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Housekeeping And Personal Hygiene Practices
Fact Sheet No. OSHA 93-49 Lead Exposure in Construction HOUSEKEEPING AND PERSONAL HYGIENE PRACTICES Lead is a cumulative and persistent toxic substance that poses a serious health risk. A rigorous housekeeping program and adherence to basic personal hygiene practices will minimize employee exposure to lead. In addition, these two elements of the worker protection program will help to prevent taking lead- contaminated dust out of the worksite and home to the workers' families, thus ensuring that the duration of lead exposure does not extend beyond the workshift and providing added protection to employees and their families. Housekeeping An effective housekeeping program involves at least daily removal of accumulations of lead dust and lead-containing debris. Vacuuming lead dust with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA)- filtered equipment or wetting it with water before sweeping are effective control measures. Such cleaning operations should be conducted, whenever possible, at the end of the day, after normal operations cease. Furthermore, all persons doing the cleanup should be provided with suitable respiratory protection and personal protective clothing to prevent contact with lead. In addition, all lead-containing debris and contaminated items accumulated for disposal should be collected and put into sealed impermeable bags or other closed impermeable containers. Bags and containers should be appropriately labeled as lead-containing waste. These measures are especially important as they minimize additional sources of exposure that engineering controls generally are not designed to control. Personal Hygiene Practices To minimize exposure to lead, special attention should be given to workers' personal hygiene. The employer must provide and ensure that workers use washing facilities. Clean change areas, and separate non-contaminated eating areas must also be provided. Cars should be parked where they will not be contaminated with lead. These measures will reduce the worker's period of exposure to lead and the ingestion of lead, ensure that the duration of lead exposure does not extend beyond the workshift, significantly reduce the movement of lead from the worksite, and provide added protection to employees and their families. Change Areas: The employer must provide a clean change area equipped with storage facilities for street clothes and a separate area with facilities for the removal and storage of lead-contaminated protective work clothing and equipment. This separation is essential in preventing cross contamination of the employee's clothing. Clean change areas are to be used for taking off street clothes, suiting up in clean working clothes (protective clothing), donning respirators prior to beginning work, and dressing in street clothes after work. No lead-contaminated items should enter this area. Work clothing must not be worn away from the job site. Under no circumstances shall lead-contaminated work clothes be laundered at home or taken from the worksite, except to be laundered professionally or properly disposed of following applicable Federal, state, and local regulations. Showers: When there is potential for extensive contamination of the employees' skin, hair, and protective clothing, shower facilities must be provided if feasible so that exposed employees can wash lead from their skin and hair prior to leaving the worksite. Where showers are provided, employees must change out of their work clothes and shower before changing into their street clothes and leaving the worksite. Workers who do not change into clean clothing before leaving the worksite may contaminate their homes and automobiles with lead dust. Other members of the household may then be exposed to harmful amounts of lead. Personal Practices (eating, drinking, etc.): The employer must ensure that employees who work with lead either clean or remove their protective clothing and wash their hands and face prior to eating, drinking, smoking or applying cosmetics and that these latter practices are never permitted while in the work area or in areas subject to the accumulation of lead. HEPA vacuuming can be used to remove loose contamination from the work clothing prior to eating. Washing Facilities: Adequate washing facilities shall be provided for employees. Such facilities shall be in near proximity to the worksite and provided with water, soap, and clean towels to enable employees to remove lead contamination from their skin. Contaminated water from washing facilities and showers must be disposed of in accordance with applicable local, state, or federal regulations. End-of-Day Procedures: Workers who are exposed to lead should follow these procedures upon finishing work for the day: Place disposable coveralls and shoe covers with the lead waste; Place lead-contaminated clothes, including work shoes, and personal protective equipment for laundering/cleaning (by the employer) in a closed container; Take a shower and wash hair; and Change into street clothes. This is one of a series of fact sheets highlighting U.S. Department of Labor programs. It is intended as a general description only and does not carry the force of legal opinion.

