August 2022 Safety Update

Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation sent this bulletin at 08/04/2022 11:05 AM EDT

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BWC Featured Items

New Resource – Poison Hemlock
BWC Safety Consultant Greg Harmon discusses the dangers of poison hemlock, how to identify it, and what you should do if you come into contact. To speak with a safety consultant, schedule a free consultation today.

Safety Services Catalog
BWC’s Safety Services Catalog lists the safety services and programs available to employers. They are available as part of your workers’ compensation premium. The 2022-2023 catalog was released with new courses.

Substance Use Recovery and Workplace Safety Program
The nation’s substance use epidemic touches us all, including the business community. Employers have jobs to fill but hesitate to hire workers with a drug-use history. This video shows how the Substance Use Recovery and Workplace Safety Program can help you more effectively manage substance use issues in the workplace.

BWC Safety Webinars
Assistance and Resources from Ohio EPA and OSHA's On-Site Consultation Program, August 9, 2022 10-11 a.m.
Better You, Better Ohio! A Health & Wellness Program, August 9, 2022 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Better You, Better Ohio! Wellness Webinar, August 18, 2022 10 - 10:30 a.m.

Virtual Training
Safety Series Workshop Module 1: Introduction to OSHA Requirements and Safety Culture Basics, August 10, 2022 9:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Wellness in the Workplace, August 17, 2022 9:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Health Hazards and Toxicology Fundamentals, August 24-25, 2022 9:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.

BWC Library Question of the Month
A question received by the library over the past month with our response.

Question:
Under OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard 1910.1030, employees being trained on bloodborne pathogens must be able to interact with a qualified trainer and ask questions while taking the training per 1910.1030(g)(2)(vii)(N). What about employees doing virtual/online bloodborne pathogens training? Is there a way to fulfill the requirements of this section by providing electronic/phone access to a qualified trainer to answer questions that may arise?

Answer:
There are a total of six OSHA Letters of Interpretation (LOI) for this section, and you should read all of them to understand OSHA’s opinion on the matter. They address the issue of virtual/online bloodborne pathogens training and ways to fulfill the requirement for immediate access to a qualified trainer: Interlinking | Occupational Safety and Health Administration (osha.gov)

In this LOI, OSHA states that providing access to a hotline for employees to ask a qualified trainer questions is adequate, although it doesn’t really define what “hotline” is. In this LOI, OSHA states that using email to answer submitted questions while an employee is being trained is allowed only if the questions are answered immediately when they are asked. The LOIs for 1910.1030(g)(2)(vii)(N) stress that questions must be answered immediately by a qualified trainer, no matter the method, at the time that they are asked. The LOIs warn that employers who do not provide immediate answers to employees during bloodborne pathogens training could be found in violation of this requirement.

If you need help with understanding requirements for bloodborne pathogens training, including questions about providing access to qualified trainers during virtual/online training, contact BWC Safety Consultants. Consultation services are free for those with a BWC policy. Find out more on our website.

If you have question related to occupational safety and health, email the library at library@bwc.state.oh.us.

Other News

Safe + Sound Week 2022
Join OSHA in celebration of Safe + Sound Week, Aug. 15-21, 2022. The nationwide event is held each August recognizing the successes of workplace health and safety programs and offering information and ideas on how to keep America's workers safe. The Safe + Sound Week website has information on how to develop and promote your program and a map of event locations across the US.

Trenching Safety Emphasis
OSHA announced a new effort to protect workers from deadly trench collapses in July. Trenching fatalities increased at an alarming rate during the first half of 2022, surpassing last year's total. The Ohio BWC Trench Safety Ohio webpage has information to keep your workers safe when working in trenches.

Safety Pays!
Do you know the cost of an occupational injury or illness? OSHA has multiple tools to help employers estimate costs from workplace injuries. Use the tools on the OSHA Safety Pays webpage to estimate the effect of all injuries and illnesses on your business and find out how much a specific injury could cost your business.

New Temporary Worker Best Practices
NIOSH and several partners released a new resource, Protecting Temporary Workers: Best Practices for Host Employers, with detailed best practices organized into three areas:

1) How to evaluate and address workplace safety and health in a written contract
2) Training for temporary workers and their worksite supervisors
3) Injury and illness reporting, response, and recordkeeping.

For more information: The National Occupational Research Agenda Services Sector Council is hosting a release webinar on August 30, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EST to provide an overview of the best practices contained within this new document.

New NIOSH Publication on Workplace Violence
This report presents the most recent data on fatal and nonfatal workplace violence and was produced jointly by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The report provides data on 13 indicators of workplace violence, which include characteristics of workplace homicides, characteristics of nonfatal workplace violence, nonfatal injuries due to workplace violence treated in emergency departments, and nonfatal injuries due to workplace violence resulting in days off work.

Temporary Worker Safety
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), along with several partners, including the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA), has recently released a set of new best practice materials to better protect temporary workers on the job. Educational materials include a document titled “Protecting Temporary Workers: Best Practices for Host Employers,” a set of checklists, and a fully notated PowerPoint presentation.

HazCom Webinar
Join Safety+Health on August 4 at 1:00 p.m. EST for a free webinar titled “The Ins and Outs of HazCom Training: What You Need to Know to Stay Compliant.” This webinar will delve into what OSHA’s HazCom 1910.1200 standard requires when it comes to training and break down the information into manageable pieces.

Safety Leadership Webinar
Join EHS Today on August 15 at 2:00 p.m. EST for a free webinar titled “What Exactly Is a Safety Leader?” In this webinar, EHS will explore the traits, struggles, and commonalities of safety leaders across the industry.

Brake Safety Week
Aug. 21-27 are the dates for this year’s Brake Safety Week. Brake Safety Week is an annual commercial motor vehicle brake-safety inspection, enforcement and education initiative conducted by law enforcement jurisdictions in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. During Brake Safety Week, inspectors perform announced and unannounced brake system inspections. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance releases the data in the Fall.

Tap Water Safety
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. adults and found that many believed that tap water is sterile and safe to use for rinsing contact lenses and to fill medical devices such as CPAPs. This is unsafe, tap water is not sterile and is not safe to use in this way. When used for medical purposes (e.g., nasal rinsing) unsterile tap water can result in infections.

The Ohio BWC Library of BWC’s Division of Safety & Hygiene compiles and distributes this newsletter each month.  

Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation

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Established in 1912, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation is the exclusive provider of workers’ compensation insurance in Ohio, serving 249,000 public and private employers. With nearly 1,600 employees and assets of approximately $25 billion, BWC is one of the largest state-run insurance systems in the United States. For more, visit www.bwc.ohio.gov.