Professional

D ECEMBER 2010

Safety JOURNAL OF THE

AMERICAN SOCIETY
OF SAFETY ENGINEERS

Worker
Fatigue
Effects in
Roadway
Work Zones
■ Postural
Control & Falls
The Influence
of Age
■ Best Practices
■
Preparing
for an OSHA
Inspection
Reach this advertiser at www.asse.org/links
 In the
Loop
Get Ready for an All-New mation on standards, and other news briefs and
Professional Safety stories of interest.
•PS Asks, interviews with industry experts, ASSE
R eimagined. Reinvented. Refreshed. That’s what
you’ll see when you receive the January 2011
issue of Professional Safety. You’ll see a new name-
leaders and members, and business executives. As
the year gets underway, we’ll be asking you to sug-
plate, new color palette, new departments and gest interview candidates and submit questions.
columns, and new page •Standards Insider, in-depth interviews with
layouts, all designed to SH&E professionals and industry representatives
provide you with the involved in the development of consensus standards.
latest information in an •Leading Thoughts, a column focused on leader-
inviting, fresh format. ship with regular contributors including Robert
Our goal in redesign- Pater and Matt Forck, as well as Mark Hansen and
ing the journal is pretty Eddie Greer, both former Society presidents.
straightforward. By •ASSE Connection, a column designed to help
updating the overall you get the most out of your ASSE membership.
design of PS and en- •PS Online, featuring poll results, links to PS Extra
hancing the appeal of content and chatter from ASSE’s online communities.
the editorial environ- While that certainly reflects a lot of change, one
ment, we want you to key element has not changed—the peer-reviewed
spend more time reading articles that are the hallmark of PS. Each month, you
and learning from each will continue to find the high-quality articles you rely
issue. Some things to on to address workplace challenges, develop effec-
look forward to in tive programs, improve safety management, and
January include: understand and apply the latest SH&E research.
•100th anniversary You’ll also find familiar elements such as Events,
foldout cover, celebrating highlighting upcoming continuing education oppor-
all things ASSE, includ- tunities; Product Pulse, featuring new SH&E prod-
ing special events, histor- ucts; Marketplace, promoting job openings and key
ical timelines, member services; and Etc. Etc. Etc., ending each issue on a
stories and reflections lighter note with humorous quotes, cartoons and the
from ASSE Fellows. Safety Photo of the Month. We will continue to fea-
•Safety Matters, a ture selections from the journal online each month,
free-flowing news sec- and full digital versions will continue to be available
tion where you’ll find in the members-only section of the ASSE website.
the latest industry news, regulatory updates, infor- Many things have changed since the first issue of
the Journal of the American Society of Safety Engineers,
the predecessor to PS, was published in
PS will February 1956. Yet the journal’s core mis-
unveil its sion has remained the same. As ASSE
new design President Edward Landry wrote in that
in January first issue:
2011. The Through [this] publication, we can
journal’s give safety engineers and others infor-
design has mation that will help them do a better
changed sev- job in the prevention of accidents, in-
eral times spire others to enter the profession,
since 1956. interest management officials to apply
But its core safety engineering more effectively in
mission, to their business operations, and better
better enable enable safety engineers and manage-
SH&E profes- ment to cope with the ever-increasing
sionals and technical complexity of hazards in the
management industrial community.
to cope with
PS has long been highly valued by
the ever-
ASSE members and others in the SH&E
increasing tech-
community. We’re confident you’ll find
nical complexity
the newly redesigned journal to be an
of hazards,
even more valuable resource for you and
remains the
other SH&E professionals around the
same.
world. When your January 2011 issue
arrives, be sure to let us know what you
think at professionalsafety@asse.org.
www.asse.org DECEMBER 2010 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY 1
Professional Professional Safety is a blind peer-
reviewed journal published monthly

Safety
by the American Society of Safety
Engineers, the oldest and largest safety
JOURNAL OF THE society. Professional Safety keeps the
AMERICAN SOCIETY professional occupational SH&E special-
OF SAFETY ENGINEERS
ist informed on developments in the
research and technology of accident
contents prevention, industry best practices and
December 2010 PS Online at www.professionalsafety.org Volume 55, Number 12 safety management techniques.

features
18 Worker Safety

Worker Fatigue: Managing

Concerns in Rapid Renewal
Highway Construction Projects
By Matthew R. Hallowell
Rapid renewal strategies within the construction industry are
becoming more common because they help minimize congestion
and disruptions for the general public. However, for those work-
ing in the field, these strategies require longer hours, more night-
time shifts and work zones that are close to active roadways. All
of these factors can contribute to worker fatigue.

27 ASSE Foundation Research

18
Postural Control: Age-Related
Changes in Working-Age Men
By Adam J. Strang and Angela T. DiDomenico
Most assume that with age comes a decline in one’s strength, reaction time
and flexibility. These characteristics also can relate to one’s postural control.
However, limited research has been conducted on postural control and how
it changes over a life span. How does it change with age when considering
a healthy aging workforce? Using statistical measures and a time-series
analysis one can assess this relationship.
S U B S CR IP T I ON P RI CE S
Professional Safety (ISSN 0099 0027) is published
monthly by the American Society of Safety Engineers,
1800 E. Oakton St., Des Plaines, IL 60018-2100 USA;
phone +1 (847) 699-2929; fax +1 (847) 296-3769; profes
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33 Chemical Safety The basic association subscription price for Professional

Phosphine: Analysis of an Exposure Safety is $17.50.

Incident in a Commodity Warehouse
By Gerald Beaumont and Joan Beaumont
EPA requires registered pesticides be used according to regulated labeling
practices. Violating these regulations can result in employee exposure that
may cause health problems. An exposure incident in a warehouse fumigat-
ed with phosphine illustrates a need for new preventive measures.
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Safety feature articles, news sections, letters to the editor,
meeting reports or related journal content do not neces-
sarily reflect the views of the Editor, nor should they be
considered an expression of official policy by ASSE. They
are published for the purpose of stimulating independ-
ent thought on matters of concern to the safety profes-
sion and its practitioners.
Correspondence should be addressed to the Editor.
No responsibility will be assumed for manuscripts not
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Professional Safety copyright ©2010 by the American
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Editor. Single-copy and academic reprint permission is
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[+1 (978) 750-8400]. No copyright is claimed in any works
of the U.S. government that may be published herein.

Cover: Photo highlights this issue’s lead feature, “Worker

Fatigue: Managing Concerns in Rapid Renewal Highway
Construction Projects,” which researches cognitive and
muscular fatigue in relation to rapid renewal highway
construction practices to help control worker fatigue.
Photo ©iStockphoto/Theprint Photography
P R I NT E D I N T H E U S A

2 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY DECEMBER 2010 www.asse.org

Reach this advertiser at www.asse.org/links
Professional
EDITORIAL STAFF

Sue Trebswether Editor

(847) 768-3433; strebswether@asse.org

Safety contents
continued
JOURNAL OF THE
AMERICAN SOCIETY
OF SAFETY ENGINEERS
Tina Angley Associate Editor
(847) 768-3438; tangley@asse.org

Cathy Wegener Assistant Editor

(847) 768-3414; cwegener@asse.org

Publication
Design Inc. Design Consultants

EDITORIAL REVIEW BOARD

departments Frank G. D’Orsi, CSP, ARM, Chair

Peter D. Bowen, CSP, ERM, ARM, CPEA-S&H
Salvatore Caccavale, CHMM, CPEA
6 President’s Jeffery C. Camplin, CSP, CPEA
Message Theodore K. Courtney, M.S., CSP
Fostering future safety leaders Jerry Davis, PH.D., CSP, CPE
Todd Loushine, PH.D., P.E., CSP, CIH
8 Dates & Places Steve Minshall, CSP, CIH
Plan ahead with these continu-
ing education events SOCIETY OFFICERS

Darryl C. Hill, Ph.D., CSP

President
13 Rules & Regs
Top federal safety violations Terrie S. Norris, CSP, ARM, CPSI
8 President-Elect
and mine ventilation
regulations Richard A. Pollock, CSP
Senior Vice President
James D. Smith, M.S., CSP
15 Industry Notes Vice President, Finance
Healthy workplace project, Patricia M. Ennis, CSP, ARM
bedbug control and driver safety Vice President, Professional Development
Fred J. Fortman
39 Best Practices Executive Director
What to do when OSHA calls ADVERTISING
REPRESENTATIVES

42 Product Pulse Fox Associates—Atlanta

Current SH&E products phone (800) 699-5475 • fax (888) 853-9234
Fox Associates—Chicago
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44 Standards Fox Associates—Detroit
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Fox Associates—New York
phone (212) 725-2106 • fax (212) 779-1928
46 Classified Ads Advertising Inquiries
Jobs, services and recruiters AdInfo.ASE@foxrep.com

48 Back Page ARTICLE REPRODUCTIONS

Are you plugged in to social Authorization to photocopy items for internal, personal
media? or educational use is granted by ASSE, provided the
appropriate fee is paid directly to the Copyright
Clearance Center (CCC), 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers,
MA 01923 USA; phone +1 (978) 750-8400; www.copy
right.com/UseAccount/IconJr/prodchoice.html.
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Professional Safety is available free online to ASSE

members at www.professionalsafety.org. Articles are
also available via microform and/or electronic data-
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48106-1346 USA; phone +1 (800) 521-0600. For specific
format details, visit www.proquest.com.

4 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY DECEMBER 2010 www.asse.org

 January 23-29, 2011

Earn up to 5.0 CEUs/COCs or over 8.0 CM Points in one week

Over 50 seminars on technical, management and skill development
ASP, CSP, CHST and OHST certification preparation workshops
Earn a certificate in Safety Management or the Executive Program seminar series
Network with your peers before, during and after with SeminarFest Net
www.SEMINARFEST.org

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF SAFETY ENGINEERS

 President’s
Message

By engaging students during their school years, ASSE provides a

framework to help them expand their knowledge, develop competen-
cies and get a start on becoming valuable corporate contributors.

Students Are Our Future

A
s we approach 2011, more organizations are developing safety teams and applying
behavior management to ensure a safe work environment. People must take ownership
of and personal accountability for safety and health at their worksites. They must
understand that they contribute to safety challenges and, therefore, must be part of the solu-
tion. Continuously improving a safety program requires the study of behavior with emphasis
on understanding organizational and safety culture.
The complexities of such efforts require that SH&E professionals today and in the future have
knowledge beyond a high school diploma. The day has passed when someone can simply be
assigned SH&E responsibilities without a degree and related competencies. According to ASSE’s
online directory of colleges and universities, 191 schools have degree programs that promote in
some way increased SH&E knowledge and overall professional competencies. These programs
provide an excellent opportunity for young people interested in becoming SH&E professionals.
As companies recognize the critical nature of our profession, job opportunities will continue to
“Education is not the increase. This trend is driving an increase in ASSE’s student membership, which grew 21% this
filling of a pail, but past year. ASSE currently has more than 2,500 student members in 60 student sections. Several
the lighting of a fire.“ ongoing ASSE initiatives support this growth, including the Safety Suitcase program, teen safety
—William Butler Yeats awareness program and the annual NAOSH Week observance, as well as the ASSE Foundation
scholarship programs and the efforts of our student section academic advisors. These activities
help educate young people about our dynamic profession.
The Society values the opportunity to help students launch their careers. By engaging stu-
dents during their school years, ASSE provides a framework to help them expand their knowl-
edge, develop the competencies they need to thrive in the workplace and get a start on
becoming valuable corporate contributors. Chapters and members also play a role in nurturing
our student members. Mentoring and internships add value to the learning experience and pro-
vide future SH&E professionals and Society leaders opportunities to expand their networks.
Over the past few months, I’ve had several opportunities to interact with our student mem-
bers. I visited North Carolina State A&T University and the joint Tulsa-Oklahoma City Chapter
meeting. Attendees included students from Oklahoma State University, University of Central
Oklahoma and Northeastern State University. I also participated in the National Future Safety
Leaders Conference in Schaumburg, IL, which drew more than 120 students representing 24
colleges and universities, along with faculty advisors, ASSE leaders and members. Student par-
ticipants learned, shared and networked with peers with whom they will develop long-term
friendships as they prepare to enter the SH&E profession.
During these interactions, I’ve been impressed with the student’s overall knowledge and pas-
sion, as well as with their enthusiasm for SH&E. “I look forward to creating a safety culture
employees want to participate in, not one they feel forced to participate in,” Julie Barbaro,
Oakland University Student Section President, recently told me. “I want to positively influence
people’s opinions about safe work practices. I hope my personable demeanor and passion for
the safety field help to motivate others to be safe at work.” Alexa Celine Cherry, North Carolina
A&T State University Student Section President, shared a similar vision. “I want to be the team
player who helps solve problems with one common goal of a safe workplace. [I want] to make
safety work at the workplace, through education, communication and listening.”
I urge all of you to support our student members. Make yourself available as a mentor, provide
an internship opportunity and/or donate to the ASSE Foundation to sup-
Connect With Darryl port its scholarship programs. Today’s student members are tomorrow’s
professional members. They will assume leadership positions throughout
Join the conversation. Be sure to the business world and within ASSE. By actively engaging and supporting
check out Darryl’s blog, follow him these young members we will advance our profession and the Society’s mis-
on Twitter or join him on LinkedIn sion. Students are our future.
or Facebook.
www.asse.org/getconnected
Darryl C. Hill, Ph.D., CSP
6 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY DECEMBER 2010 www.asse.org
Reach this advertiser at www.asse.org/links
 Dates & “Always and never are two words you should
Places always remember never to use.” —Wendell Johnson
December 13-17 December 27
NCCCO MOBILE CRANE course in Oak Ridge, TN. EPA CERTIFIED LEAD TRAINING workshop in Seattle,
Contact Sylvan Enterprises; (865) 717-8582; info WA. Contact RGA Environmental Inc.; (206) 269-
@sylvanent.com; http://www.sylvanent.com. 6307; http://www.rgatraining.com.

December 15 December 31
Featured ■ THE ZERO-HARM ORGANIZATION: SHIFTING THE ■ FRAME, TUBE & COUPLER & SYSTEM COMPETENT
Event FOCUS FROM INJURIES TO EXPOSURES webinar. Con- PERSON TRAINING course in League City, TX. Con-
tact ASSE Customer Service tact Scaffold Training Institute; (281) 332-1613;
Department; (847) 699-2929; info@scaffoldtraining.com; http://www.scaffold
customerservice@asse.org; training.com.
http://www.asse.org/educa
tion/virtualclassroom.php. January 4
LEAD SAFETY FOR RENOVATION, REPAIR & PAINTING
December 15 workshop in Salt Lake City, UT. Contact OSHA
30-HOUR OSHA GENERAL Training Institute Mountain West Education Center;
INDUSTRY course in Warner (801) 581-4055; http://uuhsc.utah.edu/rmcoeh.
Robins, GA. Contact Talon
Safety LLC; (770) 658-8159; January 4-6
talonsafety@aol.com; http:// RESPIRATORY PROTECTION course in Keene, NH.
www.talonsafety.com. Contact OSHA Training Institute New England
Education Center; (800) 449-6742 or (603) 645-0050;
December 15-16 http://www.oshaedcenter.com.
LIFT TRUCK TRAIN-THE-
TRAINER course in Orlando, January 5-6
LAS FL. Contact North American Crane Bureau Inc.; MANAGING PROPERTY MAINTENANCE CODE COMPLI-
(800) 654-5640; http://www.cranesafe.com. ANCE PROGRAMS course in Madison, WI. Contact
VEGAS, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of
NV December 15-16 Engineering; (800) 462-0876; http://epdweb.engr
January 23-29 PORTABLE INSTRUMENT TECHNICIAN LEVEL TRAINING .wisc.edu/index.lasso.
SEMINARFEST 2011 course in Salt Lake City, UT. Contact Industrial
This week-long Scientific Corp.; (800) 338-3287; info@indsci.com; January 8-9
event provides http://www.indsci.com. INCIDENT SAFETY OFFICER course in Emmitsburg,
participants with MD. Contact National Fire Academy; (301) 447-
many networking December 16 1000; http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/nfa.
opportunities and HAZMAT VESSEL SHIPPER workshop in Chicago.
options to fulfill Conact Lion Technology Inc.; (973) 383-0800; info January 10
their continuing @lion.com; http://www.lion.com. PROJECT MANAGEMENT FUNDAMENTALS seminar in
education needs. Norcross, GA. Contact Institute of Industrial En-
Choose from more gineers; (800) 494-0460; cs@iienet.org; http://www
than 50 seminars December 19
HAZWOPER REFRESHER workshop in Shafter, CA. .iienet.org.
and earn up to
5.0 CEUs/COCs. Contact Westec Inc.; (661) 763-5161; http://www
.westec.org. January 10
ELECTRICAL STANDARDS course in Hoffman Estates,
Send event IL. Contact The National Safety Education Center;
announcements to December 20 (800) 656-5317; http://www.earnyourcard.com.
professionalsafety LIFT TRUCK TRAIN-THE-TRAINER course in Manassas,
@asse.org. VA. Contact Chesapeake Region Safety Council;
(800) 875-4770; http://www.chesapeakesc.org. January 10
NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE seminar in Las Vegas,
NV. Contact AVO Training; (877) 594-3156; avo
PHOTO COURTESY LAS VEGAS NEWS BUREAU

December 20 training@avotraining.com; http://www.avotrain

VOLUNTARY PROTECTION PROGRAMS AUDITOR
course in Mesquite, TX. Contact Texas Engineering
Extension Service; (800) 723-3811; http://www
.teex.org/prt.
December 20-21
ARC-FLASH PROTECTION & ELECTRICAL SAFETY
workshop in Cincinnati, OH. Contact American
Trainco; (877) 978-7246; administrator@american
trainco.com; http://www.americantrainco.com.
8 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY DECEMBER 2010 www.asse.org
ing.com.
January 10-12
■ FRAME, TUBE & COUPLER & SYSTEM TRAIN-THE-
TRAINER workshop in League City, TX. Contact
Scaffold Training Institute; (281) 332-1613; info
@scaffoldtraining.com; http://www.scaffoldtrain
ing.com.
■ Current month advertiser
 January 10-13
MACHINERY & MACHINE SAFEGUARDING
STANDARDS course in Dublin, CA. Con-
tact OSHA Training Center Chabot-Las
Positas Community College District;
(866) 936-6742; otc@clpccd.org; http://
www.osha4you.com.
January 10-13
■ CIH EXAM PREPARATION course in San
Jose, CA. Contact Bowen EHS Inc.; (866)
264-5852; http://www.bowenehs.com.
January 10-14
40-HOUR WASTE SITE WORKER TRAINING
course in Minneapolis, MN. Contact
Midwest Center for Occupational Health
January 18
DOT COMPLIANCE TRAINING seminar in
Cleveland, OH. Contact Transportation
Management Group Inc.; (866) 572-8644;
http://www.tmgihazmat.com.
January 18-20
MACHINE SAFEGUARDING seminar in
Rockford, IL. Contact Rockford Systems
Inc.; http://www.rockfordsystems.com.
January 19-21
TAPROOT INCIDENT INVESTIGATION course
in Houston, TX. Contact System Improve-
ments Inc.; http://www.taproot.com.
January 19-21
RESPIRATORY PROTECTION workshop in
Mobile, AL. Contact Deep South Center
for Occupational Health and Safety;
(205) 934-7178; http://www.uab.edu/dsc.
January 20-21
TOTAL MACHINE SAFETY course in Cleve-
land, OH. Contact Jenny Salisbury, S.G.
Morris Co.; http://www.sgmorris.com.
January 21-22
ERGONOMICS course in Gainesville, FL.
Contact Back School of Atlanta;
http://www.backschoolofatlanta.com.

