Scheduling Training

CHESS has a new email address for scheduling training and meetings with the consulting staff: calendar@chess-safety.com.

Many of you worked with Noel Schneider to set up training and other appointments for the consulting staff. Noel is leaving us this month for a different job. We’ll miss him, but we’ll take advantage of his departure to establish a single email address for coordinating appointments.  If you need to schedule training or a meeting with us, or change training that has already been scheduled, call us at 651-481-9787 or email calendar@chess-safety.com

Prescription Eyewear

CHESS established an agreement with Essilor, a prescription eyeglass company, so that our clients can easily set up a prescription eyewear program. Essilor has rolled out a new system which will, we hope, make it even easier. Essilor has combined forces with companies such as RayBan, Lens Crafters and Target Optical, using an all electronically managed program called Sight Protect. It allows employers to easily add employees to the system and deactivate employees.

With the Sight Protect format, you can easily decide what is required, what is expressly not allowed, what the company pays and what the employee must pay for (if, they want premium progressive lenses, for example).  Billing statements are clearer, and it will be easier to see all employees in the program, including when they last received safety glasses. Best of all, prices have not gone up under this program. An employee can get bifocal prescription safety glasses with antifog for under $160. Prices under the old program with Essilor will be going up if you don’t switch to Sight Protect.

For more information, contact John Hammer at 612-840-5171 or jhammer@essilorusa.com. You can find more information about the Sight Protect program at sight-protect.com

Lab Fees Going Up

Pace Labs announced a price increase earlier this year and now will be adding an 8.6% inflationary surcharge.  We offer the benefit to clients of running any lab testing with Pace through our account, which provides a significant cost savings. We will continue to do our best to provide estimated costs, but actual costs will likely vary as we try to keep up with their changes.

MPCA Grants

The MPCA has limited funding for projects to reduce air emissions for smaller businesses. The grant deadline is July 27, with notification of grant approval expected within 60 days. The maximum award is $25,000. If you are considering a project that will reduce your air emissions, it may be worth looking at this. More information is available here: https://www.pca.state.mn.us/regulations/grants-improving-air-quality-through-pollutant-reduction 

Other MPCA grant opportunities can be found here: https://www.pca.state.mn.us/about-mpca/contract-grant-and-loanhttps://www.pca.state.mn.us/regulations/grants-improving-air-quality-through-pollutant-reduction-opportunities 

First Aid Kits

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has updated the requirements for first aid kits, effective in October. Some of the changes are:

• Foil blankets will be required. Foil blankets have multiple purposes (provide heat, wind break, waterproof wrap, treat hypothermia).
• Tourniquets: The new standard clarifies information on tourniquets (they are not the same thing as the bands used to stop blood flow, such as when donating blood)
• Bleeding control kits: These are packaged kits designed for use for severe life-threatening bleeding. They contain items such as a tourniquet, gauze, gloves, marker, and very wide bandage.
• Risk assessment: employers should determine the potential hazards in the workplace, the type of injuries that could occur and ensure that first aid kits have the supplies to address those injuries.

If you use an outside company to maintain your first aid kits, they will likely inform you of these changes, and may bring your first aid kits up to date.

Reporting Spills

Petroleum spills greater than five gallons and spills of any amount of hazardous material must be reported to the Minnesota State Duty Officer at 651-649-5451. This number is answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The State Duty Officer and Fire Department (9-1-1) should be notified for any petroleum product spill over five gallons, any uncontrolled spill (regardless of location), release to the environment, when there is any risk to public health or safety, or when an employee has been unintentionally exposed to a hazardous chemical (including corrosives, irritants, flammable material).

Heat

It’s suddenly become summer. And that can be dangerous. The weather forecast for the week of May 9 is for temperatures above 80°F. We are not acclimated to that. We just came out of a really long winter and very short spring (if you blinked, you missed it).  That sudden rise in temperatures puts employees at risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. The first few days of hot weather are the most dangerous, but it can take two weeks to acclimate. Acclimating is a physical adaptation, allowing your body to handle the heat without rising core temperatures.

This is the earliest we have sent out heat reminders. But if the weather forecasts are correct, now is the time to take precautions.

• Encourage employees to watch out for coworkers. Employees often do not realize they’re suffering from the heat until it is a medical emergency.
• Encourage employees to drink lots of fluids frequently. Cool water is the best choice.
  • Provide electrolyte drinks such as Gatorade. But they should be in addition to water, not instead of water.
• Give more breaks. Encourage employees to take breaks in cool areas. Employees may just need to slow down a bit while they acclimate to this weather.
• Use evaporation to cool down
  • Use fans (grounded only!) to keep air moving. Make sure they are not aimed to blow air from one employee to another (we still need to prevent COVID19 from spreading)
    

Post This: Hazardous Waste and OSHA Required Postings

Post your hazardous waste licenses. Companies in the seven county Twin Cities Metro Area (Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Scott, Ramsey, Washington counties), should have received those, which need to be posted in a public space. If we helped you with your annual reporting, contact us if you have not received your license.

The State Unemployment Poster was updated in March 2022. You can download it for free, printable on letter-size paper:

https://uimn.org/assets/109_tcm1068-192562.pdf

Have you received flyers telling you to order the all-in-one labor poster? It probably warned of a massive OSHA penalty if you don’t have the current version. Don’t reach for your checkbook yet – that’s a marketing ploy. Since we aren’t great at marketing, we will let you know that you can download all of the Minnesota posters for free at https://www.dli.mn.gov/about-department/workplace-posters. If you like the all-in-one laminated posters, go ahead and order them. 

If MN OSHA inspects your shop and finds your posters are out of date or missing, they will likely either give you the posters or tell you how to print them. The only one OSHA really cares about is the Safety and Health on the Job poster, because that tells people of their rights to a safe workplace. MNOSHA has cited companies for this, but rarely. The last was 13 years ago, an inspection because of a complaint. You need to have the posters, but you don’t need to buy new ones every year.

COVID: It’s Not Over Yet

Yeah, we want to be done with this. But the Omicron BA.2 variant is gaining steam. The amount of virus found in wastewater (per the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services) is increasing. So are positive cases. And other strains are waiting in the wings. These new strains act a bit differently: they may be more contagious and some treatments may not be effective. It still appears that keeping up with the vaccines will at least reduce the severity if you get COVID. The CDC updated their quarantine and isolation recommendation for those exposed to COVID and who test positive. You can search for “CDC COVID quarantine guidelines” or here is the link: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/quarantine-isolation.html

Vaccinations, close-fitting masks, distancing and ventilation continue to be the best defenses against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID.

Janet presented with Arthur E. McCauley Award

Janet Keyes recently received the Arthur E. McCauley Jr. Award from Minnesota OSHA at the Minnesota Safety Council’s annual safety conference. The award is presented annually to a safety and health professional who embodies excellence and dedication in keeping Minnesota employees safe at work. It is named for Art McCauley, a former member of the Minnesota Safety Council known for his tireless efforts to make the state’s workplaces safe.

Most people know Janet from her frequent training (she trains over 2000 employees a year!). Along with her normal work activities as a consultant and serving as our technical expert, Janet is involved in the American Industrial Hygiene Association’s Construction Committee and Confined Space Committee. She serves on the University of Minnesota Industrial Hygiene Program Advisory Board and is a representative to the NIOSH NORA Immune, Infectious and Dermal Disease Prevention Council. She also has several recent publications.

How Clear Is Your Lens?

As I wrote this article I realized two seemingly different ideas — conducting incident investigations and mental health — were intertwined. So, stick with me on this.

We all make assumptions, seeing situations through our own lens. Someone fails to show up for a meeting. Do we assume they are not interested or are lazy? Or do we wait to judge until we have the explanation?  An employee cuts their hand at work. Do we assume they weren’t paying attention? Or do we ask questions to find out what really happened? Do we start with a biased cloudy lens, or do we clear the lens through which we see the incident?

