2017 January Safety Tips 2

Why You Must Obtain and Read Chemical Safety Data Sheets Many have heard about this tragic event in Texas, which demonstrates what can happen if we use chemicals when we are unaware of the associated hazards.     The act of watering the ground after applying pesticide may seem innocuous, but it was enough to kill four children in Texas. One was a high school senior on the brink of graduation. The other three were her little brothers; the youngest was 7 years old.   Amarillo police explained what went wrong: Some of the family members started feeling sick after a pesticide was applied under their mobile home. So one of the residents tried to dilute it with water. It was fatal mistake.   After someone applied the pesticide -- aluminum phosphide -- under the mobile home, a family member tried to wash it away, said Capt. Larry Davis of the Amarillo Fire Department.  But aluminum   phosphide mixed with water creates toxic phosphine gas, which can cause excess fluid in the lungs and respiratory failure.   To avoid a mishap, it is imperative that you do your homework when using chemicals On or Off the job. Request an SDS from the safety department, the local hardware store where you purchase the chemical, or find the Safety Data Sheets online. Then, take time to review the hazards and warnings, and follow manufacturer’s recommendations before you begin.   January is National Volunteer Blood Donor Month Since 1970 January has been declared National Volunteer Blood Donor Month, and with good reason.  Above all other times of the year, it’s the month that presents the most challenges in recruiting   people to give blood. This January is no exception with the local Red Cross in an urgent need for more  donors.   Changing weather, busy holiday schedules, increased cold and flu symptoms and even the winter blues can keep the most dedicated blood donors from making or keeping an appointment to give. Yet winter weather can lead to more traumatic injuries on icy roads and may increase the need for blood.   “There are so many unpredictable factors at play that can affect the blood supply during January; it’s a critical time to remind the public of the need for more donors,” said Rodney Wilson, communications manager for the American Red Cross.  “If you are in good health, now is the time to share that good health with patients in need.”   Drug overdose deaths on the rise in the U.S. In 2015 more than 52,000 people died from a drug overdose; of those, 33,091 (63.1%) involved a prescription or illicit opioid. Since 2000, more than 300,000 Americans have lost their lives to an opioid overdose.   CDC’s latest national analyses indicate that the increase in opioid overdose death rates is driven in large part by illicit opioids, like heroin and illicitly manufactured fentanyl, a synthetic opioid. The new data show from 2014 to 2015:   • Death rates for synthetic opioids other than methadone (including drugs such as tramadol and fentanyl) increased 72.2%; • Heroin death rates increased 20.6%; • Synthetic opioid and heroin death rates increased across all age groups 15 and older, in both sexes, and among all races/ethnicities. • Methadone death rates declined 9.1%. • Natural opioids (including morphine and codeine) and semi-synthetic opioids (including commonly prescribed pain medications such as oxycodone and hydrocodone) were involved in more than 12,700 deaths in 2015.