[EXTINGUISHER
and Safety; (612) 626-4515; http://cpheo
.sph.umn.edu.

January 11-13 TRAINING

■ IMPLEMENTING CULTURE CHANGE
THROUGH GRASSROOTS SAFETY LEADER-
WITHOUT THE MESS]
SHIP seminar in San Diego, CA. Contact
Culture Change Consultants; (914) 315-
6076; http://www.culturechange.com.

January 12
FIRST AID/CPR & AED workshop in
Orlando, FL. Contact Safety Links Inc.;
(800) 768-7036 or (407) 760-6170; http://
www.safetylinks.net.

January 13
INTRODUCTION TO ACCIDENT INVESTIGA-
TION workshop in Atlanta, GA. Contact
Georgia Tech OSHA Training Institute
Education Center; (800) 653-3629; http://
www.gatech-oshatraining.com.

January 13
ANNUAL HAZARDOUS WASTE REFRESHER
course in Seattle, WA. Contact OSHA
Training Institute Pacific Northwest
Education Center; (800) 326-7568; http://
depts.washington.edu/ehce/OSHA.

January 17-20
■ CSP & ASP EXAM PREPARATION work-
shop in San Jose, CA. Contact Bowen
EHS Inc.; (866) 264-5852; http://www
.bowenehs.com.
PULL, AIM, SQUEEZE, SWEEP. WITH A BULLEX SYSTEM,
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Rocky Mountain Education Center;
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cast. Contact Zoubek Consulting LLC; CALL US AT 1-888-4BULLEX • VIEW DEMO VIDEOS ONLINE AT WWW.BULLEXSAFETY.COM
http://www.zoubekconsulting.com. Reach this advertiser at http://www.asse.org/links

www.asse.org DECEMBER 2010 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY 9


Dates &
Places
January 23-29
■ SEMINARFEST 2011 in Las Vegas, NV.
Contact ASSE Customer Service Depart-
ment; (847) 699-2929; customerservice
@asse.org; http://www.asse.org/educa
tion/seminarfest11.
January 24-27
INCIDENT COMMAND EMERGENCY RE-
SPONSE workshop in Reno, NV. Contact
University of Nevada, Reno Fire Science
Academy; (800) 233-8928 or (775) 754-
6003; http://www.fireacademy.unr.edu.
January 24-28
2011 IEEE IAS ELECTRICAL SAFETY
WORKSHOP in Toronto, Ontario. Contact
Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers; (800) 701-4333; contactcenter
@ieee.org; http://www.ewh.ieee.org/
cmte/ias-esw.
■ Current month advertiser
Reach this advertiser at http://www.asse.org/links
10 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY DECEMBER 2010 www.asse.org
January 24-29
COMBINED TRENCH RESCUE & STRUC-
TURAL COLLAPSE course in Bossier City,
LA. Contact Roco Rescue; (800) 647-7626;
info@rocorescue.com; http://www.roco
rescue.com.
January 26-28
ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE seminar in
San Diego, CA. Contact The Auditing
Roundtable; (480) 659-3738; http://
www.auditing-roundtable.org.
January 27
NOISE ASSESSMENT course in Schaum-
burg, IL. Contact Acoustic Associates
Ltd.; (847) 359-1068; http://www.acous
ticassociates.com.
January 27-28
COMPLIANCE AUDITING course in Las
Vegas, NV. Contact ABS Consulting;
(800) 769-1199; http://www.absconsult
ing.com/training/index.cfm.
January 29-30
EXECUTIVE SKILLS SERIES: LEADING DI-
VERSE COMMUNITIES BEYOND CONFLICT
course in Emmitsburg, MD. Contact
National Fire Academy; (301) 447-1000;
http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/nfa.
Reach this advertiser at http://www.asse.org/links
January 30 - February 4
31ST ANNUAL OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY &
HEALTH WINTER INSTITUTE in Fort Laud-
erdale, FL. Contact North Carolina
Occupational Safety and Health Educa-
tion and Research Center; (888) 235-3320;
http://osherc.sph.unc.edu.
January 31
■ CIH ONLINE REVIEW course. Contact
Bowen EHS Inc.; (866) 264-5852; http://
www.bowenehs.com.
February 1
LEAN PROBLEM SOLVING seminar in
San Francisco. Contact Lean Enterprise
Institute; (617) 871-2900; http://www
.lean.org.
February 7-11
■ SAFETY MANAGEMENT I & II courses in
Charlotte, NC. Contact ASSE Customer
Service Department; (847) 699-2929; cus
tomerservice@asse.org; http://www
.asse.org.
February 7-11
SAFETY WEEK: INTRODUCTION TO OSHA
seminar in Wesley Chapel, FL. Contact
OSHA Training Institute University of
South Florida Education Center; (800)
852-5362; http:// www.usfoticenter.org.
 February 7-12
■ ASP & CSP EXAM PREPARATION
workshops in Las Vegas, NV. Contact
SPAN International Training; (888) 589-
6457 or (417) 724-2881; info@spansafety
workshops.com; http://www.span
safetyworkshops.com.
February 8
LIFT DIRECTOR & SITE SUPERVISOR
TRAINING workshop in Woodland,
WA. Contact Industrial Training Interna-
tional Inc.; (800) 727-6355 or (360) 225-
1100; info@iti.com; http://iti.com.
February 8-11
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
STANDARDS FOR GENERAL INDUSTRY
workshop in Mesquite, TX. Contact
Texas Engineering Extension Service;
(800) 723-3811 or (979) 458-6800; tony
.tasillo@teexmail.tamu.edu; http://
www.teex.org/prt.
February 9-10
INTRODUCTION TO ACCIDENT INVESTIGA-
TION course in Wethersfield, CT. Contact
OSHA Training Institute New England
Education Center; (800) 449-6742 or
(603) 645-0050; oshaed@keene.edu;
http://www.oshaedcenter.com.
February 9-11
CAOHC-APPROVED OCCUPATIONAL
HEARING CONSERVATION seminar in Salt
Lake City, UT. Contact OSHA Training
Institute Mountain West Education
Center; (801) 581-4055; Luz.Dominguez
@hsc.utah.edu; http://uuhsc.utah.edu/
rmcoeh.
February 9-11
BEHAVIORAL SAFETY ACADEMY workshop
in Kansas City, MO. Contact Chris
Goulart, RCI Safety; (800) 888-9596 or
(586) 764-2126; chris.goulart@rci-safety
.com; http://www.rci-safety.com/
signup.
February 9-11
AUDIOMETRIC TESTING & HEARING
PROTECTION workshop in Mobile, AL.
Contact Deep South Center for Occu-
pational Health and Safety; (205) 934-
7178; dsc@uab.edu; http://www.uab
.edu/dsc.
February 10
ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES &
INNOVATIONS CONFERENCE: GULF COAST
2011 in Houston, TX. Contact Texas
Association of Environmental Profes-
sionals; taep@taep.org; http://www
.taep.org.
February 10-12
■ CSP EXAM PREPARATION workshop in
Charlotte, NC. Contact ASSE Customer
Service Department; (847) 699-2929; cus
tomerservice@asse.org; http://www
.asse.org.
February 11
OSHA RECORDKEEPING RULE course in
Atlanta, GA. Contact Georgia Tech
OSHA Training Institute Education
Center; (800) 653-3629; http://www.pe
.gatech.edu/safety-health.
February 14
FROM ENGINEER TO MANAGER seminar in
Norcross, GA. Contact Institute of
Industrial Engineers; (800) 494-0460;
cs@iienet.org; http://www.iienet.org.
February 14-15
WORK HARDENING—WORK CONDITION-
ING seminar in Las Vegas, NV. Contact
Roy Matheson and Associates; (800) 443-
7690; http://www.roymatheson.com.
February 14-18
RESCUE TECH II course in Baton Rouge,
LA. Contact Roco Rescue; (800) 647-7626
or (225) 755-7626; info@rocorescue.com;
http://www.rocorescue.com.

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www.asse.org DECEMBER 2010 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY 11


Dates &
Places
February 17-18
RISK-BASED PROCESS SAFETY course in
Knoxville, TN. Contact ABS Consulting;
(800) 769-1199; info@absconsulting.com;
http://www.absconsulting.com/train
ing/index.cfm.
February 17-19
SOCIETY FOR HEALTH SYSTEMS CONFER-
ENCE & EXPO 2011 in Orlando, FL. Con-
tact Institute of Industrial Engineers;
(800) 494-0460 or (770) 449-0460; http://
www.iienet2.org/SHS/Conference.
February 18
HYDROGEN SULFIDE EMPLOYEE AWARE-
NESS course in Lakewood, CO. Contact
OSHA Training Institute Rocky Moun-
tain Education Center; (800) 933-8394 or
(303) 914-6420; rmec@rrcc.edu; http://
www.rrcc.edu/rmec.
February 18-19
POSTOFFER/PREEMPLOYMENT TESTING
workshop in Alexandria, VA. Contact
Back School of Atlanta; (800) 783-7536 or
(404) 355-7756; http://www.backschool
ofatlanta.com.
February 21-23
■ FRAME, TUBE & COUPLER & SYSTEM
TRAIN-THE-TRAINER workshop in League
City, TX. Contact Scaffold Training
Institute; (281) 332-1613; info@scaffold
training.com; http://www.scaffold
training.com.
February 21-24
POWERTEST 2011 in Washington D.C.
Contact International Electrical Testing
Association; (888) 300-6382 ot )269) 488-
6382; http://www.powertest.org/con
ference.
February 21-25
MOBILE CRANE INSPECTION TRAINING
course in Woodland, WA. Contact
Industrial Training International Inc.;
(800) 727-6355 or (360) 225-1100; info
@iti.com; http://iti.com.
February 21-25
INDUSTRIAL ERGONOMICS PROCESS work-
shop in Raleigh, NC. Contact The
Ergonomics Center of North Carolina;
(800) 664-3746; http://www.theergo
nomicscenter.com.
■ Current month advertiser
12 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY DECEMBER 2010 www.asse.org
February 17-19
ing principles, methods and ideas to
increase system performance and increase
patient safety within the healthcare industry.
February 22
MANAGING EXCAVATION HAZARDS course
in Omaha, NE. Contact OSHA Training
Institute Midwest Education Center;
(800) 464-6874; http://ceet.slu.edu.
February 22-24
MACHINE SAFEGUARDING seminar in
Rockford, IL. Contact Rockford Systems
Inc.; (800) 922-7533 or (815) 874-7891;
http://www.rockfordsystems.com.
February 23-24
HAZMAT TRANSPORTATION CERTIFICA-
TION workshop in Atlanta, GA. Contact
Lion Technology Inc.; (973) 383-0800;
info@lion.com; http://www.lion.com.
February 24-26
2011 ANNUAL HEARING CONSERVATION
CONFERENCE in Mesa, AZ. Contact
National Hearing Conservation Associa-
tion; (303) 224-9022; nhca@gwami.com;
http://www.hearingconservation.org.
February 24 - March 4
TAPROOT ADVANCED ROOT-CAUSE
ANALYSIS TEAM LEADER TRAINING semi-
nar in Galveston, TX. Contact System
Improvements Inc.; (865) 539-2139;
info@taproot.com; http://www.tap
root.com.
February 28
8-HOUR SITE WORKER REFRESHER course
in Minneapolis, MN. Contact Midwest
Center for Occupational Health and
Safety; (612) 626-4515; http://cpheo
.sph.umn.edu.
February 28
PERMIT-REQUIRED CONFINED SPACE
ENTRY online course. Contact Georgia
Tech OSHA Training Institute Education
Center; (800) 653-3629; http://www
.pe.gatech.edu/safety-health.
ORLANDO, FL
SOCIETY FOR HEALTH SYSTEMS
CONFERENCE & EXPO 2011
Join healthcare professionals and
learn the latest efforts to create
better delivery systems within the
industry. Attendees such as indus-
trial engineers, clinical profession-
als and safety managers may learn
how to create a sustainable and
efficient healthcare system. This
ORLANDO CVB
event focuses on combining engineer-
February 28 - March 2
INDIANA SAFETY & HEALTH CONFERENCE
in Indianapolis, IN. Contact ASSE Cen-
tral Indiana Chapter; http://www.in
safetyconf.com.
February 28 - March 3
SAFETY IN DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION:
A LIFECYCLE APPROACH seminar in
Boston. Contact Harvard School of
Public Health; (617) 384-8692; http://
www.hsph.harvard.edu/ccpe.
February 28 - March 4
HAZWOPER/HAZMAT TECHNICIAN
workshop in Carlin, NV. Contact Uni-
versity of Nevada, Reno Fire Science
Academy; (800) 233-8928; http://www
.fireacademy.unr.edu.
March 1-3
■ IMPLEMENTING CULTURE CHANGE
THROUGH GRASSROOTS SAFETY LEADER-
SHIP seminar in San Diego, CA. Contact
Culture Change Consultants; (914) 315-
6076; http://www.culturechange.com.
March 1-4
DISASTER SITE WORKER TRAIN-THE-
TRAINER COURSE course in LaMarque,
TX. Contact Texas Engineering Exten-
sion Service; (800) 723-3811; http://
www.teex.org/prt.
March 7-8
10-HOUR OSHA CONSTRUCTION work-
shop in Phoenix, AZ. Contact ETC
Compliance Solutions; (602) 923-9673;
http://www.e-t-c.com.
March 7-12
■ ASP & CSP EXAM PREPARATION work-
shops in Houston, TX. Contact SPAN
International Training; (888) 589-6457 or
(417) 724-2881; info@spansafetywork
shops.com; http://www.spansafety
workshops.com.
 Rules &
Regs
MINE SAFETY
New MSHA Guidelines Focus on Ventilation Regulations
MSHA has published four new program information bulletins pertaining to ventilation issues in under-
ground coal mines. The bulletins remind mine operators, miners’ representatives, MSHA enforcement
personnel and other interested parties about mandatory coal mine safety standards relative to inadequate
ventilation; intentional changes in the mine’s venti-
Hotlinks lation system; maintaining face ventilation control
devices; and maintaining methane monitors in per- OSHA Inspections Target
ASSE missible and proper operating condition for mining High-Hazard Worksites
American Society equipment. For more information, visit http:// To focus its enforcement resources on high-risk employ-
of Safety Engineers ers that may be endangering workers, OSHA has issued
www.asse.org
www.msha.gov/media/press/2010/nr100816.asp.
its yearly inspection plan under the 2010 Site-Specific
Targeting program. This program targets nonconstruc-
DHHS COMPLIANCE tion workplaces that employ 40 or more workers.
Department of Health Facilities Receive The inspection plan, which is based on work-related
& Human Services injury and illness rates from 2009, focuses on variables
www.dhhs.gov Compliance Extension such as the number of cases and number of days work-
for Spill Prevention Rule ers had to stay away from work, or the number of work-
DOE Certain facilities subject to amendments to the Spill ers who received job transfers or work restriction due to
Department of Energy Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) an injury or illness.
www.doe.gov rule received a 1-year extension to comply. EPA OSHA also has 13 national emphasis programs that
help target high-risk hazards and industries. These pro-
amended the SPCC rule to strengthen provisions,
NIOSH and regulated facilities must amend and implement
grams focus on topics such as process safety manage-
National Institute ment, shipbreaking, recordkeeping and FAA air traffic
for Occupational the changes as part of their SPCC plans, which control tower monitoring. For more information, visit
Safety & Health establish requirements to prevent a discharge of oil http://www.osha.gov.
www.cdc.gov/niosh into navigable waters or adjoining shorelines. The
rule provides a new date of Nov. 10, 2011, for owners or operators of eligible facilities to prepare or

Reach this advertiser at http://www.asse.org/links

www.asse.org DECEMBER 2010 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY 13


