Articles Posted in Personal Injury

A hazard alert has been issued by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration to alert those who work in hair salons. The warning informs these employees about potential formaldehyde exposure from working with various hair smoothing and straightening products, according to the United States Department of Labor.

The Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration (OHSA) released a report after receiving complaints and concerns and conducting and investigation regarding Brazilian Blowout and other hair smoothing products.

Boston workers’ compensation lawyers would like to urge those working in local salons to practice caution when using these products as formaldehyde, a colorless, strong-smelling gas, can be a serious health hazard when exposed to workers and customers.

Tests conducted by the safety administration concluded that some salon air revealed high levels of the chemical in these work areas, higher than OSHA’s legal limit for salons. Products that were labeled as formaldehyde-free even exceeded the legal limit. Importers and distributors of the products have already been issued violations from California’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The violations were for listing products as “formaldehyde-free” when in fact they contained formaldehyde. They failed to list the dangerous ingredient both on the company’s product labels and on the material safety data sheets.

“Workers have the right to know the risks associated with the chemicals with which they work, and how to protect themselves,” said federal OSHA Assistant Secretary Dr. David Michaels. “Employers need to know these risks in order to ensure the safety and health of their employees.”

Formaldehyde can cause irritation to the human body by causing allergic reactions of the skin, eyes and lungs and has even been linked to nose and lung cancers.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 requires that employers take responsibility in providing safe and healthful workplaces for all employees. OSHA’s role in the process is to ensure these safe work conditions for all salon workers and owners by continuing to set and enforce these standards. OSHA also provides training, education and assistance.

If formaldehyde is used in salon, owners must follow these strict requirements in OSHA’s Formaldehyde standard (29 CFR 1910.1048) to ensure the safety of workers and customers:

-Properly train employees prior to use. Provide them with respirators and train them to use them properly. Employees must meet all requirements in OSHA’s Respiratory protection standard.

-Require that workers use lower heat setting on blow-dryers and other heat related hair styling equipment.

-Clearly post signs throughout your salon where formaldehyde may be above OSHA’s limit and instruct workers about the potential dangers of such areas. Only allow authorized personnel in these areas, keep customers and untrained individuals away.

-Make sure your salon has an effective air ventilation system in the areas where these products are mixes. This ventilation system will help keep the levels of formaldehyde below the OHSA limit.

-Inform workers about the health hazards of formaldehyde exposure. Instruct them on how to use the product safely, what protective equipment to use and wear while handling the product and how to clean up thoroughly after use.

OSHA provides workers and employers with a Formaldehyde Fact Sheet for a complete description of how to use the chemical and avoid causing potential safety hazards.
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Just days after CNN reported our national water infrastructure is desperately due for upgrading, renovation and repair, the Boston Globe reported on a two-year investigation by state auditor Joseph DeNucci, who critically evaluated the State’s dam systems.

The CNN report revealed that on average 700 water main breaks happen every day in the U.S. That thanks to antiquated leaking pipes, the U.S. loses 7 billion gallons of water – a day. That a single faucet dripping once per second releases as much as 2,700 gallons of drinkable water a year. That the American Society of Civil Engineers has estimated the cost to replace or restore our nation’s crumbling water utility system will surpass the $250 billion mark during the next two decades.

Our Boston personal injury lawyers and Massachusetts workers’ compensation attorneys know that lost water does more than drain our clean drinking water supply. It costs in property damage and work productivity. And, at worst, it threatens public health when a water systems becomes contaminated and becomes a worker and public safety issue when systems rupture or fail.

What DeNucci’s report found in Massachusetts reflects what the American Water Works Association sees as a growing water infrastructure problem flowing across the nation. Our antiquate, inefficient, worn out water and sewer line systems are failing and desperately in need of innovative (and costly) upgrading to meet current law and public health safety directives. The problem, of course, is that the current economic reality has most state budgets bone dry when it comes to funding massive, or minimal, infrastructure upgrade projects. So who then is responsible when a water main fails and a Massachusetts worker is injured or killed; a home destroyed?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in 2009 there were 75 utility system construction workers killed due to a job site accident. This number includes oil and gas line, power and communication workers with water and sewer line handlers. Water system workers alone claimed nearly 38 percent of all utility worker fatalities nationwide. Within Massachusetts, BLS reports that 17 workers in the construction industry died on the job in 2009.

The Massachusetts personal injury attorneys at Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers, LLC, recognize that construction companies, land developers and governmental agencies have a joined responsibility to maintain a safe and secure environment for employees, temporary workers and the public.
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