Safety and Health Resource Guide for Small Businesses

About Small Business

About NIOSH

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is the Federal agency that conducts research and makes recommendations to prevent work-related illness and injury. NIOSH works with industries, labor organizations, and universities to understand and improve worker safety and health.

NIOSH is often confused with OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration). However, NIOSH and OSHA are separate agencies with different functions. NIOSH is a research agency in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. OSHA is a regulatory agency in the U.S. Department of Labor.

For information and publications about occupational hazards, please contact NIOSH at

Toll-free telephone:  1-800-35-NIOSH (1-800-356-4674)
Fax directory:     1-888-CDC-FAXX (1-888-232-3299)
Web site:www.cdc.gov/niosh
E-mail:pubstaft@cdc.gov

Purpose of This Document

This Guide is intended to help small business owners, employers, and managers deal with occupational safety and health concerns. Others involved with the small business community may also benefit from using this resource. This guide contains telephone numbers, e-mail and Internet addresses, and mailing information that will connect small businesses to government agencies, private organizations, consultants, and others who can help with occupational safety and health issues.

How to Research an Occupational Safety and Health Problem

Question 1

I manage a small printing plant and we recently changed one of our inks. A press operator says that she is having an allergic skin reaction to this new ink. How and where can I get more information?

Answers

1. Contact the manufacturer or supplier of the ink and inquire as to whether they have received similar complaints about this ink or whether they have special recommendations for how to use it safely. Request a copy of the material safety data sheet (MSDS) from them.
   
   
2. Call the NIOSH 800-number with the names of the chemicals in the ink (found on the MSDS) for additional information. Refer the employee to an Occupational Medicine Specialist for evaluation.
   
   

Question 2

We are technicians at a doctor's office. We are not sure we are disposing of needles and other sharps correctly. What procedures should we be following?

Answers

1. Request a copy of the NIOSH Publication Selecting, Evaluating, and Using Sharps Disposal Containers (NIOSH Publication No. 97-111).
   
   
2. Check with OSHA for the requirements related to sharps that are included in OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard, (29CFR 1910.1030).
   
   
3. In some areas, employers also need to contact their local landfill or waste site disposal site.
   
   
4. Contact EPA for requirements regarding final disposal.
   
   

Question 3

I work with lead and for years have heard about the hazards of lead. How do I protect myself and my family?

Answers

1. Contact NIOSH for information about working with lead, including health effects and protective equipment (such as respirators).
   
   
2. Contact OSHA for information about the requirements of the OSHA lead standard (29 CFR 1910.102).
   
   
3. Lead may be transported from the workplace to your home on your body or your clothes and can affect your family. Such contamination is often called "take-home lead." Make sure you wash and change clothes before going home and launder your clothes separately from those of your family. For information about dealing with take-home lead, request a copy of the NIOSH publication Reduce Contamination at Home (NIOSH Pub. No. 97-125).
   
   

Table of Contents

I. Introduction

II. What is a Small Business?

• Why focus on small businesses?
• Numbers of workers in small businesses
• Safety and health challenges for small businesses
• Costs of work-related injuries and illnesses
• How to Research a Problem

III. Services Offered by NIOSH to Small Businesses

• Contact Information
• NIOSH Publications
  • Summary Fact Sheets
  • NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards
  • Chemical Safety Cards
• Training
• NIOSH Videotapes
• Consultation
• How to Research a Problem

IV. Other Government Agencies Offering Occupational Safety and Health Services
      to Small Businesses

• Department of Energy (U.S. DOE)
• Department of Labor (U.S. DOL)
• Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA)
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
• Healthfinder® (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
• National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
• Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA/DOL)
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA/DOL)
• Small Business Administration (SBA)
• States
• How to Research a Problem

V. Educational Institutions, Organizations and Commercial Establishments Offering
     Occupational Safety and Health Services to Small Businesses