Rules &
Regs
amend and implement an SPCC plan
and reconciles the compliance dates for
new production facilities.
Facilities eligible for the 1-year exten-
sion include onshore oil production,
farms, warehousing and storage, whole-
sale trade and chemical manufacturing.
For a complete list, visit http://www
.epa.gov/emergencies/content/spcc/
compliance_dates.htm.
FINAL RULE
EPA Requires Notification
When Working With
Nanotubes
EPA has issued final rules under section
5(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control
Act (TSCA) for two chemical substances
which were the subject of premanu-
facture notices. The two
chemical substances
are multiwalled
and single-
walled carbon
nanotubes.
This action
requires per- and 164 proposed penalties of $100,000
sons who
intend to
manufacture,
import or
process either tions);
of these two
chemical sub-
stances for a use
that is designated
as a significant new
use by this final rule to notify EPA at
least 90 days before commencing that
activity.
The agency believes that this action is
necessary because these chemical sub-
stances may be hazardous to human
health and the environment. The
required notification would provide EPA
with the opportunity to evaluate the
intended use and, if necessary, to prohib-
it or limit that activity before it occurs.
Visit http://www.epa.gov for more
information.
CONSTRUCTION SAFETY
OSHA Reestablishes
Advisory Committee
OSHA is reestablishing its Advisory
Committee on Construction Safety and
Health’s (ACCSH) charter, which will
expire in 2 years. ACCSH provides com- stantially increase GHG emissions will
ments and recommendations on OSHA
14 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY DECEMBER 2010 www.asse.org
proposed rules that affect the construc-
tion industry. It also creates helpful work
products such as fact sheets and quick
cards, and it has active work groups that
focus on various topics.
“The members’ advice and recom-
mendations are extremely valuable to
the agency because they have a wealth
of knowledge and real-world experience
on a wide range of construction trades,
activities and issues,” says OSHA
Administrator David Michaels.
For more information, visit https://
www.osha.gov/doc/accsh/index.html.
OSHA VIOLATIONS
OSHA Announces
Top Federal Safety
Violations
OSHA reports that for the third consecu-
tive year, violations of federal standards
for scaffolding are at the top of the list
for offenses most frequently cited. In
FY2010, these offenses totaled 9,056.
OSHA says figures are mostly consistent
from year to year, and that the agency
conducted more inspections in FY2010
than previous years.
In FY2010, more than 41,000 inspec-
tions and 94,103 violations were report-
ed, a drop from the previous year’s
39,000 inspections. Of the 41,000 inspec-
tions, 692 were conducted as the result
of a fatality; about 32,000 were serious;
or more.
The remaining top 10 violations were:
2) fall protection (8,224 violations);
3) hazard communication (7,179 viola-
4) respiratory protection (4,224 viola-
tions);
5) ladders (4,232 violations);
6) control of hazardous energy (3,756
violations);
7) electrical wiring methods (3,628
violations);
8) powered industrial trucks (3,453
violations);
9) electrical general requirements
(2,977 violations);
10) machine guarding (2,712 violations).
GREENHOUSE GASES
EPA Rule Would Require
Clean Air Act Permits
EPA is proposing two rules to ensure
that businesses planning to build new,
large facilities or make major expansions
to existing ones will be able to obtain
Clean Air Act permits that address their
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In
early 2010, EPA finalized the GHG
Tailoring Rule, which specifies that
beginning in 2011, projects that will sub-
require an air permit. The proposed
rules would help ensure that these
sources can get those permits regardless
of where they are located, EPA says.
The Tailoring Rule covers large indus-
trial facilities such as power plants and
oil refineries, which are responsible for
70% of GHGs from stationary sources.
EPA calls the proposed rules “a critical
component” for implementing the
Tailoring Rule.
In the first rule, EPA is proposing to
require permitting programs in 13 states
to change their implementation plans to
cover GHG emissions. All other states
that implement an EPA-approved air
permitting program must review their
existing permitting authority and inform
EPA if their programs do not address
GHG emissions.
Because some states may not be able
to develop and submit revisions to their
plans before the Tailoring Rule takes
effect in 2011, in the second rule, EPA is
proposing a federal implementation plan
that would allow EPA to issue permits
for large GHG emitters located in these
states. This would be a temporary meas-
ure that would last until the state can
revise its own plan and resume responsi-
bility for GHG permitting.
The agency is working to finalize
these rules before Jan. 2, 2011, the earliest
date that GHG permitting requirements
will be effective. Find more at http://
www.epa.gov/nsr.
STRATEGIC PLANNING
EPA Updates
Business Plan
EPA’s new 5-year plan outlines the
agency’s mission and goals up to
FY2015. Specifically, the plan outlines
five strategic goals that will advance the
agency’s overall mission. Goals include
taking action on climate change and
improving air quality; protecting
America’s waters; cleaning up commu-
nities and advancing sustainable devel-
opment; ensuring the safety of chemicals
and preventing pollution; and enforcing
environmental laws.
The plan also lists five fundamental
strategies to help EPA adapt its work
inside and outside the agency: expand-
ing the conversation on environmental-
ism; working for environmental justice
and children’s health; advancing science,
research and technological innovation;
strengthening state, tribal and interna-
tional partnerships; and strengthening
EPA’s workforce and capabilities.
©ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/DAVIDF
The agency says the plan will help it
foster a renewed commitment to new
possibilities for achieving the vision of
cleaner, greener and more sustainable
environment.
For more information, visit http://
www.epalgov/ocfo/plan/plan.htm.
 Industry
Notes
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH office building managers reduce absenteeism.
Healthy Workplace Project These tools include:
Focuses on Hand Hygiene •an absenteeism calculator, which uses tenant
Kimberly-Clark Professional has launched the data to provide information on how much office
Healthy Workplace Project, a comprehensive building workers lose every year because of absen-
approach to hand hygiene aimed at reducing work- teeism as well as how
place absenteeism and the productivity and much can be saved by
implementing the pro- SH&E-Related Jobs
business losses that occur when
workers are sidelined by colds, flu ject’s elements; Among the Best
and other contagious ailments. The •e-communications to Jobs in America
project is specifically help office building man- Money and PayScale.com recently
designed to combat agers communicate with rated the top 100 careers with great
germs throughout an tenants on ways to stay pay and growth prospects. Included
among them are several SH&E-relat-
office building. It focuses healthy and reduce
absenteeism; ed choices, such as environmental
on the six prime links in engineer (#5), risk management man-
the germ transmission chain: after •collateral and educa- ager (#14), and environmental health
sneezing, before eating, at the beginning tional information such as and safety specialist (#22). Even bet-
Hand hygiene initia- of the day, at the beginning of a meeting, in the pamphlets, posters and ter, environmental engineer and
tive aims to reduce restroom and at the end of the day. cling stickers for bath- environmental health and safety spe-
cialist were also reported to be in the
workplace absen- “Every year, businesses in the U.S. lose $74 billion room mirrors, stalls and
top 10 booming career categories—
teeism and the due to absenteeism,” says Kimberly-Clark’s Andy break rooms, and other based on projected growth between
productivity and Clement. “The germs that cause absenteeism are materials to change 2008 and 2018—ranking 5th (31%
business losses that coming in the door every day with their employees behavior and create a growth) and 8th (28% growth),
occur when workers and then being spread throughout the workplace. healthier workplace. respectively. Access the full article at

C
are sidelined by It’s crucial to break the chain of transmission.” “Change hand and sur- http://money.cnn.com/magazines/
moneymag/bestjobs/2010/index.html.
colds and flu. The project offers a host of materials to educate face hygiene behaviors
and engage employees as well as tools to help and make these behaviors

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Reach this advertiser at http://www.asse.org/links Reach this advertiser at http://www.asse.org/links

www.asse.org DECEMBER 2010 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY 15


Industry
Notes
part of an office worker’s daily routine
and you can break the links in the germ
transmission chain,” Clement says. “If
you do, you’ll have a healthy workplace
and healthier employees.”
Learn more at http://www.healthy
workplaceproject.com.
PERFORMANCE
Video Describes
Performance
PUBLIC SAFETY
EPA Pesticide Database Aids Bedbug Control
Bedbugs have been big
in the news lately, with
reports suggesting they
are now affecting
tourism in New York
City. The public out-
breaks are prompting
people to use pesticides
to rid their homes of the
pest. To help consumers
find an appropriate pes-
ticide, EPA has created a new
database listing all pesticides reg-
istered for this purpose.
Found at http://www.epa
an EPA-registered prod-
uct that meets their
needs and is safe if used
according to label
instructions.
More than 300 differ-
ent products are regis-
tered by EPA for use
against bed bugs.
Search terms include
company, name, EPA
registration number, active ingre-
dient and place of application.
The agency also offers tips for
preventing infestations. Find

Improvement Strategies
In the video Work Doesn’t Have to Be a
Four-Letter Word, researcher Hank Sarkis
of the Reliability Group explains why
“some companies soar like eagles while
most others have trouble getting off the
ground.” He describes simple changes to
job design to materially increase produc-
tivity, safety and motivation.
“Having fun at work continues to be a
key determinant of a healthy organiza-
tional culture,” Sarkis says. He describes
multiyear research involving more than
5,000 employees that continues to place
“cheerfulness” in the top five factors
leading to a positive organizational cul-
ture. He says the research also indicates
“that employees who report low levels
of job satisfaction are three times more
likely to be injured at work.”
Another key strategy is maintaining
low stress levels among employees.
Sarkis explains that allowing employees
choice in how they perform their jobs
affects productivity and operating relia-
bility. “When employees are offered
choices in how they do their jobs, higher
performance and job enjoyment follow,”
states Sarkis. Despite the fact that these
changes are believed to work in any size
organization and can be implemented
without great expense, many organiza-
tions simply overlook them, he con-
cludes. View the 25-minute video at
http://relgroup.net/video.html.
DISTRACTED DRIVING
OSHA Launches
Distracted Driving
Education Campaign
OSHA has launched an education cam-
paign to prevent work-related distracted
driving, with a special focus on prohibit-
ing texting while driving. “There’s no
question that new communications tech-
nologies are helping businesses work
smarter and faster,” says OSHA Admini-
strator David Michaels. “But getting
work done faster does not justify the
16 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY DECEMBER 2010 www.asse.org
DHHS/CDC
.gov/bedbugs/productsearch, the those at http://www.epa.gov/
search tool allows visitors to select bedbugs.
dramatically increased risk of injury and the value of the CSP and CIH designa-
death that comes with texting while tions in its prerequisites for becoming an
driving.” authorized trainer. To become an author-
The outreach features a web page ized Course 500 for construction or
aimed at those whose workplaces are Course 501 for general industry trainer,
the cars, vans and trucks that deliver the requirements are now 5 years of
goods and services. The site safety experience, 2
offers best practices and poli- years of which may
cies on achieving safe work-
Zurich Video Looks be substituted with
places in motor vehicles. at Safe Driving a college degree in
Information and continual Zurich’s Drive Focused, Drive Safe occupational safety
updates are available at video/slide presentation offers tips and health, a CSP or
http://www.osha.gov/dis for staying focused while driving. CIH designation in
Available for free at https://
tracted-driving. www.brain shark.com/zurich/
the applicable train-
An open letter to employ- DriveSafe, the presentation asks ing area. See the
ers, also posted online, viewers to consider “what is that requirements at
requests that companies call or text worth to you,” then http://www.osha
examine their policies and outlines the potential costs, such .gov/dte/outreach/
practices, informs them that as causing a fatality, going to jail construction_general
or being sued, as well as the
they have a legal obligation financial costs of distracted driv-
industry/author
to prohibit workplace haz- ing. “Senior leaders and business ized.html.
ards such as texting while owners should communicate and
driving, and asks them to reinforce the need for focused CRANE SAFETY
immediately remove any driving without the use of elec- Crane Cer-
incentives that may motivate tronic communication devices,” tifications
Zurich explains.
employees to text while
behind the wheel.
Accredited
Two certification programs from
“OSHA’s message to all companies
National Commission for the Certifi-
whose employees drive on the job is
cation of Crane Operators (NCCCO)
straightforward: It is your responsibility
have been accredited by ANSI. The CCO
and legal obligation to have a clear,
rigger level I and signalperson certifica-
unequivocal and enforced policy against
tions are accredited by ANSI to ISO/IEC
texting while driving,” says Michaels.
17024, an iternational standard for organ-
Prohibiting texting while driving was
izations that certify personnel.
the subject of an executive order signed
The accreditation followed rigorous
by U.S. President Barack Obama for fed-
audits of NCCCO’s management sys-
eral employees and the subject of rule-
making by DOT.
tems and psychometric procedures, and
detailed scrutiny of its test development
Find additional distracted driving
and administrative processes.
resources at http://www.distraction.gov.
“ANSI represents the gold standard of
accreditation,” says NCCCO’s Kerry
PROFESSIONAL ISSUES
Hulse. “Candidates and employers alike
CSP, CIH Recognized in can now be assured that [these] certifica-
Trainer Requirements tions meet the highest professional stan-
In its revamped outreach training pro- dards of examination development and
gram requirements, OSHA recognizes administration.”
 Accreditation of certifying bodies is a
provision of OSHA’s new rule and is
increasingly being required by state regu-
lators in their attempts to ensure quality
of the certifications issued. Three-fourths
of the states that have requirements for
crane operators and related trades now
require or recognize NCCCO certifica-
tion. Learn more at http://www.nccco
.org/certification/index.html.
SAFE DRIVING
Lights & Wipers Help
Keep Drivers Safe
With fall and winter come shorter day-
light hours and more inclement weather.
It is a perfect opportunity for fleet man-
agers to inspect their company vehicles’
lights and wipers, according to the Car
Care Council. Lights and wipers play a
major role in safe driving, the group
says, as the chance of a crash increases if
a driver cannot see or be seen.
“As the days get shorter, a vehicle’s
lighting system becomes more important
to the safety of drivers and passengers,”
says Rich White, the council’s executive
director. “From the driver’s seat a driver
may not notice a light that isn’t working,
so be sure to inspect the lights at every
oil change. At the same time, inspect and
replace wiper blades so drivers can see
clearly when wet weather hits.”
The group offers these safety tips:
•Keep headlights, taillights and signal
lights clean. External dirt and debris can
dim operational lights.
•Make sure that headlights are prop-
erly aimed. Misaimed headlights blind
other drivers and reduce one’s ability to
see the road.
•Don’t overdrive the vehicle’s head-
lights. A driver should be able to stop
inside the illuminated area.
•If there is any doubt about whether
headlights should be on, turn them on.
Lights not only help drivers see better in
early twilight, they also make it easier for
other drivers to see approaching vehicles.
Many factors can accelerate the re-
placement interval of wipers, including
operating conditions (winter conditions
are tough on wiper blades), frequency of
use, and material and type of wipers.
Find more tips and resources at http://
www.carcare.org.
NOISE CONTROL
Power Tools Database
Work-related hearing loss continues to be
an SH&E concern in many work environ-
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made easier by data such as that found in
NIOSH’s database of power tools com-
monly used in the occupational setting.
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www.asse.org DECEMBER 2010 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY
According to NIOSH, the database can
help users determine the noise level of
power tools as they are used on the job. It
includes sound power levels, sound pres-
sure level, and downloadable exposure
and wave files, as well as links to the
agency’s hearing protector compendium,
a tool for selecting appropriate hearing
protection. Access the database at http://
wwwn.cdc.gov/niosh-sound-vibration.
MINE SAFETY
Personal Dust Monitor
Wins Innovation Award
NIOSH’s personal dust monitor received
one of six HHSInnovates awards, present-
ed by the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services (DHHS) to support a
“culture of innovation” within the depart-
ment. The personal dust monitor, which
NIOSH developed with diverse partners,
measures a miner’s cumulative exposure
to respirable coal mine dust and better
enables mine operators and workers to
reduce miners’ risk of black lung disease.
A total of 126 innovations from all
DHHS operating divisions were submit-
ted. DHHS employees were invited to
vote for best innovations, and employees
cast nearly 10,000 votes via the
HHSInnovates intranet site. Candidates
were judged on both innovativeness and
potential for application elsewhere.
17
Worker Safety
Worker Safety

Worker
Fatigue Managing concerns in rapid renewal
highway construction projects
By Matthew R. Hallowell

H HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION
WORK can be demanding and
exhausting. It requires intense
focus and physical exertion,
the use of heavy mobile equip-
ment and repetitive work
tasks, and it is performed adja-
cent to traffic (NIOSH, 2001).
These factors all contribute to
the relatively high injury rate
in the construction sector (BLS,
2007).
Traditionally, roadway con-
struction has been performed
during normal, daytime work
hours. However, as America’s
highway infrastructure contin-
ues to degrade and congestion
becomes an increasing con-
cern, roadways must be
renewed quickly.
As a result, rapid renewal
strategies such as nighttime
work, continuous work, ex-
tended shifts and modulariza-
tion are employed to compress
schedules and minimize traffic
disruption (Transportation Re-
tribute to worker fatigue,
which compounds the safety
risk factors inherent to high-
way construction.
Rapid renewal projects are
especially susceptible to two
types of fatigue: cognitive
fatigue and localized muscu-
lar fatigue. Cognitive fatigue is
the lassitude of thought and
decision processes, while
localized muscular fatigue is
the reduction in peak tension
of a specific muscle group due
to prolonged or excessive use.
Researchers have found
that conditions in work envi-
ronments similar to rapid re-
newal projects contribute to
both types of fatigue because
construction laborers perform
repetitive tasks for extended
work shifts and must continu-
ously communicate with the
other crew members while
performing complex, dynamic
and fast-paced work (Sauer,
Wastell, Hockey, et al., 2002;
@ISTOCKPHOTO/THEPRINT PHOTOGRAPHY

search Board, 2009). While Matthews & Desmond, 1998).

these strategies enhance over- However, few available
all schedule performance, the references promote effective
associated conditions con- fatigue management on con-