Workplace Fire Safety
WORKPLACE FIRE SAFETY by Bill Grieb Fire safety is important business. National Fire Prevention Week in October focuses on the importance of fire safety in the home, in schools, and at work. But fire safety in the workplace is the principal focus of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) -- and saving lives and preventing injuries due to fire is a key concern. According to National Safety Council figures, losses due to workplace fires exceed $3 billion. Workplace fires result in an estimated 360 deaths every year. There is a long and tragic history of workplace fires in this country. One of the most notable was the 1911 fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City, in which nearly 150 women and young girls died because of locked fire exits and an inadequate fire extinguishing system. History has repeated itself in the Hamlet, NC fire, where 25 workers died in a poultry-processing plant. There, too, problems involved the fire exits and extinguishing systems. In its workplace inspections, OSHA checks to see whether employers are complying with its standards for fire safety. TYPES OF FIRES Class A - Ordinary combustible materials, wood, paper, etc. Treat with water (cooling) or dry chemicals (coating). Class B - Flammable liquids, gases, and greases. Treat by excluding air with carbon dioxide, etc. Respirators may be required if the firefighters' fresh air supply is threatened. Class C - Electrical fires. Treat with nonconductive extinguishing agent. Class D - Combustible and reactive metals such as magnesium. Treat with nonreactive heat-absorbing extinguishing medium. Maine 200 Not long ago, OSHA instituted the Maine 200 program. About 200 companies worked with OSHA to improve safety. Employers received federal assistance in developing health and safety programs and were assured that inspections had a low priority. According to a White House press release, employers identified more than 14 times as many hazards as could have been cited by OSHA inspectors. Approximately 60% of the participating businesses reduced injury and illness rates. OSHA looks for the following: 1. Management commitment 2. Employee participation 3. Hazard identification effort 4. Correction and documentation 5. Training for employees and supervisors 6. Reduction of illness and injury The Maine 200 approach has proved cost effective in reducing workplace injury and illness. The program is being expanded by OSHA. Fire Causes The main hazards that result in fire are: Smoking Electrical Poor Housekeeping Grease (cooking, industrial, etc.) Spontaneous combustion Friction-for example, overheating bearings Explosion of vapors, dust, atomized liquids or gases Chemical reactions Fire requires three things: fuel, heat, and oxygen. Removal of any of these will prevent or stop a fire. There are five steps in fire prevention and protection: engineering; planning; training; inspection; and follow-up. ENGINEERING The first step in fire prevention is to engineer the site for fire prevention and protection. This includes attention to layout, design, construction, and materials. Automatic and manually operated fixed-sprinkler or extinguisher systems may be installed. Process and work flow should be analyzed for contribution to fire hazard or inhibition of effective response. PLANNING The second step is development, documentation, and communication of emergency response plans. Plans should include: Responsibilities of management, supervisors, employees, public Response resources, including sprinklers and extinguishers, by-pass, shutdown, and reservoir systems Response personnel duties, training, and tools Coordination with public resources such as fire departments and their equipment and facilities such as fire hydrants Means of sounding alarm and communication with affected persons Isolation and containment planning Planning and resources for disabled and others Evacuation-locally, horizontally (nearby areas), and globally Shut-down procedures and back-up systems Emergency communication systems First aid provisions and training Provision of water, food, clothing, and shelter as needed TRAINING The third step is employee and public training: Are postings appropriate, understandable, and adequate? Are employees trained to identify and respond to emergency situations? Are designated employees trained to participate in response to fire emergencies? Are reviews and drills conducted as appropriate? INSPECTION The fourth step is regular inspection to: Ensure compliance with plans Test systems and extinguishers Verify adequacy of postings Review response capability and training Identify new or existing hazards Effect and verify improvements FOLLOW-UP The fifth step includes: Maintain watch after fire is extinguished Account for all personnel and public Secure the site, facilities, equipment, and materials Search affected areas for hazards (plumbing, electrical, structural, hazardous material or fire by-products) and report findings Identify causes and effect changes to prevent recurrence Report as appropriate to management, government, and public OSHA FIRE SAFETY REQUIREMENTS OSHA standards require employers to develop evacuation and prevention plans. Employers must provide proper exits, employee training, and fire-fighting equipment. Emergency Evacuation Planning Each employer needs to have a written emergency action plan for evacuating employees. This would describe the routes to use and procedures to be followed by employees, as well as procedures for accounting for all the evacuees. When appropriate, special procedures for helping physically impaired employees must also be addressed, and the plan must include procedures for the employees who temporarily remain behind to shut down