OCCUSAFE UPDATE
Monthly Round Up of Important Ideas and Standards in
Industrial Hygiene and Safety
January 2010
IN THIS ISSUE: Spanish for Industrial Hygiene and Safety Professionals
More and more workers who enter American industry speak only Spanish. Learning relevant phrases and vocabulary in Spanish can help safety professionals communicate better with employees, and that means a safer work environment.
“As safety professionals we are obligated to protect our employees,” explains Gary R. Ticker, CIH, CSP. “It’s important that we have a functional use of Spanish along with access to translators to ensure we’re doing just that.”
Here are some Spanish terms related to occupational health that may be helpful:
- Breathe: Respirar
- Cement: Cemento
- Check: Comprobar
- Chemical: Quimica
- Chrome: Cr0m9
- Dust: Polvo
- Ear: Oido
- Ear muff: Oreja
- Earplug: Orejera
- Eyes: Ojos
- Hazardous: Peligroso
- Health: Salud
- Lead: Plomo
- Lungs: Pulmones
- Machine: Maquina
- Manager: Gerente
- Noise: Ruido
- Paint (v): Pintar
- Pump: Pompa
- Respirator: respirador
- Safety: Seguridad
- Skin: Piel
- Stop (v): Parar
- Supervisor: Mangera
- Ventilation: Ventilacion
- Weld (v): Soldar
“As an industrial hygienist, these are words that I use all the time – in English and in Spanish,” says Ticker, “When creating your own list think about words that relate to your industry and the languages that your employees speak.”
Learning terms that are relevant to your work is simple. Your employees are an excellent resource as well as many free, online foreign language dictionaries that offer translation and accurate pronunciation. Memorize these words and keep them readily available to ensure clear communication and a safer workplace.
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 Industrial Hygiene & 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 Industrial Hygiene & Safety, Inc. Feel free to forward it to friends and colleagues.
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