Matthew R. Hallowell, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil, Environ-

mental and Architectural Engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He holds a B.S.
and an M.S. from Bucknell University and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Oregon State
University. A professional member of ASSE’s Colorado Chapter, he is a member of ASSE’s
Technical Publications Advisory Committee, the CII Safety Community of Practice, and the
ASCE Site Safety and Prevention Through Design committees.
18 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY DECEMBER 2010 www.asse.org
struction projects and no literature focuses on rapid
renewal scenarios. This article summarizes the rela-
tively large but disparate body of literature related to
mental and localized muscular fatigue and offers a
conceptual model for fatigue management on high-
way construction projects.
Specifically, the focus is on personal and project-
related characteristics that contribute to fatigue,
methods of measuring fatigue, mitigation strategies,
and the impacts of fatigue on safe work behavior and
quality of life. Special attention is given to physiolog-
ical fatigue and localized muscular fatigue on rapid
renewal highway projects.
Rapid Renewal
Simply stated, rapid renewal means completing
highway projects quickly, with minimal disruption
to the community and producing facilities that are
long lasting. Rapid renewal applies innovative tech-
niques or technologies to reduce the time tradition-
ally allocated to on-roadway activities.
Benefits of this approach include minimizing dis-
ruptions to the traveling public, business owners
and communities. These benefits are realized in the
form of fewer delays, shorter periods with reduced
capacity roadways and less construction noise. On
the downside, such scenarios may affect worker
fatigue and may indirectly compromise worker safe-
ty and health, productivity, quality and teamwork.
Persons affected may include designers, construc-
tion managers, inspectors, laborers and others.
Specific Rapid Renewal Tactics
Some confusion exists regarding the specific tac-
tics that characterize rapid renewal projects. Recently,
Transportation Research Board (2009) identified sev-
eral tactics developed to reduce the time needed to
complete on-roadway construction:
•Perform faster in situ construction by perform-
ing projects on a compressed schedule. To achieve
this, contractors extend overtime shifts, mobilize
additional workers, and employ innovative tech-
nologies and strategic design. This tactic also typi-
cally involves the use of design-build project
delivery, flexible performance specifications and
nondestructive testing.
•Minimize field fabrication and maximize pre-
fabrication that can occur off site. This tactic may
entail prefabricating units of roadway or bridges,
modular construction and innovative installation
strategies. Modular and prefabricated elements
allow for accelerated schedules, improved quality
control and longevity; such techniques also enhance
the project’s overall level of performance.
•Perform faster construction inspection and
monitoring by ensuring that renewal projects are
inspected and accepted quickly so that they may be
reopened to the public.
•Facilitate innovative and equitable contracting
environment by making decisions and accepting
them rapidly. To effectively employ this tactic, risk
must be shared among project partners (e.g., DOT
agencies, designers, private contractors, partners).
Additionally, performance-based specifications
must be used to give the contractor control over con-
struction-related risks.
•Improve customer relations by recognizing the
role that utilities and railroads play in project devel-
opment and execution. To prevent conflicts, institu-
tional and procedural changes must be made and a Abstract: Construction
proactive strategy for dealing with conflicts must be strategies that minimize
established early on. congestion and disrup-
The most common rapid renewal tactics involve tion to local communi-
the use of management strategies that compress con- ties are becoming more
struction schedules. These strategies focus on alter- common. These rapid
ing construction means and methods, work shift renewal strategies
duration and the intensity of critical phases. As involve extended work
noted, use of these strategies can increase worker shifts, nighttime work
fatigue, thereby affecting work zone safety and the and work zones adjacent
workforce’s quality of life. to active roadways. Since
Let’s review causal factors of fatigue in general; rapid renewal will likely
individual risk factors; immediate effects on safety, add to occupational
health and human error; effects on work perform- fatigue on highway con-
ance; long-term effects; methods of measuring struction sites, managers
fatigue; and known countermeasures. must understand occu-
pational fatigue to suc-
cessfully deliver projects
Occupational Fatigue
Fatigue, defined as lassitude or exhaustion of with minimal injuries.
This article reviews char-
mental and physical strength resulting from bodily
labor or mental exertion, is a concern of workers in acteristics that con-
tribute to cognitive and
many occupations throughout the world. While
occupational safety and health has improved in localized muscular
fatigue, methods to
recent decades, fatigue remains a common problem
in developed countries (Lewis & Wessely, 1992). measure and control
Fatigue is a serious threat to quality of life and fatigue and its effects on
severely compromises work performance when it safe work behavior and
becomes chronic or excessive (Piper, 1989; Okogbaa, quality of life. A model
Shell & Filipusic, 1994). Unfortunately, its complex of fatigue management
and dynamic nature makes fatigue difficult to is offered as well.
define, observe and measure. As a result, it has tra-
ditionally been excluded by funding agencies and
scientific studies, especially in construction.
While few studies have examined fatigue in the
construction industry, a wide body of literature
describes the general causes and effects of occupa-
tional fatigue. It is assumed that research from
industries such as manufacturing and transportation
apply to the infrastructure construction environ-
ment because of the prevalence of repetitive work
tasks, use of heavy equipment and complex work
processes. That said, some characteristics of con-
struction, such as exposure to the elements and
dynamic work environments, may not be adequate-
ly modeled in previous research in other industries.
To classify the types of fatigue that occur in occu-
pational environments, Bills (1934) established defi-
nitions and distinctions for three types of fatigue:
physiological (reduction of physical capacity), objec-
tive (reduction in work) and subjective (feelings of
weariness). Secondary aspects of fatigue include
sleepiness (Gillberg, Kecklund & Akerstedt, 1994),
discomfort, and weakened activation and weakened
motivation (Kashiwagi, 1969).
These essential studies provide the framework for
fatigue research and for the development of objective
www.asse.org DECEMBER 2010 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY 19
 measures. While little fundamental or transformative
research has been performed in recent decades, many
studies have refined this fundamental body of litera-
ture and have explored fatigue in specific industries
and emerging work scenarios (Leung, Chan, Ng, et
al., 2006; Jansen, van Amelsvoort, Kristensen, et al.,
2003; Ashburg, Gamberale & Kjellberg, 1997).
Causal Factors
Various factors can contribute to cognitive and
localized physical fatigue, including specific occupa-
tional activities, recreational activities, personal
characteristics, drug use, sleep deprivation and
physical condition. Managers must understand the
signals of these types of fatigue as a careful analysis
can identify high-risk individuals and work envi-
ronments. While many factors affect fatigue, the
three major factors related to rapid renewal highway
projects are shift work, extended work shifts and
work time control.
During rapid renewal projects, workers often
must adapt to new work shifts, extended shifts and
high intensity work. While the effects of such transi-
tions have yet to be explored in the construction
industry, a large body of literature discusses the
effects of shift work on fatigue in manufacturing set-
tings. It is expected that many of these underlying
principles apply to rapid renewal highway projects
despite the obvious differences between manufac-
turing and construction.
Findings from several fundamental studies are
concisely presented as follows:
•Andlauer (1960), Bruusgaard (1969) and
Akerstedt (1988) estimated that about 20% of the
worker population is unable to adapt to shift work.
•Adaptation to shift work occurs more easily and
more often in “stabilized” rather than “rotating”
shifts (Colquhoun, 1971).
•Well-adapted shift workers show significantly
less psychosomatic tension than poorly adapted
workers (Hakkinen, 1969).
•Frequent alternation of shifts on continuous
work was preferred to the commonly used 1-week
spells, due to reduced experience of fatigue and
monotony (Walker, 1966).
•Workers on continuous alternating shifts starting
at the hours 4-12-20 obtained more sleep than after a
change to 6-14-22 (Bjerner, Holm & Swensson, 1948).
•When compared with the 6-14-22 system, the 7-
15-23 system results in fewer accidents and greater
productivity (Oginski, 1966; Wild & Theis, 1967).
•Fatigue is reduced when shifts occur in the order
night-evening-day, instead of the more common day-
evening-night pattern (Saito & Kashiwagi, 1970).
Most of this foundational work was conducted in
the mid-20th century. Researchers have more recent-
ly investigated fatigue in complex and emerging
environments such as high-speed maritime opera-
tions (Leung, et al., 2006), aviation and aerospace
(Folkard & Akerstedt, 2004).
Review of this fundamental literature indicates
that work shift design may significantly affect the
potential for fatigue that the construction industry
20 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY DECEMBER 2010 www.asse.org
must recognize. Many individual factors, such as
age, health and living conditions, influence a work-
er’s ability to adapt to shift work or changes in shift
sequences, timing or duration. Likewise, extended
work shifts and overtime introduce unique fatigue
issues. Shift design strategies are essential to pre-
venting both mental and localized physical fatigue.
Long work hours are common in every major U.S.
industry, including construction. In fact, more than
one-quarter of U.S. men and 11% of women work
more than 50 hours a week (Jacobs & Gerson, 2004).
In this context, extended work shifts and the term
overtime refer to a prolonged investment of effort (by
individual or crew) where recovery time is reduced.
The effect of extended work shifts is highlighted
because long working hours can negatively affect
workers’ health and well-being (Sparks, Cooper,
Fried, et al., 1997; van der Hulst, 2003). Overtime
work can lead to a situation of prolonged, insuffi-
cient recovery that is assumed to disturb physiolog-
ical processes and, as a consequence, induce health
problems (Geurts & Sonnentag, 2006).
However, the association between overtime and
well-being depends on the psychosocial profile of
the overtime job (Beckers, van der Linden,
Smulders, et al., 2004). For example, van der Hulst
(2003) shows that moderate overtime hours were
only related to fatigue in cases of high job demands
in combination with low autonomy.
Not all workers report ill effects from working
extended periods. In fact, multiple individual char-
acteristics, such as strong physical condition, allow
some to better adjust to extended work periods.
Interestingly, two psychosocial work characteristics
have been found to influence overtime’s effect on
fatigue and worker health: 1) control over overtime
work; and 2) rewards for overtime work (Harma,
2006). Work time control has been defined as “an
employee’s possibilities of control over the duration,
position and distribution of work time” and reward
systems include compensation for working extend-
ed hours (Harma).
Involuntary overtime work is associated with rel-
atively high fatigue and low satisfaction, especially
for involuntary overtime workers without rewards
(Beckers, et al., 2004). Fenwick and Tausig (2001)
found that lack of schedule control is associated with
work-home interference, burnout symptoms, dis-
tress, dissatisfaction, poor general health and minor
physical problems.
A series of longitudinal studies found that low
work time control increases the risk of health prob-
lems, whereas high control over working time
reduces the adverse effect of work stress on sickness
absence and can help employees establish an appro-
priate work-life balance (Ala-Mursula, Vahtera,
Kivimaki, et al., 2002; Ala-Mursula, Vahtera, Pentti,
et al., 2004; Ala- Mursula, Vahtera, Linna, et al., 2005;
Ala-Mursula, Vahtera, Kouvonen, et al., 2006).
Tucker and Rutherford (2005) found overtime
work to be related to impaired health only among
respondents who worked overtime in response to
pressure (i.e., low overtime control) and who lacked
social support. Voluntary overtime workers in com-
parable positions were nonfatigued and satisfied,
even without rewards.
Rewards for overtime work (e.g., receiving or not
receiving compensation for extra work hours) con-
stitute another psychosocial work characteristic that
may act as a moderator in the overtime/well-being
association. The importance of rewards follows from
the effort-reward imbalance (ERI) model (Siegrist,
1996; 1998). This theory states that employees’
efforts at work are part of a social exchange process
in which employees expect fair rewards or compen-
sation for their invested efforts. Therefore, it may be
concluded that control of overtime is important for
well-being and that the negative effects of compul-
sory overtime may be partly offset by fair compen-
sation for the extra work (Beckers, et al., 2004).
Individual Risk Factors
All workers have unique physical conditions,
intellectual abilities and emotional stability. These
characteristics are manifested in the ability to adapt
to extended work periods and rotating shifts, toler-
ance of fatigue and effects of fatigue. Age is one of
the most influential factors. Thüs-Evensen (1958) re-
commended that workers over age 50 with no pre-
vious shift work experience be rejected because of
their susceptibility to muscular fatigue. Menzel
(1962) added that workers younger than age 25 are
at high risk for cognitive fatigue, especially if they
have to provide their own meals.
Mott, Mann, McLoughlin, et al. (1965), concluded
that adapting to shift work is more difficult for
younger, better educated workers who have small
children, while men who could work additional jobs
(“moonlighters”) seldom complained about the
adaptation of their time-oriented body functions.
This implies that some workers may be resistant to
cognitive fatigue.
Literature has consistently shown that nearly all
workers are vulnerable to localized muscular fatigue
when performing repetitive tasks for extended peri-
ods. McGirr (1966) notes several conditions that
should preclude employees from alternating shift
work such as a need for continuous drug therapy;
epilepsy or diabetes; serious gastrointestinal dis-
eases (e.g., ulcer and colitis); heart and circulatory
diseases; and marked stress and anxiety syndromes.
Many studies have also found that circadian
rhythms can affect a worker’s ability to adapt. Patkai
(1971) studied habitual “morning” and “evening”
workers and found many significant differences in
alertness, performance and adrenal excretion. She
found that habitual working habits might be an
important factor in determining both efficiency of
performance and work satisfaction.
Ostberg (1973) estimated that the morning types
are approximately 2 hours ahead of the evening types
in the circadian rhythms of oral temperature and food
intake. Finally, Aanonsen (1964) found that a high pro-
portion of workers who had transferred to nonshift
work for medical reasons were the early-to-bed/early-
Table
Table 1 1
Leading Indicators for Fatigue
to-rise type. Table 1 presents a summary of the leading Some leading indica-
indicators for cognitive and localized muscular tors for cognitive
fatigue. Some factors are unique to either cognitive or and localized muscu-
muscular fatigue, while other factors, such as extend- lar fatigue are
ed work periods and heat, contribute to both. unique to either
cognitive or muscu-
Measuring Fatigue lar fatigue, while
Researchers often report that they omit fatigue in other factors, such
occupational safety and health studies because it is as extended work
difficult to measure and track fatigue in dynamic periods and heat,
work environments. In the past decade, several meth- contribute to both.
ods for measuring fatigue have been developed, vali-
dated and vetted by the research community. Of these
methods, the Swedish Occupational Fatigue Inven-
tory (SOFI) and the similar CIS20R appear in most
peer-reviewed academic publications that attempt to
measure fatigue in an occupational setting.
Other measurement methods have been devel-
oped as well, but they have little application to occu-
pational settings. For example, the use of VO2Max
testing (i.e., a measure of oxygen uptake by the
human body that measures aerobic capacity) would
be impractical in a rapid renewal environment as it
is intrusive, limits workers’ ability to remain pro-
ductive and may extend work periods even further.
To simultaneously evaluate the intensity and
quality of perceived fatigue, several scales have been
developed (Kinsman & Weiser, 1976). These dimen-
sions have been labeled as lack of energy, physical
exertion, physical discomfort, lack of motivation and
sleepiness. The underlying structure of the instru-
ment corresponds to a qualitative and quantitative
description of the physical (exertion and discomfort)
and mental (lack of motivation and sleepiness)
dimensions of perceived fatigue.
Originally, the SOFI included 25 expressions (five
for each dimension) related to physiological, cogni-
tive, motor and emotional responses (Ashburg, et al.,
1997). In most studies, participants were asked to
rate on a 25-point scale the extent to which the
expressions described their feelings at that moment,
www.asse.org DECEMBER 2010 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY 21
 In the past decade,
several methods for Figure
Figure 1 1
measuring fatigue
have been devel- SOFI Scale
oped, validated and
vetted by the
research community,
including the
Swedish Occupa-
tional Fatigue Inven-
tory (SOFI).
during the last few minutes, when they were most
tired and so on to quantify their relative level of
fatigue.
The SOFI scale has been refined and validated for
occupations such as teachers, firefighters, cashiers,
bus drivers and engineers. Internal consistency of the
subscales was satisfactory, with Cronbach’s alphas
above .80, especially for lack of energy (.92); lack of
motivation (.92); sleepiness (.89); physical discomfort
(.81); and physical exertion (.87). It should be noted
that these scales measure whole body fatigue which
includes most subsets of fatigue such as psychologi-
cal fatigue, sleepiness and loss of motivation (e.g.,
burnout) in addition to those types highlighted in
this article. Figure 1 presents the SOFI scale.
Effects of Fatigue
Safety & Work Performance
The effects of cognitive and muscular fatigue on
individual workers can cause immediate reductions
in safe work behavior, productivity, teamwork and
morale. Goldenhar, Hecker, Moir, et al. (2003), found
that excessive overtime both within 1 day and across
many days adversely affects productivity and that
worker productivity was affected by the manner in
which overtime jobs were run in terms of timelines
and type of supervision. Goldenhar, et al., also
observed that injury frequency and severity increas-
es during extended periods of work, sometimes dra-
matically due to an increase in human error caused
by lassitude in cognitive processes. These observa-
22 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY DECEMBER 2010 www.asse.org
tions were strictly qualitative as no attempt was
made to measure productivity.
Human Error
To better understand the relationship between
fatigue and safe work behavior, let’s examine the
potential effects of cognitive fatigue on human error.
While these may seem like disparate topics, accidents,
rework, conflicts and decreases in productivity in-
volve some element of human error. According to
fundamental social psychology literature summa-
rized by Reason (1990), these errors are caused by
deficiencies in mental function that are accelerated as
mental and physical fatigue increase. The sidebar
below lists the immediate effects of fatigue.
Errors in judgment, decision making and physi-
cal actions result in loss of productivity, the need for
rework in industrial operations and occupational
injuries. To prevent human error, organizations con-
duct training, provide feedback to workers and per-
form inspections (Hinze, 2006). These activities
rarely involve methods to reduce or even address
cognitive fatigue despite its obvious effect on
thought processes.
Error Types & Potential Controls
To target human error, the various modes by
which it occurs and the contribution of fatigue to
each mode must be explored. According to Reason
(1990), human error occurs in a limited number of
forms. These include intentional erroneous actions
(mistakes and violations) and unintentional erro-
neous actions (slips and lapses). The fundamental
difference between these is that mistakes are plan-
ning errors (e.g., intentionally choosing an unsafe
pathway through a worksite) while slips and lapses
are the result of failures in execution (e.g., inatten-
tiveness, distraction).
Much social psychology literature has attempted
to define error types and potential controls. Let’s
briefly discuss this body of literature.
Reason (1990) defines mistakes as “deficiencies or
failures in the judgmental and/or inferential process
involved in the selection of an objective or in the spec-
ification of the means to achieve it, irrespective of
Immediate Effects
of Fatigue on Humans
•Reduction in physical capacity (weakness)
•Reduction in work
•Mistakes
•Slips
•Lapses
•Weariness
•Memory loss
•Sleepiness
•Discomfort
•Weakened motivation
•Irritability
•Illness

