organization. The partners are working to create the next generation of intelligent hearing protection and communication technologies for use in the offshore oil and gas industry, notes a joint statement issued last July.

“Workers on offshore oil platforms and other extreme environments face the risk of not only permanent hearing loss from exposures to high levels of hazardous noise over extended periods of time, but also challenges in maintaining adequate levels of speech communication and situational awareness, which are essential to maintaining safety,” it adds.

Innovative solutions Dr. Schulz points to a number of innovations in hearing protection. For hearing-impaired workers, electronic earmuffs will amplify ambient sounds. When a hazardous level is reached, she says, “the amplification cuts off and the muff is now a passive earmuff.”

3M Company offers products that combine the high performance of a passive earmuff with advanced electronics.

Workers are able to clearly hear low-level sounds, but should Full Care

Care and maintenance are critical to ensuring that a hearing protector protects as intended. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety in Hamilton, Ontario offers the following tips: • Follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

• Check hearing protection regularly for wear.

• R eplace ear cushions or earplugs if they are found to be no longer pliable.

• R eplace a unit when head bands are so stretched they do not keep ear cushions snugly against the head.

• Disassemble earmuffs to clean.

• W ash earmuffs with a mild liquid detergent in warm water, and then rinse them in clean warm water. Ensure that the sound-attenuating material inside the ear cushions does not get wet.

• U se a soft brush to remove skin oil and dirt that can harden ear cushions.

• S queeze excess moisture from earplugs or cushions, placing them on a clean surface to air dry.

52

3

Left: These earmuffs offer an AM/FM radio and a reflective headband that glows when exposed to light. Below: Corded earplugs offer users easy access to protection.

dangerous noises occur, the electronics limit the noise.

These tactical products provide protection in high-noise environments, and models are also available to interface with two-way radios.

Guarding against potentially dangerous levels is also the goal of 3M’s noise indicator, says Borst. The small, lightweight device “clips to a wearer’s shirt or can be worn on a lanyard and flashes green when below 85 dB and red when above 85 dB.” Active noise reduction could provide a solution for workers whose exposures are fairly constant, low-frequency hazardous noise. Available with both earmuffs and earplugs, Dr. Schulz explains that the technology includes “a microphone that analyzes the incoming noise, turns it 180 degrees out of phase and rebroadcasts it into the ear canal so that the sound waves are acoustically cancelled.”

BKK Enterprises in Dryden, Ontario distributes ZEM hearing protection, which uses a patented technology for sound cancellation. The technology is well-suited for damaging noise environments, such as manufacturing, utility work, construction, landscaping, airlines and woodworking.

Sonically sealed chambers form a vacuum that pulls harmful sounds away from the sensitive ear anatomy, the company notes. It reduces low-frequency noise, the noise that masks speech and important sounds or alerts, the information adds.

“Because noise reduction is even and highly effective, speech communication is neither masked nor distorted,” the company adds.

There is also a trend to offer products that appeal to workers who will make up the work force of tomorrow. For example, 3M Canada has released headsets for people who want hearing protection while listening to the radio or an MP3 player. These limit the audio output to 82 dB plus offer a CSA Class A rating or an NRR of 26 dB. Also with a view to the future, Moldex in Culver City, California is offering what it says is the only line of hearing products and packaging that are PVC-free. “Toxic chemicals associated with [polyvinyl chloride] disposal in landfills and incinerators have been linked to a wide range of health hazards,” notes information from the company.

The CCOHS recommends that employers provide workers a choice of gear — as long as it can do the job — to ensure hearing is protected and worker acceptance maximized.

Angela Stelmakowich is editor of

ohs canada.

photos: left - sperian hearing protection; right - 3m canada

The CCOHS cites information from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in the United States. If fit data are not available, NIOSH recommends derating hearing protectors by a factor that corresponds to the available real-world data. For earmuffs, subtract 25 per cent from the manufacturer’s labelled NRR; for formable earplugs, subtract 50 per cent; and for all other earplugs, subtract 70 per cent, the agency notes.

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3M E-A-Rfit Validation System ™

™

E-A-Rfit Validation ™

3M, E-A-R, E-A-Rfit and Leading The Advancement of Hearing Conservation are trademarks of 3M. Used under license in Canada. © 2011, 3M. All Rights Reserved. BA-10-15454 1011-04045 E

System

Fit Testing For Hearing Protectors Test results in less than 10 seconds per ear, the 3M E-A-Rfit Validation System generates a Personal Attenuation Rating (PAR) for each worker.

