Safety Gear is a Must For Debris Removal
Students and volunteers need to pay heed
Release Date: May 4, 2006
Release Number: 1603-461
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NEW ORLEANS, La. -- With the end of the school year approaching, hundreds of high school and college students are expected to seek ways to help storm-damaged neighborhoods spring back to life. These students and volunteers can be a great asset in the move to recovery.
Safety officials remind everyone working around battered structures on overgrown sites to work smart and stay healthy, especially as the weather warms up.
"Inexperienced workers may not be aware of the serious trouble that threatens their feet, legs, arms, hands and heads on job sites, plus the hazards to their lungs and eyes when they pull walls apart," said Dean Wingo, an Occupational Safety and Health Administration manager with a mission assignment in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). "We want them to be properly equipped and to work safely at all times."
Forty-three snake strikes were reported through April by Environmental Protection Agency workers at demolition sites in Louisiana, according to officials at a recent safety meeting in New Orleans. A strike is a hit on leather or protective fabric. A bite is a hit where there is no fabric.
Safety officials suggest protective equipment from the ground up for people working around debris:
- Sturdy work boots with sole protection against nails and glass;
- Long pants to guard against cuts and varmints;
- Leather work gloves to ward off cuts and bites and to minimize damage from smashing incidents;
- N-95 face mask from a building supply store to protect lungs from fiberglass and other debilitating dust;
- Safety goggles to keep particles and flying objects out of eyes;
- Hard hat to guard against falling objects and sideways bumps from careless co-workers; and
- Be sure your tetanus shot is current.
Another absolute rule is to drink plenty of water. Work gear, the hot sun and super exertion can combine to fell the fittest of workers who does not drink enough water.
FEMA manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Thursday, 04-May-2006 14:52:31