Table
Table 2 2
Human Error, Work Environment & Impacts
whether or not the actions directed by this decision
scheme run according to plan.” According to Ras-
mussen, Pejtersen and Goldstein (1994), mistakes are
relatively common and exist in two categories:
knowledge-based or rule-based. Rule-based mistakes
involve the intentional application of a bad rule.
These mistakes result from errors in standardized
procedures and reflect deficiencies in management.
Reason (1990) defines slips and lapses as “errors
which result from some failure in the execution
and/or storage stage of an action sequence, regard-
less of whether or not the plan which guided them
was adequate to achieve its objective.” These errors
occur when workers fail to make a cognitive atten-
tional check because 1) the process or behavior is not
habitual (strong habitual intrusions); 2) a distraction
prevents one from making required checks (omis-
sion); 3) failures of prospective memory prevent safe
work procedures (reduced intentionality); or
4) workers inadequately estimate durations within a
sequence of actions (mistimed checks). These unin-
tentional errors are differentiated into two categories,
those caused by distractions in a familiar work envi-
ronment (slips) and memory failures (lapses).
Knowledge-based errors are not likely to be large-
ly affected by fatigue unless safety training and orien-
tation meetings are conducted at times when workers
are at risk of being fatigued because knowledge-based
errors occur when employees do not know or under-
stand the correct methods of performing the work.
Mental fatigue is likely to have a significant impact on
slips and lapses because these errors are generally
caused by errors or inefficiencies in cognitive process-
es during specific instances in time.
Typically, errors are detected through formal
processes in the human body (i.e., self monitoring).
Humans constantly check their surroundings to
ensure that actions match intent. As cognitive
fatigue increases, workers’ ability to rapidly perform
these mental checks decreases and the speed at
which decision processes are executed is reduced.
According to Reason (1990), attention can only be
directed to a small part of a total space in any given
time and such attention must be focused on impor-
Human error occurs
in a limited number
of forms. These
include intentional
erroneous actions
(mistakes and viola-
tions) and uninten-
tional erroneous
actions (slips and
lapses). The funda-
mental difference
between these is
that mistakes are
planning errors
while slips and laps-
es are the result of
failures in execution.
tant problem spaces to prevent accidents. Such focus
decreases substantially as workers become mentally
fatigued. Table 2 provides simple definitions of the
three human error modes, the environments in
which they typically occur, and the effects of cogni-
tive fatigue on each error mode; it is based on social
psychology research conducted by Searle (1980) and
Mandler (1975).
According to this literature, mistakes, slips and
lapses cause accidents because they result in a work-
er’s failure to perceive that an event has occurred
(e.g., that a bulldozer has begun to mobilize); failure
to diagnose the nature of an event and to determine
the necessary remedial actions (e.g., failure to recog-
nize the need to change physical location when a
bulldozer’s track has broken); and failure to imple-
ment those responses in a timely manner. In all
cases, mental fatigue increases the potential for
human error in occupational environments.
Impact of Fatigue on Quality of Life
While no studies directly associate cognitive or
localized muscular fatigue to quality of life, a well-
established body of literature links the whole body
(i.e., general fatigue) to several ill personal effects.
As noted, little is known about the immediate effects
of fatigue on task achievement, work quality or
teamwork.
Conversely, a relatively wide body of knowledge is
related to the long-term effects of fatigue on workers
(i.e., quality of life effects). Sparks, Cooper, Fried, et al.
(1997), and van der Hulst (2003) reviewed most stud-
ies on long work hours and concluded that such hours
can negatively influence health and well-being. Most
significantly, overtime work leads to prolonged insuf-
ficient recovery that is assumed to disturb physiologi-
cal processes and, as a consequence, induce health
problems (Geurts & Sonnentag, 2006). Andersen
(1970) showed that if one did not stop at registered
sicknesses but also considered gastrointestinal irregu-
larities and other health defects of limited direct med-
ical significance, one would find negative effects of
shift work on health.
Fatigue has been shown to cause significant and
www.asse.org DECEMBER 2010 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY 23
 Fatigue has been for fatigue in construction.
shown to cause sig- Table
Table 3 3 Goldenhar, et al. (2003), created
nificant and frequent a list of countermeasures and
health impacts. Lagging Indicators of Fatigue controls for fatigue (Table 4).
Fatigue that results Other studies have investi-
from extended work gated job rotation as a control
periods has been for both types of fatigue.
linked to adverse According to Jonsson (1998),
behavior and habits job rotation is a method of
such as an unhealthy rotating workers across vari-
diet, lack of exercise ous tasks that have different
and smoking, which, physical and mental demands
in turn, may cause over time and it is a promising
health problems. method to manage worker
fatigue. Job rotation has been
implemented in many settings
including refuse collecting
(Neter, Wasserman & Kutner,
1990), cashiering and poultry
processing (Henderson, 1992).
Jonsson (1998) claimed that
frequent health impacts such as coronary disease, this strategy is ideal for construction because it is
hypertension (Dembe, Erickson, Delbos, et al., 2005), especially useful for dynamic tasks that require vari-
diabetes (Harma, 2006), insomnia (Taris, Beckers, ations in muscular load. Furthermore, job rotation
Dahlgren, et al., 2007) and injuries (Sparks, et al., reduces errors and increases employee job satisfac-
1997) among workers in multiple industries. tion. Developing a proper job rotation plan involves
Additionally, fatigue that results from extended determining which jobs to include, the rotation
work periods has been linked to adverse behavior sequence and the proper rotation interval (Thar-
and habits such as an unhealthy diet, lack of exercise maphornphilas & Norman, 2004).
and smoking, which, in turn, may cause health prob- A more advanced technique is to rotate workers
lems (van der Hulst, 2003). based on a specific policy, such as choosing not to
Several Japanese studies found that extremely assign a worker to two stressful tasks in succession
long working hours (systematically working more (Henderson, 1992). Carnahan, Redfern and Norman
than 60 hours a week) can have
severe effects on health, such as
karoshi (death from overwork)
Table 4
Table 4
and karojisatsu (suicide due to
overwork) (Amagasa, Naka-
Preventive & Management
yama & Takahashi, 2005;
Kawakami & Haratani, 1999;
Methods for Fatigue
Nishiyama & Johnson, 1997;
Sokejima & Kagamimori, 1998;
Uehata, 1991). Lagging indica-
tors of fatigue are summarized
in Table 3.

Fatigue Mitigation
Strategies
Based on causal factors and
individual risk factors, some
potential countermeasures for
cognitive and localized muscu-
lar fatigue are obvious. They
include allowing workers to
control their overtime shifts;
providing rewards for partici-
pating in overtime shifts; and Studies have investigated specific coun-
precluding some workers termeasures for fatigue in construction.
based on age, preexisting con- Goldenhar, et al. (2003), created a list of
ditions and circadian rhythms. countermeasures and controls for fatigue.
Several studies have investi-
gated specific countermeasures
24 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY DECEMBER 2010 www.asse.org
(2000) proposed a method to reduce low back injury
in a manual lifting environment by implementing a
genetic algorithm to provide multiple good job rota-
tion schedules; they then used a clustering method
to determine a general set of rules governing task
exposure for each group of workers.
One must note several limitations of job rotation
in construction. First, job rotation may not be realis-
tic for some tasks that require a relatively high level
of skill. Second, job rotation must be strategic as a
poor rotation plan can increase risk for some work-
ers. A poorly designed job rotation plan can actually
increase worker stress.
Fatigue Risk Management Model
The body of literature reviewed was compiled to
create a model (Figure 2) for fatigue risk manage-
ment during rapid renewal highway construction
projects. Particular attention is paid to leading and
lagging factors and the immediate and long-term
effects.
This model is intended to be used as a quick ref-
erence and summarizes the key points from the liter-
ature. It is expected that this model can be used by
project managers and safety managers to identify,
analyze and respond to fatigue risk factors. The dis-
cussions in this article and the numerous references
provided can help readers gain a better understand-
ing of fatigue causes, effects and countermeasures.
Conclusions & Recommendations
While numerous studies focus on occupational
fatigue, no previous studies have attempted to sum-
marize the literature in a cohesive document to mit-
igate risks in an emerging work environment.
Furthermore, no studies specifically focus on the
effects of rapid renewal scenarios or the potential
effects of cognitive fatigue on human error.
This article provides such a summary and
addresses these key points. As this analysis reveals,
construction worker fatigue may affect project suc-
cess and workers’ quality of life. Specific controls
and countermeasures have been developed in man-
ufacturing, aviation, transportation and healthcare
that may have direct application to construction.
The author suggests future research on several
topics related to fatigue. First, the effects of construc-
tion-specific work tasks on fatigue should be evalu-
ated through objective and rigorous research.
Second, the impacts of fatigue on work performance
(e.g., productivity and safety) should be measured
and compared using activity sampling and safety
metrics. Other types of fatigue, such as sleepiness
and loss of motivation and concentration, should be
highlighted. Finally, the efficacy of the controls
noted in this article should be objectively studied.
This article is not intended to be all-inclusive.
Rather, the objective was to discuss the various fac-
tors that may influence fatigue on rapid renewal
highway projects; review the validated methods of
measuring fatigue; and highlight how fatigue may
influence work performance and quality of life. 䡲
Figure
Figure 2 2
Fatigue Management Model
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 ASSEASSE
Foundation Research
Foundation Research
Postural
Control
Age-related changes in working-age men
By Adam J. Strang and Angela T. DiDomenico
W
WORKPLACE FALLS IN THE U.S. resulted in 680
fatalities in 2008, accounting for 13% of all work-
related fatalities, according to Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS, 2010a; b). In addition, nonfatal work-
place falls accounted for approximately 21% of all
work-related injuries that required days away from
work. The direct insured costs of these falls were
estimated to be $13.9 billion in 2008 (Liberty Mutual,
2009).
The burden of workplace falls and injuries will
likely increase in the coming years because the num-
ber of older adults (those age 65 and older) in the
U.S. workforce has risen sharply (Mosisa & Hipple,
2006). As adults age, they are generally more likely
to experience falls and fall-related injuries (Sattin,
Lambert-Huber, DeVito, et al., 1990). In fact, reports
indicate that one-third of older adults suffer at least
one fall per year (Hausdorff, Rios & Edelber, 2001).
It is generally assumed that the increased inci-
dence of falls as humans age is the result of steady
declines in muscular strength, flexibility, reaction
time and proprioceptive sensitivity (i.e., the ability to
sense the body’s relative position and movements)
(Schmidt & Lee, 1999), all of which contribute to
decreased postural control (Lord, Ward, Williams, et
al., 1994; Maki, Holliday & Topper, 1994). Despite
this, researchers have not developed a thorough
understanding of how postural control changes over
one’s lifespan, nor have they developed a reliable
model from which to predict falls based on laborato-
ry observations of postural control (e.g., postural
sway) (Buatios, Gueguen, Gauchard, et al., 2006).
Defining & Measuring Postural Sway
In laboratory experiments, postural control is
often observed by obtaining center of pressure (COP)
time-series from a forceplate while participants are
engaged in some form of upright stance (e.g., two-
leg, single-leg, eyes open, eyes closed). Figure 1 (p.
28) depicts a typical laboratory setup for such a pro-
cedure, as well as a two-dimensional birds-eye view
of a front/back [anterior-posterior (A-P)] versus
left/right [medial-lateral (M-L)] COP position plot
obtained during quiet two-legged stance with eyes
open. What is evident from this plot is that standing
posture is not really quiet at all, but instead contains
Abstract: As adults age,
they are more likely to
experience falls and fall-
related injuries. This is
thought to occur as the
steady and persistent movement (i.e., postural sway). result of age-related
Over the past few decades, researchers have declines in postural con-
attempted to analyze postural sway using several trol. However, little is
measures, such as COP average velocity, total dis- known about how, or
tance traveled (or path length), range and root mean whether, postural con-
square (RMS) amplitude. Collectively, these measures trol changes with age
provide information about the overall amount of pos- in healthy working-age
tural sway (e.g., velocity, total distance traveled) or populations. This
general area (e.g., range, RMS) in which postural research examined
sway occurs (Palmeri, Ingersoll, Stone, et al., 2002). changes in the postural
Despite the lack of success using these measures control using a set of
to predict falls, results obtained using this approach traditional statistical
have proven successful for examining the effects of measures and a nonlin-
several occupational hazards on postural control, ear time-series analysis
such as early childhood exposure to lead (Bhat- called Sample Entropy.
tacharya, Shukla, Dietrich, et al., 2006); prolonged The findings, their impli-
work exposure to jet fuel (Smith, Bhattacharya, cations and future
Lemasters, et al., 1997); heavy equipment loads applications for devel-
(Sobeih, Davis, Succop, et al., 2006); and motion sick- oping models to predict
ness (Smart, Stoffregen & Bardy, 2002). and prevent falls are
Recently, researchers have begun to incorporate a discussed.
new set of measures to assess postural sway with the
Adam J. Strang, M.S., ATC, is a doctoral student in cognitive psychology at Miami
University. He is also a board-certified and licensed athletic trainer in the state of
Ohio. In 2009, Strang received a research fellowship from the ASSE Foundation and
Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety. His research interests are focused on
assessing the effects of age, fatigue, injury, physical activity, and injury rehabilitation
on balance and stability.
Angela T. DiDomenico, Ph.D., CPE, is a researcher at the Liberty Mutual Research
Institute for Safety in Hopkinton, MA. Her research interests include postural stability
and fall prevention, occupational biomechanics, and measurement of human
performance and motion. She conducts research within the slips and falls domain,
and seeks to determine the factors that cause or contribute to loss of balance and
postural instability. DiDomenico’s recent investigations involve measuring postural
imbalances and evaluating balance recovery.
www.asse.org DECEMBER 2010 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY 27
 with a focus on looking for
Figure
Figure 1 1 consistent patterns in each sys-
tem’s temporal structure re-
Lab Setup for Postural Control Study veals that these systems have
a) a participant engaged in quiet upright stance on a forceplate; b) a two-dimensional sta- varying degrees of determin-
bilogram plot depicting a “birds-eye-view” of the front/back (anterior-posterior; A-P) versus ism in their rhythms.
left/right (medial-lateral; M-L) center of pressure position of the participant in the photo for Specifically, the sine wave (a
15 seconds of continuous stance. mathematical function with a
a) b) specified frequency and ampli-
tude) appears to contain the
most determinism (i.e., it is the
most predictable), followed by
M-L postural sway and heart
rate (both of which seem to
have some degree of determin-
ism and randomness), and
finally white noise (which by
definition is a completely ran-
dom function akin to the static
interference heard when listen-
ing to an unclear radio signal).
To support this assessment
with a quantifiable metric, the
The two-dimensional birds-eye view of a time-series in Figure 2 were
front/back [anterior-posterior (A-P)] versus subjected to examination using
left/right [medial-lateral (M-L)] COP position a popular nonlinear time-series
plot was obtained during quiet two-legged analysis known as sample
stance with eyes open. What this plot shows is entropy (SampEn). Briefly,
that standing posture is not really quiet at all, SampEn is a measure that
but instead contains steady and persistent attempts to quantify the degree
movement (i.e., postural sway). of regularity or complexity
within a time-series on a scale
from zero (low complexity;
associated with a time-series
hope that these measures may provide new insight exhibiting high determinism) to two (high complex-
into postural control and/or lead to the development ity; associated with a time-series exhibiting low
of better predictive models of behavioral outcomes determinism) (Richman & Moorman, 2000).
(e.g., falls, motion sickness, work fatigue) (Stergiou, SampEn values for the sample time-series illus-
Buzzi, Kurz, et al., 2005). These measures are collec- trated in Figure 2 are presented in Table 1. From these
tively referred to as nonlinear time-series analyses. data, one can see that the estimates of complexity
Nonlinear time-series analyses were developed provided by SampEn match the perceptions appar-
by mathematicians and physicists in an attempt to ent to the naked eye. In fact, SampEn and approxi-
capture information about the temporal structure in mate entropy (ApEn), a closely related measure, have
rhythmic oscillations that are commonly observed in been shown to be some of the most reliable and accu-
continuous systems such as cardiac rhythm rate analyses for describing temporal structure in
(Richman & Moorman, 2000); electrical brain activi- continuous biological systems (e.g., heart rhythm,
ty (Diambra, Bastos de Figueiredo & Malta, 1999); hormone secretion) compared to other forms of non-
machine vibration (Yan & Gao, 2007); walking gait linear time-series analysis (Pincus, 1997).
(Papadakis, Christakis, Tzagarakis, et al., 2009); the
stock market (Pincus & Kalman, 2004); and postural The Experiment
sway (Cavanaugh, Guskiewicz & Stergiou, 2005). To date, only a few studies have attempted to use
Inherent in the development and use of these analy- any form of nonlinear time-series analysis to assess
ses is an assumption that the oscillations noted when changes in postural sway between different age
observing a continuous system’s behavior over time groups (Newell, 1997), and no study has assessed
are not just random noise, but contain some degree changes in postural sway using these measures with
of predictability or determinism (i.e., underlying age as a continuous variable. Based on this, the cur-
and lawful causation). rent experiment was designed to investigate whether
To illustrate how these measures are applied and one nonlinear time-series analysis (SampEn) might
what unique information they provide, four time- prove useful for detecting age-related changes in the
series representing the behavior of four continuous postural sway of working-aged men, as well as to
systems often examined with these analyses are pre- compare results obtained from SampEn to a set of
sented in Figure 2. A quick glance at these systems more traditional postural sway measures (e.g., COP
28 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY DECEMBER 2010 www.asse.org
average velocity, range, posi- A quick glance at
tion variability) to examine Figure 2
Figure 2 these systems with a
whether SampEn may be more focus on looking for
sensitive to and/or provide Time-Series of Continuous Systems consistent patterns in
additional information about Continuous systems with varying degrees of determinism (i.e., pre- each system’s tempo-
age-related changes in postural dictability) in their oscillations. From visual assessment of these time- ral structure reveals
control that traditional meas- series it appears that the sine wave (unitless) contains the most that these systems
ures do not. determinism, followed by the M-L postural sway (cm), heart rate (beat- have varying degrees
To accomplish this, 45 men to-beat intervals; sec) and white noise (unitless). of determinism in
age 18 to 65, free of muscu- their rhythms.
loskeletal injury/disease or bal-
ance disorder, and within a
body mass index (BMI) range of
19 to 35, were recruited to par-
ticipate in a larger study focused
on postural control and balance
recovery associated with work-
related postures (of which this
experiment was only one part).
Prior to the experimental ses-
sion, all participants completed
an informed consent procedure
approved by the Liberty Mutual
Research Institute for Safety’s
Institutional Review Board.
During the experiment, three
trials were recorded where par-
ticipants were simply asked to
stand two-legged on a force-
plate as still as possible with
arms at their sides, shoes on, feet placed shoulders From these data,
width apart and eyes focused on a target located 7 m Table 1
Table 1 one can see that
away at eye level for a period of 60 seconds. While the estimates of
standing in this position, COP was recorded in the SampEn Values complexity provid-
A-P and M-L directions at 100 samples per second. SampEn values corresponding to the time series ed by SampEn
During post-processing, the first 10 seconds of every in Figure 2. Values closer to zero indicate increased match the percep-
trial was cropped to eliminate the influence of any complexity in the time-series, whereas values tions apparent to
movement adjustments participants might have made closer to two represent decreased complexity. the naked eye.
at the beginning of a trial (leaving 50-second trials for
use in later analysis).
Once the COP data for all participants were col-
lected and cropped, the following postural sway
measures were derived: SampEn (M = 2, r = 0.2;
unitless value), total distance (cm), average velocity
(cm/s), range (cm) and RMS (cm). Following com-
putation of these measures for all trials, the values
ent measures of postural sway used in this experi-
obtained for each participant (three values per meas-
ment (Table 2, p. 31). Results for the 45 participants
ure) were averaged to minimize the influence of an
showed that significant negative linear relationships
erroneous trial.
existed between age and A-P and M-L COP total dis-
Experiment Results tance and SampEn, as well as M-L average velocity
A representative M-L COP time-series for an 18- (Figure 4, p. 32). No significant relationship was
year-old and 59-year-old participant are depicted in found between age and A-P or M-L range or RMS.
Figure 3 (p. 30). As in the earlier example, a quick Collectively, these results imply that as working-
review seems to indicate that the temporal struc- age men get older, they reduce the amount of their
tures of these time series are quite different. postural sway, as well as produce sway that is less
Specifically, it appears that the 18-year-old exhibits complex (indicative of a more deterministic sway
postural sway that is less deterministic and, thus, pattern). However, the general area in which postur-
more complex, compared to the 59-year-old. al sway occurs does not change.
To assess whether this observation was indicative
of a larger trend, a series of correlations were per- Interpreting the Results
formed investigating the possible linear relationships The results of this study show that measures pro-
between age (a continuous variable) and all depend- viding information about the amount (average
www.asse.org DECEMBER 2010 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY 29
 velocity and total distance) and temporal structure
(SampEn) of sway were able to detect age-related
changes in healthy working-age men. This is impor-
tant information since it confirms that a nonlinear
time-series analysis, as well as some traditional
sway measures, are useful for detecting age-related
changes, and are likely important components to
include in predictive models of human postural
sway over the lifespan.
That said, it is a challenge to decipher exactly
what these results mean in terms of improving
understanding of how postural control changes over
the lifespan and what future application these find-
ings may have for predicting or preventing behav-
ioral outcomes such as falls in the workplace.
For example, traditional perspectives on postural
control have assumed that reductions in the amount
or area of postural sway are indicators of improved
balance and stability (Nashner & McCollum, 1985).
From this perspective, one might conclude that since
sway area did not get any larger with age and that
since the amount of sway was actually reduced, pos-
Review of these
data seems to indi- Figure 3
Figure 3
cate that the tempo-
ral structures of M-L COP Time-Series
these time series are Representative time series of M-L COP for an 18-year-old and 59-year-
quite different. old during bipedal stance (50-second trial). From visual assessment of
Specifically, it these time series it appears that the 18-year-old’s sway is more com-
appears that the plex (i.e., less deterministic) compared to the 59-year-old.
18-year-old exhibits
postural sway that is
less deterministic
and, thus, more
complex, compared
to the 59-year-old.
30 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY DECEMBER 2010 www.asse.org
tural control might improve with age. In addition,
when these findings are integrated with information
provided by SampEn (which showed that postural
sway became more deterministic with age), these
results seem to imply that not only are men swaying
less as they age, they are also swaying in a more pre-
dictable manner.
Might this mean that as men age (at least up to age
65) they use their experience to elicit better postural
control compared to younger counterparts? While
this is possible, it is also possible that it may be mis-
leading to embrace a traditional interpretation of
these results. In fact, when looking at these results
from a nonlinear/dynamic systems perspective, a
somewhat different interpretation is possible. To
understand this interpretation, a review of previous
research is necessary.
In one study, Schmit, Regis and Riley (2005) com-
pare differences in the postural sway of ballet
dancers and track athletes using a nonlinear time-
series analysis known as recurrence quantification
analysis (RQA). The researchers assume that ballet
dancers and track athletes have
similar body types, but that bal-
let dancers, because of the spe-
cific requirements of their
athletic activity, likely have
superior postural control. Re-
sults from this study show that
ballet dancers exhibit less deter-
minism in their sway than track
athletes. (Note: The actual
nomenclature used to describe
RQA and SampEn are quite dif-
ferent, but similar terms are
used here to preserve a consis-
tent interpretation.)
In other studies, researchers
have shown that patients with
Parkinson’s disease exhibit
more determinism in their
sway compared to healthy con-
trols (Schmit, Riley, Dalvi, et al.,
2006); that participants stand-
ing with eyes closed (conceiv-
ably a stance condition that
threatens stability) exhibit more
determinism in their sway than
in eyes open conditions (Donk-
er, Roerdink, Greven, et al.,
2007); and that engaging in a
distracting mental task (e.g.,
counting backwards by threes)
also results in a more determin-
istic sway pattern (Pellecchia,
Shockley & Turvey, 2005). Fin-
ally, Newell (1997) showed that
older adults (age 65 to 75)
exhibited more determinism in
their sway than younger adults
(age 18 to 25).
Collectively, the results of
these studies seem to point
toward an emerging trend. Table 2
Table 2
That is, postural sway in those
who are in some way con- Correlations: Age & Postural Sway
strained (e.g., patients suffering Correlations between age and postural sway measures, as well as descriptive means for each
from disease, those restricted sway measure for participants on opposite ends of the age spectrum (i.e., men ages 18 to 24,
from the use of vision, older and 56 to 65).
adults who might have re-
duced strength and flexibility)
exhibits more determinism in
its temporal structure than it
does in those who might be
considered generally healthy
and unconstrained (e.g., young
adults, ballet dancers).
This has led researchers to
theorize that healthy and/or
unconstrained postural sway
may contain a small, but impor-
tant amount of chaotic variability
within its rhythmic oscillations.
This variability has been hypo-
thesized to reflect flexibility, the
potential for adaptability or Note. ap < 0.01; bp < 0.05.
even exploratory postural con-
trol (Newell, 1997; Pellecchia, et
al., 2005; Schmit, et al., 2005). Conversely, unhealthy researchers can better understand how the dynamics To assess whether this
and/or constrained postural sway appears to be of postural sway are altered by factors known to be observation was
more periodic and predictable, which has been associated with falls, such as age, injury, physical fit- indicative of a larger
thought to reflect a more rigid and/or tightly con- ness, weight and gender, then it may be possible to trend, a series of corre-
trolled sway strategy (Donker, et al., 2007). someday accurately predict the likelihood of a fall, lations were per-
What remains unknown is whether a more tight- or provide an assessment of balance recovery fol- formed investigating
ly controlled sway strategy is indicative of a func- lowing an injury through simple, objective and cost- the possible linear rela-
tional adaptation that attempts to preserve postural effective measurement of standing posture. This tionships between age
performance despite the presence of a constraint remains a future goal. (a continuous variable)
(possibly by attempting to exert more conscious con- The results of this experiment indicate that age- and all dependent
trol over postural sway) or simply reduced stability. related changes in postural sway are steady and pro- measures of postural
While results from the present experiment cannot gressive. Taken together, this may mean that balance sway used in this
answer this lingering question, this experiment is not just a challenge for the elderly, but also a fac- experiment.
lends support to the current research trend provided tor to consider when implementing safety programs
one is willing to assume that age represents a nega- or seeking to improve safety at the worksite where a
tive constraint on postural control. This study also broader range of ages are likely represented.
adds something unique to the literature by observ- It is hoped that the results of this study will moti-
ing changes in postural control as a continuous func- vate more postural control research (specifically
tion of age in a rarely researched demographic (i.e., among working-age populations), as well as lead to
healthy men within the traditional working ages of more advanced research using nonlinear time-series
18 to 65). analyses to assess postural sway. Furthermore, while
Still, one must recognize that this study was pre- the use of these new analyses adds new and per-
liminary and had several important limitations. For plexing theoretical questions that researchers will
example, the sample size was relatively small (N = 45); have to address, they may ultimately provide the
women were not included; researchers did not exam- information needed to build better predictive mod-
ine postural sway in adults older than age 65; the els of postural behavior. 䡲
research team did not attempt to control for other fac-
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Acknowledgments
The study was sponsored by the ASSE Foundation through a
Liberty Mutual safety research fellowship awarded to Adam
Strang. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily
reflect those of the ASSE Foundation.

