scholarly journals Underlying causal factors associated with construction worker fatalities involving stepladders

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aneurin Thomas James Grant ◽  
Jimmie Wayne Hinze
Keyword(s):  
Risk Behaviors ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Electrical Equipment ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Causal Factors ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Extreme Care

Stepladders are frequently utilized on construction projects as a means of access to elevation. Stepladder heights commonly range from 4 feet (1.2 m) to 14 feet (4.3 m). Since these heights are not extreme, there is a common misperception that stepladder use presents a low risk. On the contrary, extreme care must be exercised to ensure that work on stepladders is performed safely, as described in the conspicuously located recommendations and brightly-colored warnings that adorn virtually all newly-purchased equipment. Despite this, accidents involving stepladders occur on a regular basis.  This study was conducted to better understand the underlying causes of these accidents. The narrative descriptions of 180 stepladder-related fatalities were obtained from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and were analyzed to identify the at-risk behaviors that preceded the fatality incidents. The results showed that most of the incidents should have been anticipated and could have been avoided. Unsafe practices such as improper lockout-tagout of electrical equipment, loss of balance, working on a folded stepladder, over-reaching, straddling the ladder, “walking” the ladder, poor footing, and unstable/shifting ladders, among others were identified. Virtually all of these fatalities could have been avoided by adhering to the guidelines posted on the stepladders and by complying with basic safe construction practices. 

Causal Factors of Collision Accidents Involving Underground Coal Mobile Equipment

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Noll ◽  
Cory DeGennaro ◽  
Jacob Carr ◽  
Joseph DuCarme ◽  
Gerald Homce
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mine Safety ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Underground Coal Mining ◽  
Causal Factors ◽  
Detection Systems ◽  
Proximity Detection ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Underground Coal Mines

From 2000–2015, thirty-two fatalities occurred due to collisions involving mobile equipment in underground coal mining in the United States. Studies have shown that proximity detection systems (PDS) can be a potential mitigation strategy for this type of accident. However, the effectiveness of this approach for mobile equipment has yet to be fully studied or validated. Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) evaluated the causal factors of this type of fatality. Fatal accident reports from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) accident report database provided details to analyze and determine causal factors and to evaluate whether a PDS may have been a preventive factor in each accident. NIOSH researchers concluded that PDSs used in underground coal mines on mobile equipment which are designed to detect a miner, provide warning to the operator and other miners, and automatically stop the machine before a miner is hit may have helped to prevent 25 of the 32 or 78% of the accidents.

The Roles of Government in Protecting and Promoting Occupational and Environmental Health

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory R. Wagner ◽  
Emily A. Spieler
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Health ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Mine Safety ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Standards And Regulations ◽  
Regulatory Interventions ◽  
The Government ◽  
The U.S

This chapter discusses the roles of government in promoting occupational and environmental health, with a focus on the U.S. federal government. Governmental interventions, as described here, can range from non-regulatory interventions, such as dissemination of information or generation and communication of information, to establishing regulatory requirements through the promulgation and enforcement of standards and regulations. The chapter describes the U.S. laws and roles of the administrative agencies responsible for occupational and environmental health, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Noting the budgetary and political constraints on these federal agencies, the chapter goes on to discuss briefly the role of the public and the states. The government also plays a role when preventive efforts fail, and the chapter provides a brief summary of programs designed to provide compensation to injured workers.

scholarly journals Thermal Condition and Air Quality Investigation in Commercial Airliner Cabins

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7047
Author(s):  
Nu Yu ◽  
Yao Zhang ◽  
Mengya Zhang ◽  
Haifeng Li
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Thermal Conditions ◽  
Pressure Change ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Exposure Limit ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
The Us ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2

Cabin air quality and thermal conditions have a direct impact on passenger and flight crew’s health and comfort. In this study, in-cabin thermal environment and particulate matter (PM) exposures were investigated in four China domestic flights. The mean and standard deviation of the in-cabin carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in two tested flights are 1440 ± 111 ppm. The measured maximum in-cabin carbon monoxide (CO) concentration is 1.2 ppm, which is under the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) permissible exposure limit of 10 ppm. The tested relative humidity ranges from 13.8% to 67.0% with an average of 31.7%. The cabin pressure change rates at the end of the climbing stages and the beginning of the descending stages are close to 10 hPa·min−1, which might induce the uncomfortable feeling of passengers and crew members. PM mass concentrations were measured on four flights. The results show that PM concentrations decreased after the aircraft cabin door closed and were affected by severe turbulences. The highest in-cabin PM concentrations were observed in the oldest aircraft with an age of 13.2 years, and the waiting phase in this aircraft generated the highest exposures.

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