Tag Archives: conservation

General Safety Issues, Hearing Protection

EFFECTIVE HEARING CONSERVATION IN THE WORKPLACE (GUEST POST)

Occupational hearing loss is an important issue that employers must not only acknowledge but also take precautionary measures to prevent. When your employees work in a dangerously loud environment, without preventive measures in place, they are risking their health and safety on your watch. You may be surprised to know that an environment only needs to have a noise level of 85 db to begin causing damage to the human ear.

A kitchen blender, diesel truck, and city traffic all fall within this range; a noise level most of us don’t think twice about. It only takes a few hours of unprotected hearing before this range (or higher) begins to do irreversible damage. Here are a few examples of ways your company can promote hearing conservation in the workplace.

Provide Employees with Hearing Protection
Hearing protection should be compulsory for employees in all noisy areas. This is made easier when employers have ample hearing protection available that is conveniently located in an area proceeding a workplace with higher noise levels. Mark the area clearly with signs. Consider holding a safety class to educate employees on noise levels in their workplace, proper ways to use the hearing protection, and the risk they take if they choose not to use it.

Decrease Workplace Noise Level
As well as promoting hearing protection awareness in the workplace, you can also take steps to decrease the amount of noise as a whole. Setting a noise target will help your company create a plan, and you will be able to make adjustments accordingly. Consider upgrading older equipment and machinery to quieter newer models and purchase new machinery that has noise control as part of its intended design. Simpler, less expensive measures can also be taken to effectively lower noise in the workplace. Carpeting or other types of noise barrier between certain machinery and employees can be effective at reducing noise levels.

Create Hearing Protection Zones
By clearly marking zones with higher noise levels, workplace hearing awareness will be increased. As a responsible employer, hearing protection should be required in any marked zone. The hearing protection zone should have clear signs that not only mark the area as a dangerous noise area, but also remind employees to use their hearing protection before entering.

Initiate a Workplace Safety Code
To strengthen the importance of workplace safety within your company, you may wish to consider including an official addition on hearing conservation and safety in general in your company code of conduct. Not only does this reinforce safety protocol, but it shows that your company takes employee safety very serious.

Excessive noise does much more than cause hearing damage for your employees, studies have shown that working in a noisy environment increases stress levels, impacts emotional and psychological well-being, and lowers concentration. Chances are if  your company operates with a noisy workplace, employees concentrating on the job at hand is likely detrimental to job safety and the smooth running of the work environment. As an employer you are legally responsible for the well-being of the employees who work for you; hearing safety is vitally important for their safety and your own.

Jessica Galbraith is a writer who has worked in several workplaces under excessive noise. As an advocate for hearing conservation, she also runs a small business entrance mats enterprise.  Sent to us by Debbie Allen.

General Safety Issues

SOMETHING WE TAKE FOR GRANTED – WATER!

A large portion of the United States suffered a devastating drought this past summer.  As the old saying goes, “It’s either feast or famine!”  In addition to the results of little or no rain, this year’s drought caused a huge loss of wildlife and property because of wildfires throughout the state of Texas.   The drought we experienced made us realize how much we needed water for our tanks, lakes, and livestock, as well as our daily lives.  This past summer, there were small communities that ran out of water, and what they were going through was unbelievable.  In other areas of the U.S., there were floods, tornadoes, and other natural disasters.

We in America are very fortunate that we have clean, readily available water.    We need to appreciate our clean water and do all we can to get clean water to those who don’t have it.  Imagine watching a mother take her child to a muddy waterhole – one that is polluted, and see that child drink from it.  People over the world are dying, because their water is full of pollution and disease.  

The Importance of Water Conservation 

We Americans waste billions of gallons of water with no regard to the fact that many other people in countries across the world would fight over the very water that we waste.  We would probably all think a little more about water that is wasted, if we had to drink the water that other folks do.  Some are losing their lives because they have no water at all.  

Here are  ways that you can help the with conservation issue:

  • Take short showers.  If you run a little water for it to warm up, catch it and use it to water your plants.
  • If people leave water bottles around, and don’t finish drinking it, you can also use that to water plants.
  • Stop running the water while you brush your teeth, wash your hands or hair, and shower or bathe.
  • Most people don’t need a huge bathtub; it’s a nice luxury, but you get just as clean in a regular-sized one.
  • If you are fortunate enough to have a swimming pool, keep it covered, to keep out the dirt.
  • You might pay attention to the amount of water you use on your yard and try to cut down. 

The Importance of Water to Our Bodies! 

You cannot be truly healthy without the proper hydration of the body.  We should drink half our body weight in ounces, minimum each day.  If you weigh 200 lbs, you should consume 100 ounces of water.  Every organ in our body heavily depends on water to function properly and to its capacity.  According to an article posted by Bob McCauley, the human body is 69% water, the brain is 85% water, bones – 35% water, blood – 83% water, and the liver is 90% water. Also:

  • In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.
  • Mild dehydration will slow down metabolism as much as 3%. 
  • The biggest trigger of daytime fatigue is lack of water.
  • Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, breast cancer by 79%, and bladder cancer by 50%. 

Remember, you are not what you eat; you are what you drink.  Water is immensly important to your health.  If we change the way we drink, by drinking pure, natural water that is good for our health, we can help our pocket book and environment at the same time.  A common-sense theory by years of study by Dr. F. Batmagheldj, shows that water works well in keeping us healthy and pain free.  Even some illnesses can be cured by water, the basis of all life, especially, your body.  Our health truly depends on the quality and quantity of the water we drink.  If you sincerely want to have a healthy lifestyle, make drinking enough natural water a regular habit in your life.  You will feel the benefit in a short time.  Water is a free investment for your long-term health. 

With that, I am going to go fill up a tall glass of ice water; and cut my shower short tonight!  Let’s all think about conserving water, the elixir of life!