This simple, in-the-field test system can enhance your hearing conservation program in a variety of ways: ™

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· Assists selection of appropriate protectors for workers & environments · Provides tool for training proper insertion techniques · Helps identify workers receiving inadequate protection, leaving them at risk for Standard Threshold Shifts (STS) · Can document retraining of hearing protector fitting as required for workers with STS

Now easier than ever with the NEW E-A-Rfit User Support Website and FREE online training. ™

For more information and to see a video, visit www.E-A-Rfit.com Follow us on facebook.com/Hear3M for news and alerts on hearing compliance management.

Regulatory and Technical Expertise

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an advertising feature PRODUCT SHOWCASE

Free Booklet Eliminates the Confusion of Choosing Cut Protection

Before you invest time and money in highly specialized – and expensive – cut-resistant gloves, you should know a thing or two. But where do you find the information you need?

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To order a free copy of The Superior Book of Cut Protection, go to: http://www.superiorglove.com/sales/index.asp or contact: info@superiorglove.com Toll free: 800-265-7617 SUPERIOR GLOVE For more information, circle No. 102

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A D V E R T I S I N G D I R E C T O RY

www.ohscanada. com

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www.msanet.com For ad see page 37

www.dentecsafety.com For ad see page 33

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READER REPLY CARD FOR QUICK RESPONSE FAX (416) 510-6875 Name:_________________________________Title:__________________________________ Company:____________________________________________________________________ Address: _____________________________________________________________________

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City:___________________________________Province:______________________________ Postal Code:_____________________________E-Mail:________________________________ Co. Telephone #: Co. Fax# :

Number of employees at this location: j 1-9 j 10-19 j 20-49 j 50-99 j 100-249 j 250-499 j 500-999 j 1000+ INFORMATION WANTED FOR (CHECK ONE): A j Immediate purchase B j Future purchase C j Reference purpose D j Other

PLEASE SEND ME FREE INFORMATION ON THE ITEMS I HAVE CIRCLED BELOW. 2 0 1 0 L K J I H G F E D C B A

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TIME OUT

Go fetch: An Air Canada cargo handler had his driving privileges stalled in October after a dog made its way out of the terminal and onto an active runway. The Winnipeg Free Press reported at the time that the dog managed to escape from its crate, prompting the veteran worker and two others to board a small vehicle called a tug to catch up with the wayward canine. Two workers exited the tug before it reached the runway, but the cargo handler continued on. This represented a breach of airport procedure and landed the worker in the doghouse. His driving privileges were suspended for a week and he must retake tests to drive at the airport. The dog, for its part, was corralled and returned to its container.

Cheque this out: Failing to “pay the bills” recently

left a lasting impression in the form of charred remains of a family home. In October, MSNBC reported a Tennessee man could only stand by and watch as his home went up in flames because firefighters would not douse the blaze. The man’s grandson had been burning trash when the fire spread and the house was ignited. The owner called 9-1-1, but was informed that because he had not paid a US$75 fee for fire protection, emergency crews would not respond. Firefighters did show up later, but only to attend to the threat to a nearby home. The secondary fire was addressed while the primary blaze was allowed to burn.

Lap of luxury: Buyer beware. A Florida man has been

awarded US$650,000 after an overly enthusiastic lap dance went horribly wrong in 2008. The man, a roofer by trade, continues to experience double vision after being poked in the eye by the heel of a shoe, QMI Agency reported in October. While getting his dance at the Cheetah Club, he sustained broken bones around his eye and nose when the dancer’s heel punctured his eye socket. He sued the nightclub and won, receiving the hefty settlement for his serious injuries.

Shhhh!: There’s nothing like a relaxing break from the

rigours of elementary school life: a chance to kick back, grab a snack and maybe share a little conversation. Not so at École Notre-Dame in Waterloo, Quebec, CBC News reported in October. Conversation is not on the menu, at least for the first 15 minutes of the students’ hour-plus-long lunch break, a move meant to inject some calm into what had become boisterous daily sessions. Beyond chewing, the only sound during all of this piping down is that of relaxing music piped through the school’s sound system. This “be seen, not heard” approach has rankled some parents, who started a petition to lift the ban on chatter. School board officials argue that students are more calm and happy, and the quiet tactic is being considered for other schools.