Phosphine
Analysis of an exposure incident in a commodity warehouse
By Gerald Beaumont and Joan Beaumont
P
PHOSPHINE IS A STRONG REDUCING AGENT
used as a doping agent in the manufacture of semi-
conductors, as a chemical intermediate in the chemi-
cal industry and as a fumigant in the pesticide
industry. In the semiconductor and chemical indus-
tries, phosphine is used in closed systems with
releases into the work area being carefully controlled.
Phosphine also has been used for several years as
a fumigant to kill insects and their larvae, and
rodents in commodities and food processing facili-
ties. Fumigation requires releasing the substance
into the air of the space to be treated. Phosphine
diluted in carbon dioxide and some phosphine-gener-
ating materials, aluminum and magnesium phos-
phides (metal phosphides) are registered pesticides
regulated by EPA. These pesticides are recommended
for the control of a broad spectrum of insects and their
larvae, and several small mammals.
Phosphine has been used to treat animal hides
and furs, natural fibers or cloth and clothing, wool
and hair, leather products, tobacco and tobacco prod-
ucts, wood and wood products, paper and paper
products, flowers, grains and flour, nuts, fodder, veg-
etables, and many prepared food products and food
processing and storage facilities. It is a gas and leaves
no significant residual when properly aerated.
Humans have died from inadvertent exposure
during commodity fumigations and in other situa-
tions involving airborne phosphine (Heyndrickx,
van Petigham, van den Heede, 1976; Wilson,
Lovejoy, Jaeger, et al., 1980). As a pesticide, phos-
phine and phosphine-releasing materials may only
be purchased by licensed pesticide applicators for
use in accordance with the product labeling.
The case described here occurred because EPA
registration requirements were not followed. Em-
ployees were exposed to phosphine and related
materials following a fumigation. As a result, they
suffered residual lung damage. It was difficult to
reconstruct the exposures because of changes made
to the warehouse and limited access to the modified
building. A graphical presentation of the data col-
lected during and after the fumigation allowed the
investigator to estimate the concentration of phos-
phine. Published data on the environmental fate of
phosphine (Frank & Rippen, 1986) provide a basis
for using chemical reaction rate calculations to esti-
mate the concentration of phosphorous oxyacids in
the warehouse’s separate sections.
Chemical Safety
Chemical Safety
Toxicity of Materials
Phosphine
In its “Note to Physician,” one manufacturer
(Degesch America) states:
Magnesium phosphide fumigant reacts with
Abstract: An exposure
incident at a commodity
warehouse fumigated
with phosphine resulted
moisture in air, water, acids and many other liq- in permanent lung dam-
uids to release phosphine gas. Mild inhalation age, ranging from mod-
exposure causes malaise (indefinite feeling of erate to severe, in
sickness), ringing in the ears, fatigue, nausea warehouse employees.
and pressure in the chest which is relieved by The exposure resulted
removal to fresh air. Moderate poisoning causes from a violation of EPA’s
weakness, vomiting, pain just above the stom- pesticide registration dur-
ach, chest pain, diarrhea and dyspnea (difficul- ing the fumigation. This
ty in breathing). Symptoms of severe poisoning article examines the limit-
may occur within a few hours to several days, ed air monitoring data
resulting in pulmonary edema (fluid in lungs) collected during and
and may lead to dizziness, cyanosis (blue or after the fumigation and
purple skin color), unconsciousness and death. concludes that airborne
In sufficient quantity, phosphine affects the concentrations exceeded
liver, kidneys, lungs, nervous system and circu- accepted exposure limits
latory system. Inhalation can cause lung edema for phosphine and for
(fluid in lungs) and hyperemia (excess blood in phosphoric acid. The
a body part), small perivascular brain hemor- authors call for new pre-
rhages and brain edema (fluid in brain). ventive measures to
Ingestion can cause lung and brain symptoms address this concern.
but damage to the viscera (body cavity organs)
is more common. Phosphine poisoning may
result in 1) pulmonary edema, 2) liver elevated
serum GOT, LDH and alkaline phosphatase,
reduced prothrombin, hemorrhage and jaundice
(yellow skin color) and 3) kidney hematuria
(blood in urine) and anuria (abnormal or lack of
urination). Pathology is characteristic of hypox-
ia (oxygen deficiency in body tissue). Frequent
exposure to concentrations above permissible
levels over a period of days or weeks may cause
poisoning. Treatment is symptomatic.
One study of the toxicity of phosphine in rats con-
cluded that the primary hazard to exposed rats was
Gerald Beaumont, CSP, CIH, is a safety and industrial hygiene consultant with
Beaumont & Associates in Simpsonville, SC. He holds a bachelor’s degree from
University of Wisconsin. Beaumont’s work experience includes 17 years in the
chemical industry, 3 years in the construction industry and 23 years in consulting.
He is a professional member of ASSE’s Piedmont Chapter.
Joan Beaumont, R.N., is an occupational safety and health consultant with
Beaumont & Associates. She holds a bachelor’s degree from University of South
Carolina, Spartansburg, and has more than 20 years’ experience as a critical care
nurse and 7 years’ experience in consulting.
www.asse.org DECEMBER 2010 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY 33

Figure
Figure 1 1
Plan of Tobacco Warehouse
The warehouse was lethality and that exposure-related sublethal effects
divided into 10 sec- were completely reversible after 13 weeks of expo-
tions. Sections 1, 2 sure to 0.3, 1 and 3 ppm phosphine (Newton,
and 3 were chosen Schroder, Sullivan, et al., 1993). Another study found
for analysis because that single, 4-hour exposures to phosphine at 21, 28
they are connected in and 40 ppm reduced activity in rats, but they fully
a U-shape and recovered within a week of exposure (Schafer,
because section 1 Newton, Gruebbel, et al., 1998). That study also con-
was the staging area cluded that phosphine was not neurotoxic to rats at
from which employ- 0.3, 1 or 3 ppm after 13 weeks of exposure.
ees received assign- A 2-year inhalation study of rats exposed to 0.3, 1
ments for retrieving and 3 ppm concluded that no exposure-related
commodity. changes were suggestive of a toxic or carcinogenic
effect (Newton, Hilaski, Banas, et al., 1999). OSHA’s
permissible exposure limit (PEL) for phosphine and
American Conference of Governmental Industrial
Hygienists (ACGIH) threshold limit value (TLV) for
phosphine is 0.3 ppm.
Phosphonic Acid
The authors found no reference to phosphonic
acid toxicity in the literature. As it is a weak acid, it
is likely to have toxicity similar to phosphoric acid.
Phosphoric Acid
Little information in the literature addresses air-
borne phosphoric acid. Phosphoric acid is a weak
acid, so a mist of it is expected to be irritating to eyes,
skin and respiratory tract. Inhalation of significant
amounts of a weak acid is expected to cause swelling
and excess fluid in the lungs and lower serum pH.
Ingestion of phosphoric acid is likely to be corrosive
34 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY DECEMBER 2010 www.asse.org
to the esophagus and affect serum pH. Partially neu-
tralized phosphoric acid is used in colas to buffer the
pH in the range of 2 to 2.5; thus, intake of phosphate
does not have substantial toxicity, unless it is in the
fully acid form. The PEL and TLV for phosphoric
acid is 1 mg/m3.
Background & Overview of the Exposure
The exposure incident occurred at a warehouse
that stored bales of tobacco. To prepare the facility
for fumigation, all electronic equipment and metal
objects that would readily be damaged by the fumi-
gant were removed. Objects of this nature, including
coins and the radio repeater antenna, had suffered
significant corrosion during prior fumigation. To
seal the warehouse, vents were covered with plastic
sheeting, and cracks around building openings and
the sheeting were taped.
Employees went home on Friday afternoon and
were away from the warehouse during the week of
fumigation. Placards were placed on building en-
trances, and packets of information about phosphine
releases were placed in all 10 sections of the com-
modity warehouse.
Measurements were taken and recorded inside
the warehouse and from inside the baled commodi-
ty at time intervals during fumigation. The exact
locations of the sampling were not available to the
author. The fumigator used a self-contained breath-
ing apparatus to protect against the airborne phos-
phine, since no cartridge is known to protect against
phosphine, and its warning properties are consid-
ered inadequate for use of a cartridge respirator.
At about 101 hours from the start of fumigation,
the sealing materials were removed and the ware-
house doors were opened to allow airflow to remove
the fumigant. Phosphine in the warehouse and
inside of the commodity was again measured and
documented. The phosphine rapidly cleared from
the warehouse atmosphere, but some remained
inside the commodity. The placards were removed
and the warehouse doors were closed on Friday
afternoon, about 151 hours after fumigation began.
Employees returned to work on Monday morn-
ing and experienced respiratory problems. Two
employees who went beyond section 1 became nau-
seous and vomited. Sensing something was wrong,
management sent the sick employees home after
about 2 hours of exposure.
Before leaving the warehouse, the manager and
another employee opened all the doors to air out the
building, at approximately 215 hours after fumiga-
tion. The fumigator returned to the warehouse about
3 hours later, after driving from his home base. He
measured the concentration of phosphine in the
ambient air and in some bales of tobacco. The pesti-
cide manufacturer filed a voluntary report to EPA
some months later.
Employees’ symptoms worsened and they visited
a physician the next day. One employee developed
serious respiratory problems about 3 days after the
exposure. Physicians treated the employees sympto-
matically, as recommended in the manufacturer’s phy (IC). The air sampling rate for these methods is
note. These employees have mild to severe residual 0.2 Lpm. The silica gel tube is made of glass and may
lung impairment from this exposure incident. be subject to breakage. Analysis is typically performed
by an accredited analytical laboratory.
Measurement Methods OSHA method 111 used a mixed cellulose ester
The fumigator measured phosphine using a filter to collect phosphoric acid at an air flow rate of
Portasens (Analytical Technology Inc., Oaks, PA) 2 Lpm, a carbonate buffer solution for desorption,
and a Draeger bellows pump with unspecified and analysis by IC. This method has been supersed-
detector tubes for phosphine. The electrochemical, ed by OSHA method 165SG.
direct-reading instrument has a detection limit of
approximately 10 ppm when fitted with the high- Graphing Methods
range phosphine sensor, and has a detection limit of Phosphine concentration versus time was plotted On the day of the
about 0.02 ppm when fitted with the PPB sensor for manually on a large pad of paper with quarter inch incident, employees
phosphine. The detector tubes in the low range have grids. Data points were connected with a smooth line spent most of their
detection limits of about 0.1 ppm. using a pen and a ships curve, a drafting tool with exposure time in sec-
Employee exposure monitoring for time-weight- varying curvature for creating a smooth line through tion 1. The fire doors
ed-average (TWA) and short-term exposures during nonlinear data points. One section of the graph used were open between
routine use can be accomplished using OSHA an enlarged phosphine scale, to be able to see the sections during the
method 1003 or NIOSH method 6002. The OSHA changes in the plotted data at lower concentrations. fumigation, so some
method uses a mercuric-chloride-treated polyester Projections of data for the period after the ware- diffusion occurred
filter to collect phosphine. Air flow through the cas- house was opened were calculated using slopes between sections
sette for TWA measurements is 1 liter per minute equivalent to the rate of concentration decline just 1, 2 and 3.
(Lpm) for up to 4 hours, and is 2 Lpm for
the 15-minute measurement. The filter is
then digested in sulfuric acid and the
Table 1
Table 1
resulting solution analyzed using an
inductively coupled plasma-atomic emis-
Phosphine Concentrations Measured
sion spectrometer (ICP-AES).
The NIOSH method uses a silica gel
at Various Times During Fumigation
tube, 300/150 mg, treated with mercuric
cyanide. The recommended air flow rate
through the tube ranges from 0.01 to 0.2
Lpm, with a minimum air volume of 1 L
and a maximum of 16 L. The silica gel tube
is desorbed with hot, acidic permanganate
solution and the resulting solution ana-
lyzed using an ultraviolet-visible spec-
trophotometer.
These methods require calibrated sam-
pling pumps and yield similar exposure
results. The NIOSH method utilizes a glass
sampling tube, which may be broken dur-
ing sampling, while the OSHA method
uses a plastic cassette. Each method
requires moderately expensive analytical
equipment and preparation of reagents, so
analysis is commonly completed by an
accredited analytical laboratory.
With either method, the collection
media has a relatively short shelf life. One
supplier reports a shelf life of 30 days for
the NIOSH method media, and 90 days
for the OSHA method media. (Always
check with suppliers for specifics on the
shelf life of their sampling supplies for
phosphine.)
Phosphoric Acid
NIOSH method 7903 and OSHA
method 165SG use a washed silica gel tube,
400/200 mg, to collect phosphoric acid,
which is desorbed with a carbonate buffer Note. ND = material was not detected
solution, and analyzed by ion chromatogra-
www.asse.org DECEMBER 2010 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY 35
 Phosphine concentra- before the warehouse was
tion versus time was Figure
Figure 2 2 closed and the concentration
plotted manually. Data measured in the commodity on
points were connected Phosphine Concentration the afternoon of the exposure.
with a smooth line The projection of the ambi-
using a pen and a ships Over Time, Section 1 ent concentration was calculat-
curve (a drafting tool ed using curves estimating a
with varying curvature concentration based on natural
for creating a smooth diffusion. Vertical lines on the
line through nonlinear graphs at hour 101 reflect the
Phosphine concentration in ppm, v/v

data points). One sec- change in ventilation from

tion of the graph used sealed to wide open; at hour
an enlarged phosphine 151, the lines reflect closure of
scale, to be able to see all doors; and at hour 215 the
the changes in the plot- lines indicate the opening of
ted data at lower the doors.
concentrations.