The goal when you conduct an incident investigation should be to find the root causes, to prevent a similar incident. Perhaps an injury occurred when an employee removed a guard, a violation of your safety policy. The missing guard is the direct cause. If you stop your investigation there, you are using a lens that is looking for what the employee did wrong. But back up. Why was the guard removed? And if it was removed because, say, pieces were jammed in it, was that because of damage that wasn’t repaired? If the damage wasn’t repaired, why? And what caused the damage? Maybe because someone else fed the part in the wrong way. And why was the part fed in wrong? In this hypothetical scenario, maybe it was because the parts department ordered Part 1080 instead of 1000. Your cloudy lens orders the employee to “work more carefully.” Your clear lens needs to find out why the wrong parts were ordered.

How can you clear your lens to see things more clearly? Was your first thought to yell at the employee? Or fire the guy who ordered the wrong parts?

What does mental health have to do with this? We’ve been in a pandemic for over two years. We’re dealing with supply shortages, rising costs, lost work time due to illness, family members to care for, staffing shortages, kids in and out of school, wear masks, don’t wear masks, and wow, are we all exhausted. Nothing is as easy as it used to be. How does that color your lens? Does it make it cloudier? We are juggling more with fewer resources. And that means people are tired, frustrated, distracted, grieving. Can you clear your lens to see things from their point of view?  

Depression and stress reduce job performance. Employees who feel overwhelmed, stressed, or burned out won’t keep working for you. Mental health at work is a workplace health issue. It affects everyone, from the lowest paid to the highest paid employees.

As the employer, what can you do? Start here: at this brief from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  And consider putting up this new OSHA poster, listing five things you should know about preventing suicide. Work-related suicides have been on the rise. And even if the suicide doesn’t occur at work, it jolts all workers.

If you or a co-worker needs help with mental health issues, here are some resources:

• Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255 or texting “MN” to 741741
• Minnesota Department of Health Suicide Prevention Resource List
• Personal physician
• Employee assistance programs
• County crisis team: call **CRISIS (274747) from anywhere in Minnesota to reach a local crisis team
• MN NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)

 As of July 16, 2022, everyone across the United States will be able to connect to the National Suicide Prevention lifeline by dialing 9-8-8.

Another word on infectious diseases (COVID)

Tired of hearing about COVID? At least transmission levels in most of Minnesota are currently very low.  But BA-2, a subvariant of Omicron, has been gaining traction – it now comprises almost 75% of the SARS-CoV2 (the infectious agent that causes COVID-19) found in wastewater samples. We don’t know if this is going to cause another surge. What we have learned over the past two years: COVID is transmitted primarily by breathing in viral particles. Your risk of contracting it is higher when more virus is in the air.

The right masks (N95, KN95) are effective when worn correctly, because they can block you from putting the virus in the air and block you from breathing in the virus. But we are tired of wearing masks. We want to see people’s faces in person, not on a screen.

For decades, industrial hygienists (like Janet Keyes, our Certified Industrial Hygienist) have looked to ventilation to control respiratory hazards and improve indoor air quality. That knowledge applies to controlling the virus in air. We can reduce the spread of COVID within a building by bringing in more fresh air and, when we need to recirculate air, by improving air filtration.

Improved ventilation can help curb the spread of COVID.  Changes made because of COVID can have long term benefits, in improving indoor air quality and reducing the spread of other infectious respiratory viruses.

Severe Weather Drills

April 7 was tornado drill day throughout Minnesota. It’s a good reminder that it’s time to review your emergency plan and procedures. Make sure they are current. Remind employees what to do in case of severe weather.

Things to remind employees:

• Tornado watch means conditions are right for a tornado to form.
• Tornado warning means a tornado has been sighted. You need to be in shelter.
• There is no “all-clear siren”. When you seek shelter from severe weather, have a plan to know when the severe weather passes. That may be monitoring a weather radio or using your smartphone. You may lose power in severe weather, so do not rely on a computer or TV that requires being plugged in.

For more information on weather safety and Tornado Drill Day: https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/hsem/weather-awareness-preparedness/Pages/default.aspx

National Weather Service: https://www.weather.gov/safety/tornado. This also has links to lightning safety.

Another Word About Weather…

Heat is coming. It doesn’t feel like it now, with some snow still on the ground, but days are warming. The first few days of hot weather are the most dangerous – the time when employees are at most risk of heat stroke. Think now about how you’ll handle those hot days. Start the day earlier, when it’s cool? Get more fans? (Make sure they’re grounded.) Provide drinking stations? Get a portable air conditioner for the break room? Employees who keep their cool will be more productive.

Road Construction Season

It will be a busy road construction season in Minnesota. One of the most dangerous jobs for public works employees is working in, on, or alongside roadways. Too many drivers are on their phones or just not paying attention. Too many are creatures of habit, who don’t want to follow detours. Some are simply confused by cones and barrels.

According to a recent Minneapolis Star Tribune article, MnDOT found more drivers are speeding through work zones: “60% of drivers going between 61 and 75 mph and 13% of motorists driving 76 mph or faster, including several clocked at 100 mph or faster.” That puts the workers in these areas at great risk.

April 11-15, 2022 is National Work Zone Awareness Week. It is a good time to remind everyone: When there are workers on the road, give them extra room, slow down, and keep your phone down.

Frequently Cited Standard:  Labels

What’s in that container? We often need to ask that when we do site inspections. Is it water? Or isopropyl alcohol? Or a strong acid? Don’t make anyone guess. All containers, even those containing water, need to be labeled with the product name. If it could be hazardous, add appropriate warnings.

The labels do not have to be complicated: the chemical name, hazard warning and pictograms. All of that information can be found on the Safety Data Sheet.

If you reuse the container, replace the old label with the correct one. And make sure the container is compatible with its contents.

Where to Find Us…

Janet Keyes, CIH, and Mary Dipping will be in Nashville, Tennessee May 23-25 attending the American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition (AIHce).  AIHce is the “premier conference for occupational and environmental health and safety scientists.”  Carol Keyes, CSP, will be in Chicago at the end of June for the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) annual professional development conference. We will all be looking for new products and new information to better assist our clients.

COVID-19 and Omicron: Test? Vaccinate? Mask? Isolate? Quarantine?

The Minnesota Department of Health predicts that COVID-Omicron infections will peak in mid-February. That’s an estimate, based on the experience in the United Kingdom and in New York and other East Coast states.

The facts:

Omicron, a variant of SARS-CoV-2, is more infectious than previous variants. The number of cases in the metro area in the last two weeks has increased by 147%.

Both unvaccinated and vaccinated people are able to contract this variant of COVID-19.

Unvaccinated people get sicker, are much more likely to be hospitalized, and are at greater risk of dying than vaccinated people.

The disease is spread through the air, particularly when people are near each other.

The virus primarily lives in your upper respiratory tract. When you breathe out, your exhaled breath carries the virus.

The more concentrated the dose, the greater your chances of becoming infected.

How much virus you’re exposed to will increase the closer you are to someone who is infected and the more time you spend with that person. The amount of virus you are exposed to will decrease if you’re in very well-ventilated spaces (such as outside) or if something blocks the virus from getting from the infected person to your nose.

What preventive measures work

1. Stay away from anyone who is infected.

This is the purpose of quarantine, staying home if you’re ill. The problem with it: you can transmit the disease before you even know you have it. Some people have such a mild form of the disease that they don’t know they’re infectious. With the omicron variant, it seems that you can infect others two days before you show any symptoms and three days after symptoms abate.

Testing is the way to catch those people who don’t know they are infectious, so they can stay away from others. The problem with testing, though, is that it reflects your status right then, not the next day. To be highly effective, testing has to be done often and should give quick results.

Antigen (quick or rapid) tests: you have to have a pretty high viral load to test positive. So a positive test indicates you’re probably able to infect others. But if you haven’t developed a high viral load yet (you just became infected), it won’t test as positive.

