UV Information
For a six billion-year-old star that is 93 million miles away, the sun continues to be the talk of the day. Earlier this spring, with all the rain, we continually wondered if we would ever see the sun again. With excessive heat and sun during the last two weeks of June we wished the sun would back off a bit.
For all the happiness and good the sun can bring and do, like assisting our bodies in making vitamin D, which strengthens bones and teeth and helps our bodies build immunities to such diseases as Rickets and colon cancer, it can also cause a considerable amount of unhappiness and harm, especially to our over-exposed, unprotected skin.
Our skin, like wood siding on a house is designed to protect the insides from outside elements, but both the wood siding and our skin need protection as well to hold up under constant exposure, especially, to the ultraviolet (UV) rays the sun produces. Wood, without a protective coating, like stain or paint, soon dries out and cracks. Our skin reacts similarly from over exposure to UV rays. Melanin in our skin provides a natural protection against the harmful effects of UV rays, but it does not provide complete protection.
In 2005:
53,792 people in the United States were diagnosed with melanomas of the skin: 30,544 of them men and 23,248 of them women.
That same year:
8,345 people in the United States died of melanomas of the skin— 5,283 of them men and 3,062 of them women.
People with certain risk factors are more likely than others to develop skin cancer. Risk factors vary for different types of skin cancer, but some general risk factors are having any of the following: A lighter natural skin color; family history of skin cancer; personal history of skin cancer; exposure to the sun through work and play; history of sunburns early in life; skin that burns, freckles, reddens easily, or becomes painful in the sun; blue or green eyes; blond or red hair and or certain types and large number of moles.
Since we cannot engineer out or eliminate UV hazards in our industry, the next best way to combat UV rays is with bodily protection:
- Rub on generous amounts of sunscreen with a sun protective factor (SPF) of 30 or higher and reapply throughout the day.
- Wear safety glasses which filter out 99% of all harmful UV radiation.
- Wear a hat with a wide brim to shade the face, head, ears, and neck.
- Use lip protection with SPF at least 15.
Three Point Contact Rule
National Semi-annual reminder:
When mounting and dismounting trucks, equipment, and pickup beds, all you spring chickens please remember to maintain three points of contact.
In an effort to create stability when climbing up or down, whether it be a ladder, steps or foot holds on equipment, always maintain contact with two hands and a foot or two feet and a hand. This 3 point stability triangle helps reduce the chance of slipping and falling. If there is an item or piece of equipment that needs grab holds or footholds, let us know so we can add them.
Equipment Riders
Safety is all about reducing the risk of an incident happening.
Hitching a ride on construction equipment or hanging on the side of a dump truck is all about increasing the risk of an incident happening.
Let’s try to avoid such risky behaviors for your safety.
What's Wrong with the Picture?
Study the picture of the chlorine gas leak to see if you can identify any safety concerns?
See question one (1) on the survey questions and pick the best answer.
Hello, I'm Forrest Buesking (aka, Frosty)
I have been working for West Contracting for seven years. I am currently the operator for our Ultra Thin Asphalt (Nova Chip) Paving Machine that we affectionately refer to as “Christine.” You may remember the 80s horror movie by Stephen King about a possessed Plymouth Fury by the same name. Our machine has similar abnormalities.
This machine is really two machines rolled into one. It is a paving machine and a liquid asphalt distributor. Between the liquid asphalt, the diesel fuel and the hot mix asphalt, it is impossible to stay clean working around it.
One of the bigger safety concerns when operating this large machine is visibility. From the operator’s seat, visibility is very restricted. I rely on the ground men to signal me approval before operating the machine. We used headset walkie talkies for awhile to communicate, but have since developed a hand signal system that works well for us.
Another concern is the noise level. Hearing protection is highly recommended, if not mandatory. This is another reason why the hand signal method of communication is so important.
Last Month's Questions
Best answers are bolded for your review below
- What’s wrong (safety wise) in the picture of the man operating a grinding tool?
- Not wearing approved safety glasses or face shield when exposed to hazards from flying particles.
- Not wearing head protection where there appears to be overhead structures.
- Doubtful, man is wearing hearing protection.
- Definitely not wearing an approved dust mask or respirator.
- All of the above, plus probably more.
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is the first line of defense against hazards.
- True False X
- According to the newsletter, one of the key rules for flagging is always
keeping your back to traffic until it is stopped.
- True False X