Discussion
The warehouse was divided
into 10 sections (Figure 1, p.
34), separated by fire walls and
fire rated doors that close after
a fusible link melts. Most sec-
tions were filled with stacked
bales of tobacco—up to 75% of
the section’s volume. Section 1
was filled to about 50% of the
Time from start of fumigation in hours volume, because its staging
area contained no commodity.
Note. Phosphine concentration versus time from start of fumigation in warehouse Sections 1, 2 and 3 were cho-
section 1. sen because they are connected
in a U-shape with section 1 in
Figure
Figure 3 3
the middle, and because it was
the staging area from which em-
Phosphine Concentration ployees received assignments
for retrieving commodity.
Over Time, Section 2 On the day of the incident,
employees spent most of their
exposure time in this area. The
fire doors were open between
Phosphine concentration in ppm, v/v

sections during the fumigation,

so some diffusion occurred be-
tween sections 1, 2 and 3. Table
1 (p. 35) presents data collected
by the fumigator for three of the
warehouse sections. Figures 2, 3
and 4 are graphical presenta-
tions of the data and projections.
Phosphine oxidizes in air to
phosphorous oxyacids and the
published half-life is 28 hours
in the absence of ultraviolet
light (Frank & Rippen, 1986).
This oxidation of phosphine at
ppm concentrations is a first
order chemical reaction, which
is dependent on the concentra-
tion of hydroxyl radical (OH).
Time from start of fumigation in hours (Phosphine is known to catch
Note. Phosphine concentration versus time from start of fumigation in warehouse fire without an ignition source
section 2. when released into air at high-
er concentrations, because it is
36 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY DECEMBER 2010 www.asse.org
a strong reducing agent.) Stoichiometrically, the fol-
lowing reactions are likely: Figure
Figure 4 4
PH3 + 6 OH —> H3PO3 + 3 H2O Phosphine Concentration
PH3 + 8 OH —> H3PO4 + 4 H2O
For a batch reaction, the following equation can
Over Time, Section 3
be used to determine the amount of phosphine con-
verted to phosphorous oxyacids (Barrow, 1961):
ln C0 - ln C = kt

Phosphine concentration in ppm, v/v

where:
C0 = concentration of phosphine at start of reac-
tion at t0
C = concentration of phosphine at time t
t = time elapsed during reaction
k = rate constant = 0.693/half-life
To simplify the calculations, the phosphorous
oxyacid product was considered to be either phos-
phonic acid or phosphoric acid, when, realistically
some combination of the two is most likely. Since
phosphine continued to diffuse out of the commod-
ity during the time that ventilation was limited by
door closure (hours 151 to 215 after fumigation start-
ed) oxidation of the phosphine was not truly a batch
process.
A good approximation can be achieved by con-
sidering several batch reactions starting at time
intervals throughout that period. As the graphs were
created using 6-hour grids, those times were used. Time from start of fumigation in hours
The sum of these batches is the resulting concentra-
Note. Phosphine concentration versus time from start of fumigation in warehouse
tion of phosphorous oxyacid, presented as phospho-
section 3.
nic or phosphoric acid. Table 2 (p. 38) shows the
starting concentrations for each 6-hour period and
the results of the multiple batch calculations in ware- period of acid attack on lung tissue resulting from
house sections 1, 2 and 3. increased expulsion of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the
Although no PEL or TLV exists for phosphonic lung to adjust serum pH, after the rapid influx of
acid for comparison, the calculated concentration of substantial acid from the air.
airborne phosphoric acid in the staging area of sec- Sections of the lung prevented from exhaling CO2
tion 1 was more than 15 times the PEL and TLV of due to swelled airways would remain acidic, as CO2
1 mg/m3 for phosphoric acid, and was probably was expelled from the blood, until those airways
much higher due to diffusion from sections 2 and 3. opened or pH balance was restored, likely causing
The concentrations, as phosphoric acid, in sections 2 lung damage. The nausea and vomiting that some
and 3, were more than 45 and 47 times the PEL and exposed employees experienced likely resulted from
TLV, respectively. The concentration of phosphine the initial pH imbalance from inhaling larger
projected for section 1 was double the PEL and TLV amounts of airborne acid.
of 0.3 mg/m3 when employees entered, and was 5 to
6 times the PEL and TLV for sections 2 and 3. Conclusions
The particles of acid were generated one mole- EPA regulations require that registered pesticides
cule at a time, so those particles were very small and, be used in accordance with labeling, which includes
thus, were respirable, so they would penetrate deep the applicator’s manual for the pesticide. The manu-
into the lung and affect small airways. The irritation al for the pesticide used at this site required that
caused by these weak acids would be similar to that warning placards remain in place until the fumigat-
caused by elevated carbon dioxide (the limiting fac- ed commodity contained 0.3 ppm or less of phos-
tor in holding one’s breath) and would cause phine. Placards were removed with the phosphine
increased depth and rate of respiration, increasing concentration in the tobacco in considerable excess of
the total doses of acid and phosphine to each 0.3 ppm, which violates EPA regulations. This review
exposed employee. of the data indicates that this incident would not
The lung edema seen in the overexposed employ- have occurred had those regulations been followed.
ees was likely the result of severe irritation from Employees at this warehouse were exposed in
inhaling these acids. Residual damage, as seen in considerable excess of the PEL and TLV for both
this case, may have been caused by the edema iso- phosphine and phosphorous oxyacids, when ex-
lating sections of deep lung tissue, with an extended pressed as phosphoric acid, and suffered permanent
www.asse.org DECEMBER 2010 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY 37
 lung impairment. This combined exposure is proba- and, thus, oxidation was limited. Animal exposures
bly why phosphine fumigation exposures result in were to phosphine with minimal or no phosphorous
The concentration of more damage than would be projected from the oxyacids.
phosphine projected published studies of rats exposed to phosphine.
for section 1 was dou- Those animal studies used phosphine that was
Recommendations for Further Action
ble the PEL and TLV of mixed with nitrogen to dilute it, which prevented it
Pesticide applicators must follow the require-
0.3 mg/m3 when from oxidizing prior to being released into the air
ments set forth in the registration of each pesticide
employees entered, stream leading into the exposure chamber, and from
being used in order to prevent incidents such as the
and was 5 to 6 times starting on fire upon release. Several air changes
one described here. Physicians must prepare possible
the PEL and TLV for occurred per hour in the chambers, so the time phos-
treatment methods to moderate the effects of overex-
sections 2 and 3. phine spent in each chamber was limited to minutes,
posure to the combination of phosphine and phos-
phorous oxyacids, with focus
Table
Table 2 2 on moderating the affects of
overexposure to acid. Those
Phosphine Concentrations After Building treatments should be widely
published, and presented to
Closure & Resulting Phosphoric Acid management at each facility
to be fumigated prior to that
Concentration in Warehouse Sections 1-3 activity.
Phosphine is an effective
fumigant and will continue
to be used. Therefore, addi-
tional exposure incidents are
likely, so a sound treatment
plan is needed to reduce
injury and death among
those overexposed. 䡲

References
Barrow, G.M. (1961). Physical
chemistry. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Degesch America. Applicator’s
manual for DEGESCH FUMI-CEL
and FUMI-STRIP. Weyers Cave, VA:
Author.
Frank, R. & Rippen, G. (1986).
Content of phosphine in the atmos-
phere. Frankfurt am Main, Batele-
Insttut e.v. (in German).
Heyndrickx, A., van Petigham,
C., van den Heede, M., et al. (1976).
A double fatality with children due
to fumigation of wheat. European
Journal Toxicology and Environmental
Hygiene, 9(2), 113-118.
Newton, P.E., Hilaski, R.J.,
Banas, D.A., et al. (1999). A 2-year
inhalation study of phosphine in
rats. Inhalation Toxicology, 11(8),
693-708.
Newton, P.E., Schroder, R.E.,
Sullivan, J.B., et al. (1993). Inhal-
ation toxicity of phosphine in the
rat: Acute, subchronic and develop-
mental. Inhalation Toxicology, 5(2),
223-239.
Schafer, G.J., Newton, P.E.,
Gruebbel, M.M., et al. (1998). Acute
and subchronic inhalation neurotox-
icity of phosphine in the rat. Inhala-
tion Toxicology, 10(4), 293-320.
Wilson, R., Lovejoy, F.H. Jr.,
Jaeger, R.J., et al. (1980). Acute
phosphine poisoning aboard a grain
freighter. Journal of the American
Medical Association, 244(2), 148-150.
38 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY DECEMBER 2010 www.asse.org
 Best
Practices
OSHA Inspections
What to Do When OSHA Calls
By John Section 8 of the act covers inspection, investiga-

M
uch is written, stated and advised when it
Coniglio comes to OSHA visits. This article is in no tion and recordkeeping. It states:
way meant to be a criticism or disapproval a) In order to carry out the purposes of this act,
Responses of the agency. OSHA has a job to do, and with lim- the Secretary, upon presenting appropriate
ited resources, staffing and budget, it tries to do the credentials to the owner, operator, or agent in
to OSHA best it can. This article is purely intended to pro- charge, is authorized—
vide a direct opinion from a business perspective
inspections on what to do when an inspector calls.
1) to enter without delay and at reasonable
times any factory, plant, establishment, con-
should meet Further, this is not meant to downplay the non- struction site, or other area, workplace or envi-
delegable, absolute duty of the employer to provide ronment where work is performed by an
a minimum a safe and healthy workplace. Rather, it is employee of an employer; and
standard no an attempt to provide insight into 2) to inspect and investigate dur-
leveling the playing field so ing regular working hours and
matter what that business responses to at other reasonable times, and
OSHA inspections meet a within reasonable limits
approach or minimum standard no and in a reasonable man-
guidelines matter what ap- ner, any such place of
proach or guidelines employment and all
the agency the agency may fol- pertinent conditions,
low at any partic-
may follow ular time.
structures, machines,
apparatus, devices,
at any par- If the current equipment, and ma-
approach of the terials therein, and
ticular time. agency as out- to question private-
lined in a letter ly any employer,
by OSHA owner, operator or
Administrator employee.
David Michaels
entitled, “OSHA at Section 8 also
Forty: New includes provisions that
Challenges and address:
Directions” became •requirement for wit-
the agency’s continuing ness testimony and evidence
marching orders with a production;
consistent policy of enforce- •recordkeeping regarding
ment, education, outreach and activities relating to the act and its
research, one could have an effective requirements;
template for the agency to proceed. That would still •issuing regulations regarding postings;
require businesses to respond properly to protect •making reports on work-related deaths, injuries
their rights and keep enforcement directed effec- and illnesses;
tively to the “bad guys.” •recording employee exposures to potentially
toxic materials;
•allowing employer and employee representa-
Developing Issues tives opportunity to accompany the secretary or
For 40 years, OSHA has been working to “pro- authorized representative;
tect America’s workforce” as required by the OSH •employee rights to requesting an inspection
Act of 1970. The prime objective is: and maintaining anonymity.
And for those who are curious, Section 8 (h) also
To assure safe and healthful working condi- states:
tions for working men and women by author-
©ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/PALTO