PCR tests (saliva, send in and wait): These are very sensitive – they’ll detect if you are infected. This test will be positive before you have symptoms and even after you have recovered and can no longer infect others.

Anyone can get a COVID test for free through a community test site. For more information on this and to find locations, see https://mn.gov/covid19/get-tested/testing-locations/index.jsp.

Minnesota also offers COVID-19 saliva tests at home. The kits can be ordered through Vault. It does require being able to log onto a Zoom call and dropping the test at a UPS pickup point. https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/testsites/athome.html

Keeping your distance from other people is another way to avoid being around those who are infected. But how effective that is, indoors, depends on the next preventive measure, good ventilation.

2. Good ventilation

People who are outside are at less risk of being infected because all of that air outside dilutes the virus. When you’re indoors, particularly when everything is closed up because it’s winter, you keep breathing the same air others have breathed. And because heating and cooling air is expensive, our buildings are usually designed to recirculate air.

Increasing the amount of outside air and better filtration of recirculated air improves the ventilation. Portable air cleaners with HEPA filters can help, if they are correctly sized and located for the room they’re in.

3. Stop it at the source – wear face coverings (better ones, worn right)

If we can keep people from spewing the virus whenever they breathe out, we’ll keep other people from breathing it in. That’s the idea behind face coverings (masks).

Early in the pandemic we thought COVID was found in the big droplets that people spew out when they cough, sneeze, or talk. If we cover up noses and mouths, those big droplets will be caught by the fabric of the face covering.

After nearly two years of research on COVID, we now know that it is spread in both big and small emissions from people breathing. That bandanna over your nose stops or slows down the big emissions, but it doesn’t do a good job stopping those small emissions. They can go through and around the fabric.

Now, we know the best type of face covering to stop people from spewing the virus whenever they breathe out is one that traps both big and small emissions, not letting them escape around the sides of the face covering.

What makes a good face covering? It must do a good job of blocking the virus. It must fit closely to the face, fully covering the nose and mouth, reducing the leaks around your nose, cheeks and chin. And it can’t be too difficult to breathe through.

N95 respirators are proven to provide a high level of protection. N95 means it will block at least 95% of the very small particles – if it fits you well.

KN95 or KF94 face coverings have about the same filtration efficiency. But they may not seal as well to the face. They’re made to a different standard and use different face models than those used for American standards.

ASTM barrier face coverings, a new category of face coverings that meet specific standards, are another option. These are not respirators; they do not provide the same high level of protection. But they have been tested for breathability, fit, and filtration efficiency. These may be classified as (and say on the label) Workplace Performance Masks or, with higher filtration and higher breathability, Workplace Performance Plus Masks. They also may say “ASTM 3502.”

4. Protect yourself

You may have noticed that many people haven’t got the hang of wearing face coverings. And some folks have beards, which create lots of leaks with face coverings. So you may want to take steps to protect yourself.

• Stay away from others
• If you need to be around others, wear a good face covering and wear it right.
• Get vaccinated and get boosted.

Quarantining

Why have the authorities (CDC, Health Department) reduced the quarantine period? Because you are less likely to transmit COVID after three to five days and it was too difficult to keep going on with life.

The chart below summarizes the current requirements.

OSHA and COVID

OSHA issued an emergency temporary standard, intended to take effect this month. It would have required employers with 100 or more employees to either institute a mandatory vaccination policy or wearing a face covering and testing weekly for all employees other than those who work at home or outside. On January 13, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld a stay on the standard, preventing it from going into effect. The reason for the stay: the Court thought the standard went too far, venturing into protecting public health instead of occupational health.

OSHA could try again, with a more limited standard. We don’t know if they will.

The stay on the standard does not take away employers’ duty to protect their employees from workplace transmission. If you crowd employees together and someone then contracts COVID from that, you could be held responsible.

The stay does not prevent employers from implementing their own vaccination, testing, or face covering mandates. It does mean employers have more latitude to decide how they want to protect their employees. Employers continue to have the responsibility to provide a workplace free from known hazards.

Our recommendation: follow the preventive measures we’ve listed above.

Vaccine Safety and VAERS

Ever hear that “thousands of cases of adverse effects to [name that vaccine] have been found?” If you dig into that, VAERS is usually cited. VAERS is the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System, intended to be an early warning system to detect problems with any type of vaccine.

Healthcare providers are encouraged to report any adverse health event that occurs after a vaccination to VAERS, even if they aren’t sure if the shot caused the event. If you get punched in the face right after being vaccinated and you think it was triggered by the vaccine, you can report it to VAERS. Anyone can file a report. Details are often lacking. There is no check of accuracy. There is no way to confirm that the adverse event was caused by the vaccination.

If you hear about dangers of a vaccine, dig deeper into the source of that – it may be misleading you. The US has a pretty robust vaccine safety monitoring system, through the FDA, the CDC, major medical providers such as Minnesota’s HealthPartners, and universities.

Resources

Counterfeit or fake N95 respirators: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/usernotices/counterfeitResp.html

Barrier Face Coverings: https://wwwn.cdc.gov/PPEInfo/RG/FaceCoverings

Vaccine safety monitoring: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/index.html

The MN Department of Health held a COVID Update for Business last week, which was very informative. You can find the short webinar here: https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDAsInVyaSI6I[…]bta0wGCOycilzJEP7FydyxU3pansJOG2anU/s/787836123/br/125032198278-l

More FAQs about COVID and the OSHA ETS

The information changes frequently, so we encourage you to check the Minnesota Department of Health COVID pages and the most current CDC guidelines. The information presented here is current as of December 28, 2021.

What’s going on with the OSHA ETS?

The OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard is moving forward. On a federal level, companies with 100 or more employees must maintain a list of who has been vaccinated. They can either mandate vaccines (which is one of our best defenses against serious illness) or require employees who are not vaccinated to test for COVID-19 weekly and wear a mask.

What are the deadlines?

Companies must have a policy in place and a roster of vaccinated employees by January 10. The weekly testing or vaccine mandate must be in place by February 9.

That’s federal. What is Minnesota doing?

Minnesota OSHA has said they will adopt the ETS by reference, meaning they will adopt it as published by federal OSHA. That should be in the State Register on January 3.

Who pays for testing?

In Minnesota, the company must pay for testing. A specific MN statute, 181.61 Medical Examination; Records; Costs requires the employer to pay for any mandatory medical testing.  

Isn’t the ETS headed for the Supreme Court? If so, do companies really need to do anything?

The Supreme Court isn’t going to look at this until January 7. There is no stay on the ETS, which means it goes forward until we hear otherwise.

COVID-19: What’s New?

The CDC issued new quarantine / isolation guidelines on December 27, in some cases allowing for just five days of staying home. See below for the whole explanation. As of the time we are writing this, the MN Department of Health has not changed their guidelines, but stated that they will be reviewing them. States can be stricter, based on the number of cases of COVID, which has been high in Minnesota. While the Omicron variant might not result in cases that are as serious, it is much more contagious.

What’s the difference between quarantine and isolation?

Quarantine is when you separate yourself from others after having had close contact with someone who has COVID.

Isolation is for people who have tested positive: avoid any contact with others, use a separate bathroom and stay in an isolated room at home, if at all possible. Wear a mask when not alone.

So, what are the new guidelines?

If you test positive

            Regardless of vaccination status:

• Stay home for 5 days (start the count the day after you first have symptoms or test positive)
• If you have no symptoms or your symptoms are improving after 5 days, you can leave the house. If you have a fever, stay home until the fever resolves (without medication)
• For at least the next five days, continue to wear a well-fitting mask whenever you are around others.

If you are exposed to someone with COVID-19 (vaccinated or boosted)

Have you had your booster? Or have had your last Pfizer or Moderna vaccine within the last 6 months? Or a J&J vaccine within the last two months?

