Worker Fatalities Can Be Reduced With Simple Silica Dust Signs -- by MySafetySign.com
Worker Fatalities Can Be Reduced With Simple Silica Dust Signs -- by MySafetySign.com
Signs protect American workers from lung cancer and silicosis
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Every year, over 1.7 million workers are exposed to silica dust, a common mineral found in sand and granite, which kills 250 workers from different industries. To curb these tragedies, MySafetySign.com has released new silica dust signs to empower workers and employers to implement simple and effective prevention.
Exposure to the dust can cause lung cancer or silicosis, an incurable and deadly lung disease. Legislation to lower silica levels has been stalled for years in the White House. In 2011, OSHA submitted an updated rule limiting exposure to crystalline silica to the White House's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). Two years later, the rule, which sources say will cut acceptable silica levels in half, remains delayed. Though workers in mining and construction companies are at the most risk for exposure, many manufacturers oppose the rule, likely due to the increased cost of implementing the tighter regulations, projected at more than $100 million.
These new signs help reinforce effective methods of silica prevention. The signs identify areas where breathable silica is present and their slogans promote simple ways of minimizing the harmful dust, like wet sweeping, hand washing, hosing down work areas, and leaving work clothes on site.
In a public letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which oversees OIRA, senior Congressional Democrats state: "Modernizing OSHA's crystalline silica standard is a commonsense and necessary improvement to worker safety. Some states have already taken the lead—and demonstrated feasibility—by prohibiting dry cutting/grinding of masonry and cement, or requiring employers to use dust reduction systems. In many cases, protections are as basic as a water hose or spray. It is intolerable that workers are not benefiting from these protections due to roadblocks in the regulatory process."
To view the signs, visit http://www.mysafetysign.com/silica-signs
-ENDS-
Notes to editors:
References consulted:
1. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/pdfs/silicax.pdf
2. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/15/silica-dust-white-house_n_2694148.html
3. http://www.coshnetwork.org/much-ado-about-proposed-and-delayed-silica-rule
About MySafetySign
MySafetySign is the Web's largest store for safety signage. The company's mission is to make signs and labels as effective as possible in order to prevent accidents and save lives. Customers can choose from over 40,000 designs and customizable templates.
About SmartSign
SmartSign is one of America's fastest growing e-commerce companies and parent of MySafetySign, MyParkingSign, and more than 50 other sites. The company manufactures and distributes a wide range of signs, tags, mats, and labels. By positioning "signs as solutions," SmartSign has taken a novel approach to ordering signs. Through creating highly targeted, content-rich, and authoritative retail sites, the company provides specific solutions to specific problems, such as preventing accidents in the workplace.
SmartSign
Suman Sridhar, 718-797-1900 ext. 136
sumans@smartsign.com
KEYWORDS: United States North America New York
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:
The article Worker Fatalities Can Be Reduced With Simple Silica Dust Signs -- by MySafetySign.com originally appeared on Fool.com.
Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