izing enforcement of the standards developed The Secretary shall not use the results of
under the act; by assisting and encouraging enforcement activities, such as the number of
the states in their efforts to assure safe and citations issued or penalties assessed, to evalu-
healthful working conditions; by providing ate [OSHA] employees directly involved in
for research, information, education, and train- enforcement activities under this act or to
ing in the field of occupational safety and impose quotas or goals with regard to the
health; and for other purposes. results of such activities.
www.asse.org DECEMBER 2010 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY 39
 Best
Practices
Another note regarding inspections is
the prominent decision made under
Marshall v. Barlow’s Inc. 436 U.S. 307
(1978). In that matter, Justice White
delivered the opinion of the court:
Section 8(a) of the Occupational
Safety and Health Act of 1970
(OSHA or act) empowers agents of
the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) to
search the work area of any
employment facility within the
act’s jurisdiction. The purpose of
the search is to inspect for safety
hazards and violations of OSHA
regulations. No search warrant or
other process is expressly required
under the act.
Barlow refused to allow OSHA per-
sonnel access to inspect his premises.
While the secretary argued that warrant-
less inspections to enforce inspections
are reasonable within the meaning of the
Fourth Amendment of the Constitution,
the appellee (Barlow) petitioned that
such warrantless inspections are unrea-
sonable under the Fourth Amendment.
The final ruling simply stated, “This
court has already held that warrantless
searches are generally unreasonable, and
that this rule applies to commercial
premises as well as homes.”
OSHA Personalities
Changing times have seen changing
approaches. Emphasis by the agency
changes as often as the controlling party
of Congress and the give and take of
day-to-day politics. As Michaels indi-
cates in his letter:
We do not have enforcement tools
as strong as those of other regulato-
ry agencies and too often the fines
we are permitted to levy are not
large enough to have an adequate
deterrent effect. Our maximum fine,
$7,000 for a serious violation, is a
small fraction of those imposed by
other federal agencies. In compari-
son, the top penalty for violating
the South Pacific Tuna Act is
$350,000. Similarly, the maximum
criminal penalty for a fatality asso-
ciated with a willful violation of an
OSHA standard is a misdemeanor,
up to 6 months in jail. Harassing a
wild burro on federal land is a
felony, with a sentence of up to a
year.
It also should be noted that instruc-
tions to the agency (administrative doc-
40 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY DECEMBER 2010 www.asse.org
OSHA’s Approach Today
O SHA’s current approach can
be read in OSHA Administrator
David Michaels’s “OSHA at Forty:
New Challenges and New Direction.”
Some key points of the letter that indi-
cate the need for vigilance in attending
to and handling OSHA inspections
follow.
•“We are a small agency. With our
state partners we have about 2,000
inspectors responsible for the health
and safety of 130 million workers
employed at 7 million worksites
around the nation.”
•“We do not have enforcement
tools as strong as those of other regu-
latory agencies and too often the fines
we are permitted to levy are not large
enough to have an adequate deterrent
effect.”
•“After 40 years OSHA needs a
fundamental transformation of the
way we address workplace hazards,
and in our relationship to employers
and workers.”
•“Focus must be placed on key
areas such as stronger enforcement
(some employers need incentives to do
the right thing). Toward this objective
under the leadership of the director of
enforcement programs, we have
recently announced two significant
policy changes: An alter-
ation in the way penal-
ties are calculated that
will result in increased
employer fines; and the
new severe violator enforce-
ment program.”
•“In some cases, regulation by
shaming may be the most effective
trine) often covered in documents such
as the field operations manual give a
clue to the current personality of the
agency. Other documents, such as
Michaels’s letter on July 19, 2010, give
clues about the current agency approach
and demeanor. It has gone from enforce-
ment to VPP candidates to outreach, to
partnerships, back to enforcement.
Currently, enforcement is a primary
focus. It is distinct and uncompromising.
Willful and egregious willful citations
are again the rule, not the exception.
When well placed and directed toward
the true offenders, one cannot argue the
approach. However, when agency per-
sonnel are inspecting your site and you
are accused of being a willful violator,
you may certainly take exception.
means for OSHA and we will not hesi-
tate to publicize the names of viola-
tors, especially when their actions
place the safety and health of workers
in danger.”
Certainly, one cannot argue the
need for effective enforcement and
penalty for those workplaces that arro-
gantly allow unsafe conditions to exist
and promote hazardous conditions,
while thinking that this increases com-
petitiveness. Those work locations
need to be targeted.
However, the typical workplace
does not fit that category and exercis-
ing rights during inspections is an
absolute necessity to make sure the
characterization of violations is accu-
rate and that their portrayal is not
based on misquoted statements taken
out of context to support a greater
severity to the violation, if it exists.
Accurate enforcement will be
obtained through a codified approach
to inspections, adequate forensic
investigation of facts and information
obtained to characterize violations
determined by a
thoughtful, effective
and fair process.
©ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/KRONICK
Perhaps the current unofficially com-
municated attitude puts it forth best: If it
is an excavating contractor and the
trench is bad, it is a willful violation.
How can the contractor not know the
right way?
As OSHA states, “In practical terms,
OSHA inspections are actually used to
collect evidence. This evidence will
eventually be used against the employer
to prove various OSHA violations.”
This is not about opinion on the need
for greater penalties, whether OSHA
should emphasize enforcement, educa-
tion or grants, but the simple fact that
one needs a consistent plan to respond
to what can be an inconsistent approach
by an agency of the U.S. government (or
state) that can compromise a business.
Often, these inspections turn into a “who
said what” scenario. A misunderstand-
ing often goes to the knowledge, lack of
knowledge, bias or simple intent of the
party and then it has to be sorted out.
The approach businesses must take is
not to simply put up walls but to exer-
cise their rights as they relate to the
physical premises and operations. In the
best of worlds, strict enforcement policy
will be directed against the “bad actors.”
But, that is not always the case and
from experience all allegations present-
ed, particularly when willful and egre-
gious, do not properly color the
seriousness of the alleged violation or
promoted citation.
What to Do When OSHA Calls
In the author’s experience, OSHA
bases many of its prosecutions on what
it claims employees have said to investi-
gators during an inspection. Alleged
statements are becoming the primary
evidence in many trials. What employ-
ees talk about during an inspection has
lasting implications for the employer.
If possible, the company and its
employees should be assisted and fully
represented during all stages of an
inspection. Having an expert involved
for the benefit of the company in many
cases makes the difference between get-
ting a citation (and all the time and
expense that goes with it) and not get-
ting a citation.
The best time to take action is at the
inception of the investigation, not after
citations have been issued. If OSHA
shows up at a work site, its goal is to
find deficiencies in the safety program
and issue citations.
If OSHA Calls on You
Given OSHA’s current “get tough”
policy, employers must be prepared.
Know Your Rights as an Employer
1) Be polite, professional and honest.
2) Supervisory/management person-
nel should not permit the inspection to
start until proper assistance is obtained.
The following minimum safeguards are
recommended:
•Hire a safety director knowledgeable
in the inspection process who can man-
age the inspection. (It is not management’s
job to make OSHA happy. Management
is there to protect the rights of the
employer and the employee.)
•No conversations with OSHA agents
should be conducted without either a
witness present or a tape recording of
the conversation made (advise all parties
of this expectation).
•If no in-house safety director is avail-
able, call for a third-party expert to man-
age the inspection.
•Call an attorney knowledgeable in
the OSHA process to fully protect the
company and its employees.
3) If OSHA threatens to issue a search
warrant or subpoena, employees should
insist that it does so to protect their
rights. By getting a warrant or subpoena,
OSHA is forced to justify its actions
before it proceeds. It also gives the com-
pany many important procedural rights.
4) Do not say anything and do not
sign anything without input from a safe-
ty expert or an attorney.
Know Your Rights as an Employee
During an OSHA inspection, the
OSHA investigator may request an inter-
view with an employee. Employees have
a constitutional right to:
1) decline to be interviewed;
2) request a third-party witness to be
present;
3) refuse to give a statement or sign
any document.
No one can force an employee to talk
to an OSHA official without his/her per-
mission. That is a constitutional right.
In addition, no one can force or direct
an employee not to talk to an OSHA offi-
cial. It is that individual’s decision alone.
However, the author encourages repre-
sentation if one does choose to make
statements to a trained OSHA investiga-
tor. Be aware that anything said may be
used against the individual or employer.
It is important to understand that
OSHA may seek arrest and prosecution
if it thinks that anything that was said to
an OSHA investigator is inaccurate or
untruthful. OSHA claims it can do so
under the U.S. Code, Title 18—Crimes
and Criminal Procedure, Part I—Crimes,
Chapter 47—Fraud and False Statements.
Conclusion
An OSHA investigation should be
taken seriously. If the FBI, IRS or the
state police shows up at your office and
advises you that its personnel are inves-
tigating a complaint that the company
had been committing serious crimes,
how would you react? Most people
would call an attorney or other trusted
advisor and seek immediate advice.
The same should be true with an
OSHA investigation, especially in the
current climate. A willful citation carries
a possible $70,000 fine and could pre-
clude the company from bidding on
many jobs.
John Coniglio, CSP, CHMM, CHCM, has
been a safety professional for more than 30
years, working in the risk management, chemi-
cal process, steel manufacturing and consulting
industries. He is an owner of Occupational
Safety & Environmental Associates Inc., and
author of General Industry Safety Basics. He
is a professional member and past president of
ASSE’s Niagara Frontier Chapter. Reach these advertisers at http://www.asse.org/links
www.asse.org DECEMBER 2010 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY 41
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 Standards
Developments
How the U.S. Navy Incorporates
Z359 Fall Protection Code Into its SH&E Practices
Basil Tominna, P.E., is a safety engineer for the U.S. Department of the Navy and vice chair of the Z359 Accredited
Standards Committee (ASC) for Fall Protection/Arrest. In this interview, Tominna explains how the Navy incorpo-
rates the ANSI/ASSE Z359 Fall Protection Code into its SH&E practices and discusses how future revisions and
additions to the code will impact Navy fall protection program requirements.
Hotlinks
Q: Please describe your professional background and your position as
a safety engineer for the U.S. Department of the Navy.
ANSI A: I hold B.S. and M.S. degrees in civil engineering. I am a registered
American National
Standards Institute civil engineer in the State of California and a professional engineer in
www.ansi.org Michigan. I am also trained as a competent and qualified person for fall
protection. I provide fall protection expertise Navy-wide and to other
ASABE Department of Defense (DOD) agencies. I also chair the Chief of Naval
American Society Operations’ Fall Protection Task Action Team. The team serves as the fall
of Agricultural and protection technical and policy advisor for the prevention of falls within
Biological Engineers the Navy by providing tools, criteria and safe work practices to ensure
www.asabe.org
Navy ashore and afloat commands establish and manage viable fall pro-
tection programs.
ASSE
American Society Q: What are the most common fall hazards and exposures facing those in the Navy? How do these
of Safety Engineers hazards and exposures differ among ships, submarines and shipyards?
www.asse.org A: The most common fall hazards in the Navy include falls from roofs, ladders, equipment, cranes and
during aircraft maintenance and other typical general industry exposures. Fall hazards and exposures in
ASTM ships, submarines and shipyards may include falls from ships and submarines in the water, when climb-
ASTM International ing masts or ladders and other falls to lower surfaces.
www.astm.org
Q: In what ways does the Navy incorporate the Z359 Fall Protection Code into its SH&E practices?
CEN A: Most Navy safety and health instructions, technical manuals and guidance documents adopt and
European Committee reference the Z359 Fall Protection Code, including best practices and applications of fall protection sys-
for Standardization tems and equipment. Additionally, many Navy design criteria documents for designing buildings, facili-
www.cen.eu ties and structures already reference the code as a compliance document. Additionally, the fall protection
training requirements for various personnel involved in the fall protection program are similar to the
ISO training requirements in the code.
International
Organization for Q: How does the Navy use the Z359 Fall Protection Code when working with contractors and subcon-
Standardization tractors on fall protection/arrest-related issues?
www.iso.org A: Contractors and subcontractors performing construction and demolition work on DOD sites are
required to comply with the fall protection requirements specified in the EM 385-1-1 Health and Safety
NFPA Requirements Manual. The fall protection requirements in EM 385-1-1 (latest version) are based on and
National Fire reference the Z359 Fall Protection Code by incorporating best practices and applications of fall protection
Protection Association systems and equipment.
www.nfpa.org
Per EM 385-1-1, contractors as part of the contract are required to develop a fall protection program
and to submit a site-specific fall protection and prevention plan to the government-designated authority.
NIST The fall protection and prevention plan requirements are similar to the written fall protection procedures
National Institute specified as part of the ANSI/ASSE Z359.2-2007 standard. Additionally, The Unified Facilities Guide
of Standards and
Technology
Specifications for Design Build/Design Bid Contracts were updated to reflect best practices and applica-
www.nist.gov tions from the code.
Q: How does the Navy use the Z359 standards to conduct workplace surveys and to assess fall hazards?
SCC A: As part of the Navy Health and Safety Instruction Manual, Navy ashore commands are required to
Standards Council identify potential fall hazards by conducting fall hazard surveys and preparing survey reports. After con-
of Canada
www.scc.ca ducting the surveys, Navy commands are required to perform fall hazard analysis to determine the risk
assessment, hazard severity and fall mishap probability to help prioritize the hazard ranking and to select the
most viable fall protection solution. Requirements for the survey reports are similar to the Z359.2 standard.
UL
Underwriters Q: ANSI/ASSE Z359.2-2007, Minimum Requirements for a Comprehensive Managed Fall Protection
Laboratories Inc.
www.ul.com
Program, defines the roles and responsibilities of the fall protection program administrator, competent
person and qualified person. What criteria does the Navy follow, in addition to the guidelines given in
the standard, when selecting people for each of these positions?
A: The fall protection program manager/administrator and the competent person roles and responsi-
bilities are similar to the requirements defined in the Z359.2 standard. With regard to a qualified person,
the Navy requires the person selected to be an engineer. The qualified person’s responsibilities are also
similar to the requirements defined in the Z359.2 standard.
44 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY DECEMBER 2010 www.asse.org
 Q: How does the Navy use the code Q: What methodology
to address a combined fall hazard and does the Navy follow when Basil Tominna, P.E., is a safety
confined space? Where are combined fall conducting job hazard engineer and fall protection sub-
hazards and confined spaces most often analyses of tasks that must ject-matter expert for the U.S.
found in Navy operations? be performed from height? Department of the Navy. He pro-
A: When entering a confined space, A: Navy commands are vides fall protection expertise and
and if there is a hazard of exposure to a required to assign each training Navy-wide and to other
vertical fall, the person entering such identified hazard by annual Department of Defense agencies.
space is required to use fall protection and surveys or inspections. He is chair of the Fall Protection
rescue/retrieval equipment. A coworker Navy commands are Task Action Team, which is part of
should be able to retrieve the person required to assign a risk the Navy strategic plan initiative
using the retrieval mechanism addressed assessment code (RAC) to to reduce fall mishaps within the Navy. He is also vice
in ANSI/ASSE Z359.1-2007. Confined each identified hazard that chair of the Z359 Accredited Standards Committee for
spaces with potential fall hazards found cannot be corrected immedi- Fall Protection/Arrest. Tominna’s prior experience
in Navy operations include manholes, ately. RAC represents the includes design, construction and environmental
vaults/pump stations and haul of ship. degree of risk associated with work. He previously worked for several consulting
engineering firms, municipalities and the U.S. Army.
Q: How is use of the code helping the the hazard combined with the He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in civil engineering.
Navy reduce falls from masts, aerials, elements of hazard severity
scaffolding, cranes, hoists and other ele- and mishap probability.
vated work surfaces? However, for existing fall hazards, Navy facturers meet the Z359 Fall Protection
A: Masts, aerial work platforms, scaf- commands are required to develop, Code. The rest of the product standards
folding, cranes, hoists and other elevated implement and use a fall protection are usually geared for the equipment
work surface are considered walking/ solution. manufacturer and yet they also will
work surfaces and must comply with the affect the Navy because of the technical
Q: How does the Navy perform qual-
Navy fall protection program require- knowledge they provide.
ification testing of test equipment and
ments. Since the development of the specimens for fall protection systems? Q: You are vice chair of the Z359
Navy fall protection program require- A: The Navy does not perform quali- Accredited Standards Committee
ments in December 2005, fall mishaps fication testing of test equipment and (ASC) for Fall Protection/Arrest. Why
from heights are on the decline. The pro- specimens for fall protection systems. do you feel it is important for the Navy
gram’s requirements are based on Navy Equipment manufacturers perform qual- to be represented on this particular
criteria/instruction and Z359 Fall ification testing. However, for the past committee?
Protection Code requirements. 4 years, the Navy ashore fall protection A: As the Navy representative,
Q: How does the Navy manage fall instruction manual requires all personal attending the Z359 ASC meetings pro-
protection in its construction operations? fall arrest equipment, from the anchor- vides me with knowledge and under-
A: The Navy-designated personnel to age connector to the full body harness, standing of the best practices and
manage and administer construction to be purchased from manufacturers that applications of fall protection systems
projects receive 40 hours of construction can substantiate through third-party cer- and equipment and the requirements of
safety training. Fall protection is includ- tification that their equipment meets the various standards. I incorporate this
ed as part of this training. Training Z359.1 standard. knowledge and understanding in Navy
requirements include best practices and fall protection program requirements.
Q: Of the Z359 standards currently in
applications of fall protection systems This knowledge is also shared with
development, which do you believe will
and equipment and the latest require- other DOD agencies that are not repre-
have the most impact on Navy fall pro-
ments of EM 385-1-1 enforced on Navy sented on Z359 ASC.
tection practices once approved?
construction projects. The fall protection A: The Navy is a governmental/em- Q: Z359 ASC met at ASSE headquar-
section in EM 385-1-1 is based on Z359 ployer organization, and the Z359.2 ters in April 2010. What were the major
Fall Protection Code requirements. standard will definitely have the most outcomes of this meeting and what are
Q: Do fall protection requirements for impact on Navy fall protection practices Z359 ASC’s plans for the remainder of
ashore and afloat facilities reference the because this standard is presently being the year?
code? updated and is structured similar to the A: The major outcomes included
A: Yes, the fall protection requirements Navy instruction and guidance docu- addressing the status and progress of
for ashore and afloat reference the code. ment. The ANSI/ASSE Z359.6-2009 developing the rest of the Z359 product
Additionally, all personal fall arrest standard will assist our professional standards as part of the Fall Protection
equipment used when working at heights engineers who have expertise in fall Code and including the possibility of
must comply with the Z359.1 standard. protection design of active fall protec- revising other existing standards, such
tion systems. as Z359.2, .3 and .4. Some of the stan-
Q: Does the Navy use rigid lifelines Also, the ANSI/ASSE Z359.7-201x dards under development have finished
or traditional horizontal flexible lifelines standard will impact the Navy because balloting, other standards are ready for
in its fall protection systems? Or does it for more than 4 years, Navy ashore balloting and the rest are in the early
use a combination of both? instruction requires that all personal fall stages of development. Z359 ASC met
A: Both systems are installed and arrest equipment purchased from manu- again in November 2010.
used as part of the fall hazard abatement
alternatives.
Q: Is rope access ever used when ANSI 01.1 Committee Seeks General Interest Members
working from height in Navy operations? The ANSI 01.1 committee, which addresses safety requirements for woodworking machinery,
A: Not to my knowledge. However, seeks members for its new general interest group. Any safety engineer with experience in the
woodworking field would be considered. This person(s) would not necessarily represent ASSE
the rope access system is introduced as but would instead be another member(s) with general interest on the committee. For more
part of fall protection awareness training information, contact Al Weaver at aweaver1@bellsouth.net.
provided to various safety professionals.
www.asse.org DECEMBER 2010 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY 45
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46 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY DECEMBER 2010 www.asse.org

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Advertising policy Keene, NH 03435-1604
. . . Whereas there is evidence that products used in safety and health programs, or by the public in The review of applications will
general, may in themselves present hazards; and Whereas, commercial advertising of products may begin immediately. Inquiries about the
not depict the procedures or requirements for their safe use, or may depict their use in some unsafe position may be addressed to Dr. Larry
manner . . . the Board of Directors of ASSE directs staff to see that advertising in official Society pub-
lications is warranted and certified by the advertiser prior to publication, to assure that products
McDonald, Department Chair, (603)
show evidence of having been reviewed or examined for safety and health problems, and that no 358 2976 or lmcdonal@keene.edu.
unsafe use and/or procedures are shown and/or described in the advertising. Such requirements and An AA employer, Keene State
acceptance of advertising by ASSE shall not be considered an endorsement or approval in any way of such College is engaged in an effort to build
products for any purpose. ASSE may reject or refuse any advertisement for any reason ASSE deems a community that reflects the diversity
proper. of society.

www.asse.org DECEMBER 2010 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY 47

 Back
Page One Man’s Trash . . .
Be careful what you toss out of your pocket or car
window (you shouldn’t litter anyway). It may end
There’s up on someone’s blog—or in a book.
•grocerylists.org In 1997, Bill Keaggy picked
“Don’t say an App up a discarded grocery list in a supermarket park-
anything
online that
for That ing lot. Fascinated by this glimpse into a stranger’s
life, he started collecting them. Three years later he
Ever wonder what all those people are doing on started a blog featuring his collection of grocery
you wouldn’t lists. In 2007, he published Milk Eggs Vodka: Grocery
their smart phones? Maybe it’s one of these, report-
want plastered ed by Apple as the most popular web applications Lists Lost and Found (which went out of print earlier
on a billboard for its iPhone. this year after a TV appearance sparked a flurry of
purchases). His blog now features more than 2,000
with your face #1 Closest House for Sale Finds houses for sale discarded grocery lists. Example: On a list with
on it.” based on your current location. eggs, soy milk and spinach, this shopper includes
#3 Sudoku The classic puzzles. cat treats (check marked) and dog treats (crossed
—Erin Bury
Sprouter community #4 Date Ideas Dating tips and creative date out, followed by “No—bad dog!).
manager ideas. •passiveaggressivenotes.com Kerry Miller’s
#8 A Brief History of Genetics A timeline blog started with an idea sparked by a first date,
that lets you review the development of modern during which her date told her of the deteriorating
genetics. situation with a roommate. It seems the two com-
#10 MMA Videos Video and news articles about municated almost exclusive-
mixed martial arts. ly via Post-it note. Having
had her share of roommates,
#12 Ocean Weather WebApp Shows current
Miller was quite familiar
ocean temperatures and wave direction.
with these notes. The blog
#18 Rapid Locator Shares your realtime geoloca- met with enthusiasm and
tion with friends. thousands of submissions
#20 FindMyPizza Finds the nearest pizza with from visitors. “What they all
geolocation. share [is] a common sense of
frustration that’s been channeled into written form
rather than a direct confrontation,” Miller says of
“I hear YouTube, Twitter and her book, Passive Aggressive Notes: Painfully Polite
and Hilariously Hostile Writings. Example: “Please
Facebook are merging to form a clear any unused time off the microwave when you
are finished. Some of us have O.C.D. and leftover
super-social media site— time drives us crazy. Thanks!”
•foundmagazine.com Cocreated by Davy
YouTwitFace.” —Conan O’Brien Rothbart and Jason Bitner, FOUND Magazine has
been around for several years. “We collect found
stuff,” the site says, “love letters, birthday cards,
Visit the complete kids’ homework, to-do lists . . . anything that gives

{ Safety Photo Gallery at

www.asse.org/gallery } a glimpse into someone else’s life.” Rothbart has
published a number of books, including FOUND:
The Best Lost, Tossed and Forgotten Items. Example:
Marina in Madison, WI, found this note in the
December doorway of a government building on Nov. 6, 2002:
SAFETY PHOTO “Vote & Beer.”

OF THE MONTH
If you have a cartoon,
anecdote, joke or
interesting safety item
Captivated you’d like to submit
for publication on this
The rescue of 33 Chilean page, send your
contribution to
miners held the world’s professionalsafety
attention on Oct. 13, 2010. @asse.org. All sub-
According to Mashable, missions become the
sole property of ASSE
online news traffic reached and will not be
a 2-year high at more than returned. While there
4 million page viewers per is no guarantee of
minute, and Twitter activity publication, ASSE will
pay $25 for each sub-
Wired. reached a peak of 104,000 mission that appears
Phillip Andrews messages per hour contain- in print.
Taken in southeast Asia ing related keywords.
48 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY DECEMBER 2010 www.asse.org
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