• You do not need to quarantine
• For ten days, wear a well-fitting mask whenever you are around others
• Get tested after 5 days or if you develop symptoms.

If you are exposed to someone with COVID-19 and you have not had a vaccine or booster

If you are not vaccinated, or don’t fit into the above categories (no booster, months since your last vaccine)

• Stay home for 5 days. Then, for the next 5 days, wear a well-fitting mask when you are around others
• Get tested after 5 days
• If you develop symptoms, get a test and stay home.

What type of mask should be worn?

An N95 or KN95 is the best. You can also double mask—a surgical type mask under a cloth mask. Make sure the mask fits tightly to your face, forms to your nose and does not have gaps. CHESS staff uses the Readimask N95, which adheres to the face rather than having straps. You can order them at https://readimask.com/  For a 20% discount, enter the discount code: CHESS20

What’s the best defense?

As the Director of the CDC wrote: “Prevention is our best option: get vaccinated, get boosted, wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial and high community transmission, and take a test before you gather.” 

Other Updates

Lockout Tagout Reminders

Any company that has equipment that could start up while someone is working on the equipment must have a lockout/tagout program that outlines how you will prevent someone from getting injured.

Types of energy that need to be controlled may include: electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, heat, gas under pressure, steam, mechanical, gravity, and residual. There are three components to a program: the written program, equipment specific procedures, and annual audits. The audits must include a review of the procedures and of the employees who lock out equipment.

Environmental Reminders

Hazardous waste reports are due by January 31 for companies in the seven county metro area, except Hennepin County. Hennepin County reporting should have been done.

If you have spray painting operations, whether you still have an air quality permit or not, you should request your year end VOC report.

If you need help with lockout/tagout, more information on the OSHA ETS on COVID-19, or just have general safety questions, please contact us.

Lastly, we hope 2022 is a healthy, joyful, prosperous year for everyone.

COVID-19 Updates and Frequently Asked Questions

COVID continues to impact our lives, at home, at play, and at work. While the most recent surge seems to be calming down, we have had an uptick in questions about COVID again. And winter, when everyone is inside, brings concerns about another surge. Because many people still are not vaccinated, the virus continues to have chances to mutate and spread.

What do I need to do if an employee tests positive?

Send the positive employee home to quarantine. 

Determine which other employees have had close contact with the employee who tested positive. Close contact is being less than six feet away for 15 minutes or longer within any 24-hour period.

Employees who had close contact with a COVID-positive person:

If they are not fully vaccinated, require that they:

• Stay home (quarantine).
• Get tested for COVID immediately. If the test is negative, they should test again three to five days after their last exposure to the employee who is positive.
• Watch for symptoms for 14 days.
• They could come back to work at the 7-day mark if they test negative after five days and continue to have no symptoms.

If they are fully vaccinated, require that they:

• Wear a mask at work in public and indoors for 14 days following exposure.
• Get tested for COVID three to five days after exposure.
• Watch for symptoms for 14 days.
• They do not have to quarantine unless they start to have symptoms.

If the employee had COVID in the past three months:

• Does not need to be tested unless they develop new symptoms.
• Does not need to quarantine if ALL of the following are true:

• • They tested positive for COVID in the past three months.
  • They have fully recovered.
  • They do not currently have any symptoms of COVID-19.

Who needs to quarantine?

Anyone who:

• tests positive.
• lives with someone who has COVID.
• has had close contact with someone who has COVID.
• Has symptoms of COVID.

How long do they have to quarantine?

The safest option is 14 days quarantine.

Quarantine can end on day 10 if the employee has not had any symptoms and tested negative for COVID after seven days. They should continue to watch for symptoms, wear a mask and keep their distance until at least day 14.

What if the employee tests positive and has symptoms?

Quarantine can end if these three conditions are met:

• Symptoms are improving (employee feels better, cough or shortness of breath is improving), and
• It has been at least 10 days since the employee first felt sick, and
• The employee has not had a fever for at least 24 hours (and is not using medicine for the fever).

Quarantine can end after seven days if all of the following are true:

• The employee knows the last date exposure to the positive person occurred, and
• The employee has a negative PCR test five to six days after the exposure, and
• The employee has no symptoms, and
• No one in the employee’s home has COVID, and
• The employee can work alone at work, keeping distance from others and wearing a mask whenever being in the same room as others cannot be avoided.

Who should get tested?

• Anyone with symptoms of COVID (fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle or body aches, loss of taste or smell, nausea, etc.)
• Anyone who has come in close contact with someone with COVID.
  • If vaccinated, test 5-7 days after last exposure.
  • If NOT vaccinated, test immediately, and again in 5 to 7 days.

Where can employees get tested and what is the cost?

Testing is still free in Minnesota. The state has recently opened more rapid test sites, along with sites offering the PCR test. Employees can also order a home test kit (saliva test), but will need access to Zoom to take the test.

More information and site locations are available here: https://mn.gov/covid19/get-tested/testing-locations/index.jsp

What if an employee refuses to get tested?

They need to quarantine for the entire 14 days. 

If someone is not vaccinated and lives with someone who has COVID, how long do they have to quarantine and is there any way they can work?

They have to quarantine for 14 days after their last exposure to the person with COVID.

• If Susan tests positive on November 1, her quarantine ends November 15.
• If Susan’s child tested positive and Susan is the child’s primary caregiver, Susan should stay home for fourteen days after her child has completed the isolation period, which lasts ten days after the child’s symptoms started or after the child tested positive. Susan may need to quarantine for as long as 24 days!
• The Minnesota Department of Health has a good example that walks you through calculating quarantine time: https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/close.html

Employees who are quarantined can work if their work allows them to work from home.

OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard?

OSHA has been tasked with developing an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for COVID-19 that would require employers with 100 or more employees (company-wide) to require vaccinations or weekly testing of employees who are not vaccinated. As of the date that this newsletter is being written, the ETS has not yet been published, but it is expected to be in the Federal Register in early November. Once federal OSHA publishes the standard, Minnesota OSHA has 30 days to adopt it as proposed, or to adopt something more stringent (such as lowering the employer size). We have not heard anything about what Minnesota plans to do. But watch for our next newsletter, which will be about the ETS.

Reporting Time: OSHA Recordkeeping and Environmental Deadlines

It’s almost that time of year again.  Note the following deadlines, through April 1, for OSHA recordkeeping, hazardous waste generators and air quality permit holders.  If our contract with you includes assistance with reporting, Noel will be contacting you soon to set up appointments.

When	What	Who’s Affected
December 15	Hazardous waste management reports due for Hennepin County	Hennepin County SQG and VSQG hazardous waste generators
December 31	Wastewater sampling due	Those holding MCES wastewater permits
January 31	Hazardous waste management annual report and license renewal for all metro counties, except Hennepin County	SQG and VSQG hazardous waste generators
January 31	Industrial wastewater discharge report due	Those holding MCES wastewater permits
January 31	OSHA 300A log summary – post from February 1 until April 30	Employers with 10 or more employees at any time during the year
March 1	Tier II reports due	Companies that have more than threshold amounts of specific chemicals
March 2	OSHA 300A must be submitted electronically to osha.gov	In MN, any company with 20 or more employees
March 31	Industrial Stormwater annual reports due	Companies within specific industry codes. Does not affect companies with No Exposure exclusion.
April 1	Air permit (VOC) reports due (forms should be mailed in mid-Dec to early Jan)	Air Quality Permit B, C and Permit D holders

For companies outside the Twin Cities metro area, hazardous waste reports are not due until Aug 1, but it is a good idea to gather your information early in the year. You can submit as early as April.

*If you have an air quality permit B, C or D, you may be eligible to void your permit. We can explain that to you; just give us a call.

If you voided your air permit, you must still maintain records of paint purchases, so continue to ask your jobber for an annual VOC report.