• Alliance of American Insurers
• American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN)
• American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM)-Medical Referrals
• American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH)
• American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA)
• American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
• American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE)
• American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
• Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics (AOEC)
• Center for Safety in the Arts
• Committees for Occupational Safety and Health (COSHs)
• Education and Research Centers (ERCs)
• Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI)
• The Health Information Resource Database
• Insurance Carriers (See also Alliance of American Insurers)
• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
• National Safety Council (NSC)
• Trade Associations, Unions, and Educational Institutions
• Vermont Safety Information Resources-Safety Graphics
• Workers' Compensation Carriers (see Also Alliance of American Insurers)
• Commerical Establishments Offering Occupational Safety and Health Services to Small Businesses

• NIOSH Publications
• Alerts
• Updates
• Hazard Controls and Hazard IDs
• Current Intelligence Bulletins
• Table A-1. Selected NIOSH Publications

I. Introduction

Frequently, small businesses do not have the in-house capacity or other resources to address safety and health concerns in the workplace. To help small business owners, employers, and managers deal with these concerns, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has developed this Safety and Health Resource Guide for Small Businesses. The guide contains telephone numbers, e-mail and Internet addresses, and mailing information that will connect small businesses to the government agencies, private organizations, consultants, and others who can help them with occupational safety and health issues.

II. What is a Small Business?

For the purposes of this document, NIOSH considers a small business establishment to be one with fewer than 100 employees at a single site. The success of small businesses relies partly on their small scale, which enables them to operate effectively with limited resources, respond quickly to demands for products and services, and interact with clients, employees, and vendors on a personal level.

Why focus on small businesses?

NIOSH recognizes that small businesses can benefit from additional information about protecting the safety and health of their employees. The number of small businesses is expected to increase, and the U.S. workforce is predicted to grow to an estimated 147 million by the year 2005. In focusing on the important contributions of small businesses in the United States, Federal agencies have begun to develop programs that provide services and assistance to small businesses. Most of the agencies and organizations that provide occupational safety and health assistance and publications are included in this document.

Examples of Federal programs and legislation include the following:

• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) programs in consultation, voluntary protection, and expert advisor materials
• The Department of Labor Office of Small Business Program's One Stop Approach to Providing Information on Enforcement Programs Which Apply to Small Business
• The Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy programs to provide financial assistance and information for small businesses
• The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996

These and other programs reflect a commitment to ensure that small businesses remain productive and safe.

The best opportunity to prevent illness and injury in small business industries is for the owners, managers, and employees to identify and understand the hazards and risks that workers might encounter on the job. This guide provides many sources of free information to help reduce and prevent threats to worker safety and health.

Numbers of workers in small businesses

More than half of all U.S. employees in private industry work in small business establishments with fewer than 100 employees (see Figure 1). Furthermore, nearly 98% of all private industry establishments in the United States have fewer than 100 employees. Of these, roughly 87% have fewer than 20 employees.

Figure 1.

Percentage of U.S. private industry employees working in business establishments of various sizes. (Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, County Business Patterns 1994, CBP-94-1.)

Safety and health challenges for small businesses

In small businesses, injuries and illnesses can exact a hefty toll. For a small business owner operating independently, the magnitude of the problem may not be apparent. However, a government survey of U.S. businesses in 1994-1995 found that workplaces with 10 or fewer employees experience about one-third of all work-related deaths, although they only employ 15% of all workers in private industry.

Small businesses often operate as a family, with concern for protecting each employee from harm at work. Yet, because of their size, these businesses frequently lack the services of occupational safety and health professionals who can identify and prevent hazards. In addition, small businesses have been traditionally underserved by occupational safety and health initiatives. Instead, many safety and health regulations and enforcement efforts designed to protect employees from hazards have focused on large employers.

As a result, safety and health issues may be more readily resolved in large businesses by complying with standards and using additional resources. Smaller businesses may be unable to recognize hazards as readily and may therefore be unable to find information about work-related hazards or develop solutions.

Costs of work-related injuries and illnesses

For all businesses in the United States, work-related injuries and illnesses cost an estimated $171 billion each year. This figure does not address the pain and suffering caused to workers and their families. For small businesses, the average cost for an employee injury or illness varies by industry—for some small businesses the average cost is roughly $300. The highest-risk small business industries average up to $5,700 per employee injury or illness.