OCCUSAFE UPDATE
Monthly Round Up of Important Ideas and Standards in
Industrial Hygiene and Safety
December 2012
OCCUSAFE WISHES YOU A SAFE AND HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON!
IN THIS ISSUE: Save Lives with a Carbon Monoxide Detector
Each winter, families are injured or killed by carbon monoxide poisoning. The culprit is usually a faulty furnace that releases the deadly gas into the home, poisoning the air. Carbon monoxide can also be a problem if combustion fumes produced by cars and trucks, small gasoline engines, stoves, lanterns, burning charcoal and wood, and gas ranges, are used in a confined space. People and animals in these spaces can be poisoned by breathing in the fumes. Carbon monoxide, when inhaled and combined with hemoglobin in the blood, does not allow oxygen to be transported in the blood.
Carbon monoxide poisoning can be difficult to detect, therefore prevention is always best. Symptoms include headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. High levels of exposure can cause loss of consciousness and death. Persons who are intoxicated while sleeping may never wake up before experiencing symptoms.
“Families can protect themselves from carbon monoxide with a few easy steps,” explains Gary R. Ticker, CIH, CSP of OccuSafe, Inc. “They should have furnaces inspected annually, never bring a heater into the house that is not designed for indoor use, and install carbon monoxide detectors next to entrances to bedrooms.”
Carbon monoxide detectors can be inexpensively purchased at any hardware store or home center and should be placed at the entry to each bedroom. When activated they release an audible alarm.
“Many companies provide or subsidize smoke and carbon monoxide alarms for workers’ homes,” explains Ticker, “They are great gifts for the holidays and show that you care about someone’s health and welfare.”
For more information on this topic and to discuss your company’s safety and industrial hygiene needs call OccuSafe at (214) 662-6005 or visit us at www.occusafeinc.com.
OccuSafe Environmental and Safety, Inc. provides skills and expertise to recognize, evaluate and control hazards and injuries in the areas of industrial hygiene, occupational safety and health. OccuSafe services companies of all sizes in a range of industries.
This newsletter is published monthly by OccuSafe Environmental and Safety Services, Inc. Feel free to forward it to friends and colleagues.
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