If you are a CHESS maintenance client, we will be contacting you to set up a time to help complete your recordkeeping.  If you are not a maintenance client and would like assistance, please contact Carol at 651‑842‑9210 or carkey@chess-safety.com.

Fire Extinguisher Maintenance

A now out-of-business fire extinguisher service company failed to do the required 6-year and 12-year checks of clients’ extinguishers. As a result, its clients now need to replace all of their extinguishers – a very large and very avoidable cost.

Because fire extinguishers are your first defense in a fire, they must be maintained to ensure they work when needed. That requires action on your part, but also requires the help of a qualified service provider. You need to verify, each month, that the extinguisher is accessible and usable. Each year, your service provider needs to check that the extinguisher is in good condition. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to ensure extinguishers are maintained.

Your service provider should be doing yearly detailed external examinations of the extinguishers. They also need to do internal examinations of your ABC extinguishers every six years and hydrostatic testing of those every twelve years. Carbon dioxide extinguishers require internal examinations every five years.

How do you know if your service provider is effectively maintaining your extinguishers? Look for maintenance records on the extinguishers themselves. The labels need to clearly state who completed what service and when (date and year). Look for:

• Annual inspection tag, giving the type of extinguisher and date of inspection
• Type of extinguisher (this should be clear to read)
• Six-year inspection label
• 12 year hydrostatic label

If any of these tags and labels is illegible or missing from your extinguishers, call your service provider right away.

More information on fire extinguisher maintenance is available here: https://www.nfpa.org/news-and-research/publications-and-media/blogs-landing-page/nfpa-today/blog-posts/2020/10/30/guide-to-fire-extinguisher-inspection-testing-and-maintenance

COVID – Delta Variety (current as of 13 August)

Yeah, we are all pretty tired of this pandemic. Unfortunately, things are getting bad again—positivity rates are going up, hospitalizations are going up, and the virus is getting to be more common in younger people, especially those who cannot be vaccinated yet (under 12 years old). If everyone who could be vaccinated would get the shot(s), the virus would find fewer hosts and eventually fade, losing its grip on our lives.

In less than two months the Delta variant rose from infecting only a few to being the dominant strain. And it is nasty—1000 times the viral load of the Alpha strain, making it a lot more contagious. So, here are our updated Frequently Asked Questions:

Do I need the vaccine if I have had COVID?

Yes. The vaccines are more effective against other strains, including Delta, than just having had COVID. And, yes, you can get COVID again. Check with your health care provider.

What about side effects, such as heart problems?

Side effects occur with every medication and vaccine. Have you ever read the insert when you get a prescription filled? Side effects need to be listed, but the serious effects are occurring in a very, very small percent. According to the CDC, adding up all the adverse, serious side effects, the percentage is about .0003. Maybe three in a million. Your chance of being killed in an automobile crash is about one in 107. Yet we drive every day.

But people who have had the vaccine have died.

Yes, that is true, but the likelihood of dying after receiving the vaccine is much lower than the chance of dying from COVID if you are not vaccinated. As of early August, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has received 6,631 reports of death – roughly 0.0019% of people who received a COVID vaccine. The percentage of these reported deaths that were related to the COVID vaccine is likely even lower, since these reports do not necessarily mean that the vaccine was responsible for their health problem. Even so, compare those 6,631 deaths to the almost 622,000 total deaths from COVID-19.

Can an employer require employees be vaccinated?

In short, yes, with some exceptions. You have to show a business reason for it and allow exceptions for those who cannot be vaccinated for medical or religious reasons. Many employers are requiring proof of vaccination or requiring employees to wear masks and be tested for COVID on a weekly basis.

Why weekly testing?

As we said above, the Delta variant is very contagious. To prevent outbreaks and to contain the virus, weekly testing will identify people with COVID who could be contagious. Then, they will need to quarantine.

As an employer, why should I care if employees are vaccinated. It is their choice.

It is a choice that has health impacts on everyone. Why do we care that people not drive while intoxicated? Because it can, and often does, lead to motor vehicle accidents where someone else gets killed. Your actions, driving under the influence, impacts others. Same with COVID. Remember the impact on your business of the shutdowns last March and April 2020? People who are not vaccinated are more likely to get and to spread COVID. That could have serious financial impacts on your business. Can you afford to have your work force out? A lot of people out at the same time?

Some employees do not care if they get COVID. They assume it will be like the flu and back to work.

It could be flu-like symptoms. It could be worse. You don’t know.

Employers are no longer required to pay employees for missed days due to COVID or having to quarantine. If employees test positive or show symptoms, they will need to use vacation days for their days out.

Those who are unvaccinated and were exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID or who are displaying known symptoms must be instructed to stay home for 14 days or until they receive a negative test result at least three days after exposure. 

Does everyone have to quarantine if they had an exposure?

No. If you have been vaccinated, you are not required to quarantine. The current guidelines from OSHA recommend fully vaccinated workers who have had close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 wear a mask for up to 14 days (unless a COVID test taken at least three days after contact is negative). If you have not been vaccinated, you must quarantine at home.

What does CHESS recommend for COVID protocols now?

We continue to recommend good ventilation and air flow and frequent (weekly) testing for those who are not vaccinated. Those who are not vaccinated should stay at least 6 feet away from others to avoid breathing in particles produced by them.

Masks are required for those working indoors (or outdoors in close proximity to others) who are not vaccinated. Masks are now recommended for those who are fully vaccinated if they work around people who are not vaccinated, as a way to protect the unvaccinated. N95 masks are the most effective, but cloth or disposable masks still provide some protection.

What you can expect from CHESS

Although CHESS staff have all been vaccinated, we will be wearing masks when conducting site visits / walkthroughs and when conducting in-person meetings, such as safety committees. We still request that training be conducted in an area large enough for people to spread out.

It’s Electric

Anyone working with high voltage electricity needs to be protected from shock and electrocution. With electric and hybrid vehicles continuing to gain popularity, more and more are showing up in auto body and mechanical shops. Between manufacturers’ guidelines and OSHA’s regulations, there’s a lot to keep straight. Some of the most common areas of confusion surround selecting the right rubber insulating gloves and figuring out how often they need to be replaced.

First and foremost, follow the manufacturer’s specific guidelines for each vehicle. This is a general summary of information and a few helpful tips.

Why are rubber insulating gloves so important?

These gloves may seem a bit bulky, but they act as the first line of defense against electrical hazards. They protect the user against shock and electrocution when coming into contact with energized electrical parts and equipment. Rubber insulating gloves are required whenever working near high voltage components, such as the battery of an electric or hybrid vehicle.

The problem with these insulating gloves, though, is that they are easily damaged. A pinhole leak renders them ineffective. So keeping them in good condition and checking for any holes before each use is critical.

Selecting gloves

Users will need the appropriate class and size of rubber insulated gloves along with leather protectors – overgloves designed for that purpose.

Class

Use the minimum class required by the manufacturer or, if not otherwise specified, a pair with enough voltage coverage to protect you against the voltage in the battery you’re handling. Class 0 is a safe bet, but Class 00 may offer a little more comfort and dexterity for the user. Look at the voltages for the batteries or electrical systems you’ll be working with when making your selection.

Class 00: protects up to 500 V

Class 0: protects up to 1,500 V

Recertification – to test or not to test

Gloves need testing and recertification to ensure they still work well. Gloves are good for 12 months from their date of issue – the date printed on the gloves. Check this date! Sometimes gloves will sit in a distribution center for long enough that by the time they are received, it’s almost time for them to be replaced. You can usually send these back to the supplier for replacements. Ideally the date you receive them should be within four months of the date printed, that way you still have eight months of use.

Between paying for shipping costs, needing two sets of gloves to avoid ever being without gloves when they are shipped off, and the risk that they won’t pass inspection (remember, even one tiny pinhole can ruin their effectiveness), purchasing new gloves each year may be a better option than having them tested every six months. This gives you up to 12 months of safe use, as opposed to recertification which is only good for 6 months.