critical plant equipment. Means of alerting employees to a fire emergency must be part of the plan. An employee alarm system-voice communication or sound signals such as bells, whistles, or horns-must be available throughout the workplace complex for use in an evacuation. Employees must know the evacuation signal. The written plan must be available for employee review. Fire Prevention Plan Employers need to implement a written fire prevention plan to complement the fire evacuation plan. After all, heading off the occurrence of fires is the most efficient way to handle them. Make the written plan available for employee review. Housekeeping procedures for storage and cleanup of flammable materials and waste must be included in the plan. The recycling of flammable waste such as paper is encouraged; however, handling and packaging procedures must be included in the plan. Procedures for controlling workplace ignition sources such as smoking, welding, and burning must be addressed in the plan. Heat-producing equipment such as burners, heat exchangers, boilers, ovens stoves, fryers, and so on must be properly maintained and kept clear of accumulations of flammable residue; flammables should never be stored close to these pieces of equipment. Building Fire Exits Each workplace building should have at least two means of escape to be used in a fire emergency, and they should be remote from each other. Fire doors must not be blocked or locked when employees are within the building. A delayed opening of fire doors is permitted when an approved alarm system is integrated into the door design. Exit routes from buildings must be clear and free of obstructions and properly marked with exit signs. Employee Training All employees should be apprised of the potential fire hazards of their job and trained in what to do in an emergency. Employers must review the fire prevention and evacuation plans with newly assigned employees-and with all employees when the plan is changed. Portable Fire Extinguishers Each workplace building must have a full complement of proper fire extinguishers. Employees intended to use fire extinguishers must be instructed on the hazards of fighting fire, how to operate the available fire extinguishers properly, and the procedures to follow in alerting others to an emergency. Only approved fire extinguishers are permitted for workplace use, and they must be kept in good operating condition. Proper maintenance and inspection of this equipment are required. When the employer wishes to evacuate employees instead of having them fight small fires, there must be written emergency plans and employee training for proper evacuation. Fire-Suppression System Properly designed and installed fixed fire-suppression systems enhance fire safety in the workplace. Automatic sprinkler systems throughout the workplace are among the most reliable of these. The fire sprinkler system detects the fire, sounds an alarm, and sprays water at the fire's location. Automatic fire-suppression systems require proper maintenance to keep them in serviceable condition. When it's necessary to take a fire-suppression system out of service while business continues, the employer must temporarily substitute a fire watch of trained employees standing by to respond quickly to any fire emergency in the area. The fire watch must correlate to the employer's fire prevention plan and emergency action plan. Signs must be posted about areas protected by total-flooding fire-suppression systems. These use agents that are a serious health hazard, such as carbon dioxide, Halon 1211, etc. Such automatic systems must be equipped with pre-discharge alarm systems in the area to warn employees of the impending discharge and allow time for evacuation. An emergency action plan should provide for the safe evacuation of employees from the protected area. Such plans are to be part of the facility's overall evacuation plan. FIRE SAFETY RULES ... A-C-T, DON'T PANIC! A - ASSESS THE SITUATION Identify the hazards: nature, degree, and auxiliary hazards Determine who is threatened: co-workers, other employees, the public C - CHOOSE YOUR RESPONSE Select action level Individual action: extinguish a small contained fire Limited response involving others Major response with fire and rescue department T - TAKE ACTION SOUND THE ALARM Warn co-workers and public Call, meet, and direct fire department Report to management EVACUATE Evacuation rules: maintain order Do not use elevators; help others If caught in smoke: breathe through nose in quick short breaths and crawl along floor Move to inside handrail of stairways, move in single file Do not impede firefighters and other responders Do not block stairways, exits, etc. Do not reenter until told to do so Move threatened vehicles RESPONDING TO A FIRE Isolate the area as much as possible by closing doors, etc. Shut off required machinery, power, and gas Activate automatic and/or manual fire extinguishers Attempt to extinguish fire if it can be done without risk to your safety Use extinguishers, hoses and equipment only if you are trained to operate them safely and effectively Use respirators as needed after receiving proper training GENERAL FIRE PREVENTION RULES Smoking should be limited to certain areas, and the limitations should be enforced. Use only the ashtrays and containers provided in smoking areas. All electrical cords should be inspected regularly. Do not overload electrical circuits. If an electrical cord becomes warm, disconnect any attached appliances and report it immediately. Keep the environment clean. Don't allow paper to pile up. Don't allow boxes or furniture to lie in aisles or at exits. Don't block self-closing doors. Printed with permission from Safety Information Currents, vol. IV, issue 10.