Paper trail: A survey from Organized Audrey, LLC in Minneapolis says office workers spend way too much time searching for misplaced documents. Forty-eight per cent of respondents said they use one to six hours a week trying to track down e-mails, project notes and files. “By learning the 58

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tools to manage your time and information, you can accomplish more, reduce stress and create a more organized, peaceful lifestyle,” the company notes. Managing e-mails was the biggest time-waster, with more than half of those polled saying they received as many as 75 each and every day.

Weighty options: A former McDonald’s franchise manager in Brazil has successfully sued the company for the extra weight he amassed while an employee. The Associated Press reported last fall that a Brazilian court awarded the former manager US$17,500 for the 30 kilograms he packed on over a dozen years. Noting that McDonald’s hired people to randomly visit restaurants to report on food, service and cleanliness, the man argued he was forced to sample the food.

In addition, the free lunches available to employees did little to help tip the scale to a more balanced position.

Nothing to sneeze at: New Brunswick’s health

department is borrowing some silliness from the past — if your nose is kinda runny and you think it’s very funny, but it’s not — to send a serious message: get a flu shot. The department recently came under fire over its “Snot Funny” television spot, which was none too shy about letting the mucous fly. CBC News notes the ad showed a young girl sneezing into the camera, leaving the screen splattered with green slime.

The image fades and is replaced by a voice saying that flu vaccinations are free for anyone aged six months to 18 years.

Fashion flop: Trying to wow that prospective employer? Perhaps a cat suit does not a power suit make. Jobseekers would be well-advised not to get dolled up in leather pants and cowboy boots, a micro-mini and fishnet stockings, or that most stylish of creations, Spandex. As part of an independent survey commissioned by OfficeTeam, a staffing service with 320 locations worldwide, 670 human resources managers in Canada and the United States were asked about the strangest outfits worn by job-seekers in interviews. There were plenty of fashion no-nos from which to choose: a tiedye T-shirt (groovy); a basketball jersey (sporty); pyjamas and slippers (sleepy); a blanket worn as a shawl (toasty); a sweat shirt and sweat pants (lazy); and a Star Trek T-shirt (spacey). “Ultimately, you want to project professionalism and confidence, and ensure your outfit isn’t distracting or causing employers to question your judgement,” says Robert Hosking, executive director of OfficeTeam.

When pigs fly: Having a gas pipeline as a neighbour

can be a concern because of the potential for a leak, or even an explosion. But what about flying pigs? The full force of this hazard recently revealed itself in Texas, WFAA reported in October. A device called a pig, which is used to pressure test a pipeline under construction, was launched out of the end of a pipe. This little piggy, weighing in at 70 kilograms, beelined toward a house 150 metres away and slammed into a bedroom. The direct hit caused considerable damage, but fortunately, the room was unoccupied.

ohs canada

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Circle number 27 on Reader Service Card

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3M is Hearing Protection

3M, E-A-R, Classic, Peltor, E-A-Rfit, NoisePro, and SoundPro are trademarks of 3M. Used under license in Canada. © 2011, 3M. All Rights Reserved. 1011-04044 E BA-10-15455

3M is Health

Safety

&

Leading The Advancement Of Hearing Conservation Hundreds of thousands of Canadians work in hazardous noise on a daily basis.

These workers need to protect their ears from too much sound today so they can enjoy their hearing tomorrow. From top-selling hearing protection (E-A-R™ Classic™ Earplugs or 3M™ Peltor™ Earmuffs) to advanced communications and hearing protection headsets (3M™ Peltor™ Powercom 2-Way Radio Headsets) to earplug fit-test equipment (E-A-Rfit™ Validation Systems), next generation noise measurement (3M™ Noise

For Free Earplug Samples & Other Hearing Protection Tools Visit www.3MisHealthandSafety.ca or call 1 800 265-1840 (ext. 2456) 3M Canada Occupational Health and Environmental Safety Service and Technical Support Centre

Indicators, Quest NoisePro™ Dosimeters and SoundPro™ Sound Level Meters) or ever-helpful user training tools, 3M can help your organization implement an effective hearing conservation program and help your employees protect their hearing future.

No matter the application, you’ll find what you need because 3M is Health & Safety.

1 800 267-4414

Follow us on facebook.com/Hear3M for news and alerts on hearing compliance management.

or visit 3M.ca/Safety

Regulatory and Technical Expertise

Respiratory Protection

Eye Protection

Protective Clothing

Hearing Protection

Active Communication

Welding Protection

Fall Protection

Head and Face Protection

Sorbents

Training and Services

Circle number 28 on Reader Service Card

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