Only the rubber gloves need replacement or recertification, not the leather overgloves.

Multi-Plug Adapters

Electrical hazards often get overlooked because of how frequently we deal with electrical devices. In fact, we deal with so many electrical devices that we sometimes run out of places to plug them in. Multi-plug adapters allow us to plug multiple low-amperage devices, such as phone chargers and computers, into one outlet. But which kinds are safe to use?

Relocatable power tap (power strip): uses a flexible cord to plug into an outlet.

• Must be UL listed
• Must be grounded
• Require overcurrent protection
• Approved power strips are allowed for long term use when:
  • used with low-amperage equipment
  • not permanently mounted

Current tap: plugs directly into an outlet.

• Fall under a different UL listing
• Do not always have OSHA required overcurrent protection.
  • Current taps that do not have overcurrent protection are not approved for industrial use!

For more information on current taps and power strips, see the July newsletter from the Minnesota State Fire Marshal.

Heat, Humidity and Air Pollution – A Deadly Combination

It continues to be a very hot summer in Minnesota. High temperatures, high levels of humidity and now air pollution make it difficult to do tasks we normally do easily. This week we are expected to have temperatures in the high 80s to mid-90s with high humidity. Even though we have had some time to acclimate to higher temperatures, this extreme weather can tax the most fit of us. We need to take extra precautions to stay safe in these extreme conditions.

Smoke from wildfires adds to the stress. That smoke is putting air pollution levels into the unhealthy category. As of Tuesday, July 20th, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has issued an Air Quality Alert for northern, central and southeast Minnesota that will last until Thursday, July 22nd. Anyone with respiratory issues, such as asthma or allergies, could be more prone to health issues, including strokes.

In a warm environment, the human body relies on its ability to release heat through sweat and increased blood flow to the skin. Extremely hot weather prevents our bodies from being able to release this heat quickly enough. That’s worse when it is humid because the air cannot absorb as much of our sweat. This results in symptoms such as thirst, irritability, rashes, cramping, heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

Heat related illnesses do not discriminate: they can affect anyone of any age or physical condition. Be aware of the signs and symptoms of heat related illnesses. Look out for each other – employees may not realize they’re suffering from the heat until it becomes a medical emergency. If you see anyone displaying any symptoms, act accordingly.

Keep Your Employees Safe

Working consecutive days in the heat, especially when performing strenuous work, puts workers at an increased risk for these heat illnesses.  Both those working outside and those working inside in areas without air conditioning can become ill. Because of this, breaks should be taken in the shade and in air-conditioned areas. Exposure to air conditioning for even a few hours a day will reduce the risk of heat related illness.

Keep your employees safe from heat by:

• Giving frequent breaks (in air-conditioning!)
• Slowing the pace of work
• Making sure workers stay hydrated and are not skipping meals.
• Supplying electrolyte beverages, electrolyte freeze pops and cooling towels.
• Dressing for the heat – lightweight, moisture-wicking, loose clothing.
  

Heat Related Illnesses:

	SYMPTOMS	TREATMENT
HEAT STROKE	High body temperature (103 degrees or higher) Hot, red, dry or damp skin Fast, strong pulse Headache Dizziness Nausea Confusion Losing consciousness (passing out)	Call 911 right away – heat stroke is a medical emergency. Move the person to a cooler place. Help lower the person’s temperature with cool cloths or a cool bath. Do not give the person anything to drink.
HEAT EXHAUSTION	Heavy sweating Cold, pale, clammy skin Fast, weak pulse Nausea or vomiting Muscle cramps Tiredness or weakness Dizziness Headache Fainting/passing out	Move to a cool place Loosen  your clothes Put cool, wet cloths on your body or take a cool bath Sip water Get medical help right away if: You are throwing up Your symptoms get worse Your symptoms last longer than one hour.
HEAT CRAMPS	Heavy sweating during intense exercise Muscle pain or spasms	Stop physical activity and move to a cool place Drink water or a sports drink Wait for cramps to go away before you do any more physical activity. Get medical help right away if; Cramps last longer than one hour. You’re on a low-sodium diet. You have heart problems.
SUNBURN	Painful, red and warm skin Blisters on the skin	Stay out of the sun until your sunburn heals Put cool cloths on sunburned area or take a cool bath Put moisturizing lotion on sunburned areas Do not break blisters
HEAT RASH	Red clusters of small blisters that look like pimples on skin (usually on the neck, chest groin on in elbow creases)	Stay in a cool dry place Keep the rash dry Use powder (like baby powder) to soothe the rash

Remember: Water.  Rest.  Shade.

When planning outdoor work activities, follow the OSHA heat index (HI) guidelines.

Heat Safety App

Consider using the OSHA-NIOSH Heat Safety Tool as a resource to help you determine which work activities are safe based on the current weather conditions. This app displays the real-time heat index, hourly forecasts and occupational health and safety recommendations.

The OSHA-NIOSH Health Safety Tool features include:

• A visual indicator of the current heat index based on your location
• Precautionary measures to take based on the current HI
• Hourly forecast of HI values
• Signs and symptoms and first-aid information for heat-related illnesses

To download the OSHA-NIOSH Heat Safety Tool, go to https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/heatstress/heatapp.html

For more information on staying safe in this extreme heat, go to

https://www.osha.gov/heat-exposure or https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/index.html

To read more about the MPCA Air Quality Alert, go to https://www.pca.state.mn.us/featured/air-quality-alert-tuesday-july-20-%E2%80%93-thursday-july-22

If you have questions or need help with handling heat in your workplace, or for other safety and health questions, let us know.

Heat and Humidity Have Arrived

It was bound to happen—the combination of heat and humidity that makes mosquitoes so happy and humans so miserable. The weather forecast is for heat advisory for the rest of this week, with temps in the high 80s and low to mid 90s, and high humidity. While residents in southern states may be acclimated to those temperatures, we may not be yet. The first week or two of this weather is the most dangerous, as we need time to acclimate.

To protect your employees against heat:

• Encourage employees to drink lots of fluids frequently. Cool water is the best choice.
  • Provide electrolyte drinks such as Gatorade. But they should be in addition to water, not instead of water.
• Use evaporation to cool down
  • Provide cooling towels or damp bandanas. These are available from most safety vendors.
  • Use fans (grounded, only!) to keep air moving.
• Give more breaks. Encourage employees to take breaks in cool areas. It takes people about two weeks to acclimate to hot weather. In Minnesota, that means that just when people would start adjusting to the heat, it’s no longer hot. Although, this record breaking heat is going to last a while.
• Watch for the signs and symptoms of heat related illnesses. Employees may not realize they’re suffering from the heat until it becomes a medical emergency.

HEAT STROKE Call 9-1-1.   While waiting for help, move victim to cool area and cool person down right away. Fan air on worker; cold packs in armpits. Wet worker with cool water; apply ice packs, cool compresses, or ice packs.	Very high body temperature Confusion Fainting Seizures Excessive sweating or, more often, red, hot, dry skin
HEAT EXHAUSTION Have worker sit or lie down in a cool area (with A/C). Provide plenty of water or other cool beverages (not caffeine). Use cold compresses/ice packs. If symptoms worsen or don’t improve within an hour, have someone take employee to clinic.	Cool, moist skin Heavy sweating Headache Nausea or vomiting Dizziness, light headedness Weakness Irritability Fast heart beat
HEAT CRAMPS Rest in a cool area (like office with A/C). Provide electrolyte replacements and water. Wait a few hours before allowing worker to return to strenuous work. Get medical attention if cramps don’t stop.	Muscle spasms, cramping,  usually in abdomen, arms, or legs.

Want to know if it’s too hot? Download the OSHA/NIOSH heat safety tool at https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/heatillness/heat_index/heat_app.html.  It uses your local weather conditions to tell you the heat index and recommend precautions.

For more information, or information you can provide to employees:

Infographic poster to print: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/heatstress/infographic.html

Heat stress info site, including the link to OSHA-NIOSH heat safety tool: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/heatstress/

OSHA fact sheet on protecting workers from the heat: https://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_Hurricane_Facts/heat_stress.pdf

MNOSHA Compliance: Heat Stress webpage: https://www.dli.mn.gov/business/workplace-safety-and-health/mnosha-compliance-heat-stress

OSHA’s heat stress campaign webpage: https://www.osha.gov/heat/index.html

And, for some humor, here is a rap video you could use:

Hydration reminder for kids (and adults) by an 11 year old: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSxOksXkm-Q

Along with heat advisory, there are red flag warning, meaning the risk of wildfire is high. If working outdoors, watch where you fuel and operate gas powered equipment.

If you have questions or need help with handling heat in your workplace, or for other safety and health concerns, let us know.

COVID Updates

It feels like the COVID news is changing pretty rapidly again, but this time it is mostly positively. As of the date we are writing this, 60% of Minnesotans have received at least one COVID vaccine shot. Governor Walz said he will lift the mask mandate on July 1 or when we get to 70% of adult Minnesotans vaccinated, whichever comes first. As of May 7, many restrictions were eased, with plans to lift more on May 28. 

We’ve put together a poster explaining reasons to get vaccinated – it’s available on our Newsletters page. To go with that, here are answers to some common questions:

If I’m fully vaccinated, and I may have had exposure to someone with COVID, do I need to quarantine? If you have no symptoms, you do not have to quarantine. You may continue to work. You do not have to get tested, but monitor for symptoms for two weeks.  If you have symptoms, you should isolate and get tested.

What does fully vaccinated mean?  Fully vaccinated means two weeks from your final shot (2 weeks after the one Johnson & Johnson shot, or two weeks after the second Moderna or Pfizer shot). It takes time for immunity to build up in your body.

If I am fully vaccinated, should I still get routine COVID test?  No, you do not need to be tested unless you have symptoms.

Can I still get COVID after my first shot, but before my second?  Yes, you can still get COVID. There is a very low chance of getting COVID even after your second shot, but if you do contract it, symptoms should be a lot less severe than without the vaccine.

Can I still transmit COVID after being fully vaccinated?  There is a low potential risk that you could transmit the virus to someone who is not vaccinated. That is a major reason why the CDC still recommends that people who are vaccinated continue to take precautions. You may not know who around you has or has not been vaccinated and who is at risk for a severe reaction to the virus.

This information may change as more people are vaccinated, as we learn more about the virus, and as mutations of the virus develop and spread.

For more information on Minnesota’s Stay Safe Plan and COVID restrictions, go to https://mn.gov/covid19/stay-safe/stay-safe-plan/index.jsp

For an infographic on choosing safer activities: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/pdfs/choosingSaferActivities.pdf

OSHA and Environmental Updates

OSHA 300 Log of Injuries & Illnesses

For companies that posted their OSHA 300 log summary, the logs can be taken down now.

Any company that had 20 or more employees at any time during the year, including seasonal and part-time employees, must submit their OSHA log information to federal OSHA’s data collection website. While the deadline was March 2, if you did not submit, you can still do so. We handled the submission for our maintenance clients.

The Environmental Protection Agency has begun using electronic manifests, and requiring waste disposal firms to use them. If you want to use e-manifests, you need to register for the service. Once registered, you can keep on signing paper copies of the manifest for waste you offer for disposal or you can sign an electronic manifest online. The e-manifest is considered the official manifest; once it has been entered into the EPA’s system, you no longer have to keep the paper copy. You still must make sure that the waste has been received at its final destination. 

Welcome to Mary

Mary Dipping is the newest member of our staff, starting this week. Mary has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health from Illinois State University. She spent a semester in Cyprus studying viruses and human diseases, completed a safety internship in Sitka, Alaska, and taught in Thailand. Watch for more information on Mary in our next newsletter.

Situational Awareness

The recent edition of Minnesota SafetyLines had an article about situational awareness. Here are some highlights:

Pay attention to your surroundings, don’t just pass through them.

• That means noticing – and doing something about – spills, smell of gas, slipping hazards, missing machine guards
• Use your five senses
• Don’t bury your eyes in your phone. Your phone can be a tool in an emergency – or a distraction that puts you in danger.

Have two exit plans.

• The exit door may not be your only exit route.
• Park your vehicle in well lit areas, and so you won’t be blocked in.

Be weather aware.

For the next few months (fingers crossed) we don’t have to worry about ice and snow. Heat and storms take their place. If you work outside, check for severe weather alerts. Know the signs of heat stress. Keep an eye on coworkers, as people suffering from heat stroke often do not realize how dangerous their condition is.

COVID-19 Updates

Vaccines: Minnesota recently published the list of priorities for COVID vaccinations. Employees who work in manufacturing are in Phase 1b—Tier 3. Those who work in transportation, including vehicle repair and maintenance, are in Phase 1C. More information is available here: https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/vaccine/phase1b1c2.pdf

• As of March 3, the Minnesota Department of Health was estimating these workers would be eligible for their vaccines by May, although they are already ahead of schedule.
• To receive updates on vaccine eligibility and availability, including notification when you are eligible, sign up for the COVID-19 Vaccine Connector at https://vaccineconnector.mn.gov/

COVID-19 Preparedness Plan updates: Your preparedness plan should be updated as new information is available. Make sure your plan includes protocols for employees who have received the vaccination.

An Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for COVID-19? Federal OSHA needs to decide by March 15 if it will issue one. It appears likely they will issue an ETS, but we are expecting it to be delayed. Will Minnesota need to adopt that? Minnesota has been using the General Duty Clause to enforce compliance with the Governor’s mandate for COVID protection plans.

Reference: https://www.aiha.org/blog/coming-soon-an-emergency-temporary-standard-on-covid-19

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From N95s to Homemade Cloth Masks – What Face Mask to Wear, and How to Make Them More Effective

Aerosols, particulates, viruses, masks, and COVID transmission: One of the major frustrations of this pandemic has been about masks – do they help? How much do they help? Why were they originally discouraged? Should we be wearing two or three or four or …? 

When safety and health professionals think about masks for protection, the minimum we think of are N95 filtering facepieces. OSHA considers those protective up to ten times an exposure limit (a protection factor of 10), if they are proven to fit well. The 95 in N95 means the filter material can remove at least 95% of particles that are 0.3 microns in size. They are even more efficient at removing smaller particles and larger particles – because of how particles are captured, that 0.3 micron size is the hardest to remove.

In the early days of the pandemic, we needed to save those for people who really needed them, such as health care workers in close contact with infected people. So health authorities said, “no masks.”

As we learned that transmission was occurring from “respiratory emissions,” the droplets people emit when they breathe or talk or laugh, it became clear that asking people to keep their distance from each other was not, alone, going to be effective. In theory, those moisture-laden emissions are big particles which soon settle out of the air. In practice, it doesn’t happen that cleanly. The virus-laden droplets of moisture can dry out. Air currents or the force of a sneeze can carry the droplets some distance. So the edict changed to “wear masks.” Fabric, even lightweight fabric, in front of your nose and mouth will capture those droplets, keeping you from infecting others. N95 filtering facepieces would be great choices – but those can still be hard to find. And there’s a bias against everyone wearing N95 filtering facepieces: those are classified as respirators. If people need to use respirators, they must be clean-shaven where the respirator seals to the face, medically certified as able to wear them, trained, and fit-tested to ensure the respirator provides that protection factor of ten. Besides, we need to make sure there are enough N95s for people who really need that high level of protection.

Wearing any old fabric over the mouth and nose might capture those moisture-laden emissions, but it may not do a good job of protecting the wearer from virus particles that come from other people. And it may not do a good enough job of stopping all the virus particles you emit. But there are simple measures to improve how well even cloth masks work:

• Choose a mask that fits closely to your face and that has a nose clip, so it seals around your nose. Be aware that beards will prevent close fits.
• If you wear a cloth mask, opt for one made of tightly woven fabric and at least double thickness. You should not be able to see through it.
• Wear it correctly! You breathe in and out through your nose, so the mask has to cover your nose. It does no good if your nose sticks out.
• Stay away from poorly ventilated or crowded spaces.

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The Physics of Face Masks

Want to know how N95 respirators work?  See The astounding physics of n95 masks

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N95 Product Recommendation

We found a NIOSH-approved N95 filtering facepiece that doesn’t have straps—it adheres to your face. Janet Keyes, CIH, and Carol Keyes, CSP, have been wearing them for the past couple of months. We find they are easier to breathe through and easier to communicate. We’ve been able to reuse them up to eight times. We have a short video on our website about them.

To get a discount when you order the ReadiMask here, enter CHESS20 for the coupon code.

Didn’t we just say that N95s need to be saved for people who need that high level of protection? That’s absolutely true for any surgical N95, those that are also FDA-certified. And the N95s that health care providers usually purchase, those from the well-known manufacturers, are hard to get. ReadiMask is still trying to gain a foothold in the market.

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OSHA Updates

Federal OSHA has issued a proposed rule to update the Hazard Communication standard (the federal version of Minnesota’s Right to Know/Hazard Communication standard).  The main purpose of the change is to update the rule so it agrees with the most recent version of the guidance document on which it is based, the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) Revision 7. This is an early step in the revision of the standard – it may take some time until a final rule is published (by which time the GHS document might be on another revision!).

This revision isn’t likely to put any new burdens on the end users. People who are responsible for producing safety data sheets may need to update their SDSs.

Reference: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-02-16/pdf/2020-28987.pdf

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Fire Prevention and Safety

The National Fire Protection Association has put out a Desk Reference for the Fire Service and Fire and Life Safety Educators, available at https://www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/Public-Education/Resources/Educational-messaging/EMAC/EducationalMessagesDeskReference.pdf.

While it’s a dry read in its entirety, it has a lot of very good, simple advice on preventing fires and burns, particularly away from work. Topics include home fire escape, cooking, heating, electrical safety, lightning, battery safety, pet fire safety and clothes dryers. Many of the tips are worth reviewing with your family – for instance, do you know how to handle 9 volt or lithium ion batteries safely? Have you been using space heaters safely? Here are a few tips:

• Use battery-operated, flameless candles. They are safer for kids and pets, too.
• Keep your dryer lint filter cleaned
• Have portable fire extinguishers in your home. Fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors make great wedding and house-warming gifts.
• Make sure surge protectors and power strips have internal overload protection (they trip and turn off if you overload them)

Environmental Reminders

Hazardous waste management reports will be due January 31 for companies in the Metro area other than in Hennepin County. Remember that you need to report the amount of waste you generated, which often is not the same as how much you shipped.

Air quality requirements:  If you no longer have a permit because you are considered conditionally exempt or insignificant, you still need to keep your annual VOC report on file, to show that you are still exempt. Ask your jobber or supplier to send a year-end report. Verify that your VOC-containing material purchases (from all sources) are below 2000 gallons. If you are getting close to the 2000 gallon point, you may need a permit again. For Option C and D permit holders, reporting will be due in April.

New Contact for SWDI

For anyone using SWDI / Stericycle / Clean Earth for hazardous waste, be aware that staff at the Blaine facility are all working from home. For that reason, they only sporadically get their phone messages. If you need a waste pick up, contact this new inside sales rep: 

Shauna Johnstone, Inside Sales Rep
D: 678-822-9937
sjohnstone@harsco.com

OSHA 300 Log of Injuries and Illnesses

The OSHA 300A log summary must be posted from February 1 through April 30. Post only the summary, not the log itself which has the employee names on it. To complete the summary, you will need the total hours worked by all employees—this does not include vacation, PTO, or any hours that the employee was paid for but did not actually work. 

You also need the average number of employees during the year. That can be calculated by looking at how many paychecks were distributed each pay period, then dividing that number by the number of pay periods. You can also calculate it by taking the total hours worked and dividing by 2000, although that is not as accurate.

Do COVID 19 cases get counted? If you believe that the virus was contracted at work, then the case should go on your log. 

Why are accurate OSHA logs and summaries important? They serve as a way for you to keep track of your injury history. But OSHA uses them, too. Federal OSHA announced in December that it would target companies that reported consistent injury and illness rate increases over the last three years.

MNOSHA Compliance is offering two recordkeeping online training sessions in January. More information can be found here: https://www.dli.mn.gov/business/workplace-safety-and-health/mnosha-compliance-recordkeeping-standard

For any Minnesota company with 20 or more employees, the OSHA 300A (summary) must be submitted to federal OSHA by March 1.

For CHESS maintenance clients, we will be helping with completion and submission of your OSHA 300 logs.

New Federal Administration? New Changes? Depends on COVID

With one exception, we don’t expect the change in administrations to have any major regulatory changes that will immediately affect you. In time, there may be more emphasis on energy- and VOC-reduction efforts. Federal OSHA has been very quiet on the regulatory front for the last four years. That may change, but it still will take a very long time to get any new OSHA regulations in place. Federal enforcement is likely to increase but that won’t change Minnesota’s level of enforcement.

The one exception: an emergency temporary standard for COVID-19. Virginia, Michigan, Oregon and California have adopted such standards. Minnesota OSHA has been enforcing the state requirement to develop and implement a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan. We don’t know if that would be equivalent to the protection given by a federal emergency temporary standard.

As always, we will post changes in our newsletters.

Minimum Wage Poster Updated, Available

Print or order free updated minimum-wage poster: Minnesota’s minimum-wage rates will be adjusted for inflation beginning Jan. 1, 2021, to $10.08 an hour for large employers and $8.21 an hour for other state minimum wages. The state’s free, mandatory minimum-wage poster has been updated and is available to print or order from the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) website.

• If we are doing your annual reporting, we will bring a copy of the poster when we do our site visit.

Come See Our New CHESS Website

We’ve been working hard over the last year to completely redesign our website. With that update, We’ll start posting new blogs on a regular basis again. Check out the website here:  chess-safety.com

Newsletters and More Newsletters

We appreciate referrals—pass this newsletter along or recommend to others to sign up for the newsletter—it’s free.

2021 newsletters: In 2020 we published ten newsletters as a way to keep everyone up to date on the coronavirus and address frequently asked questions. We won’t promise that many in 2021; we expect to go back to mostly quarterly newsletter with additional ones as needed.

SDSLinks^TM

CHESS offers SDSLinks, an online SDS management system, for automotive mechanical and collision repair shops. If you are not subscribed, but interested in learning more, contact us at 651-481-9787.

Allstate Training Provider

Are you an automotive collision repair shop? Are you a DRP with Allstate? If so, CHESS is an Allstate PRO approved safety training vendor. 

CHESS Moves

Just a quick update on what Janet and Carol have been up to:

Along with conducting in-person and video conference training, Janet serves as Chair of the Construction Committee for AIHA (American Industrial Hygiene Association), and is secretary of the Confined Space Committee. One of the accomplishments of the Construction Committee is Focus Four for Health, a guidance document focusing on the four highest health hazards in construction related fields: material handling, air contaminants, noise, and heat.It has a companion document, Focus on Construction Health: COVID-19. Both can be found on the construction page of workerhealthsafety.org .

Carol serves on the board of MetroIBA, an alliance of independent businesses in the Twin Cities area. Think “Buy Local.” She is also on the finance committee for the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) and serves on the government affairs committee for the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers-MN (AASP-MN).

If you are interested in joining our team, contact Carol at 651-842-9210.

Reasons to get your COVID-19 vaccination