PCCA Journal|1
st
Quarter 2013
37
Safety News
OSHA Reminds Employers to Protect
Workers from Carbon Monoxide Exposure
A
s we get further into winter, the Occupa-
tional Safety and Health Administration
is reminding employers to take necessary
precautions to protect workers from the seri-
ous and sometimes fatal effects of carbon
monoxide exposure.
Recently, a worker in a New England warehouse was found
unconscious and seizing, suffering from carbon monoxide
poisoning. Several other workers at the site also became sick.
All the windows and doors were closed to conserve heat,
there was no exhaust ventilation in the facility, and very high
levels of carbon monoxide were measured at the site.
Every year, workers die from carbon monoxide poison-
ing, usually while using fuel-burning equipment and tools in
buildings or semi-enclosed spaces without adequate ventila-
tion. This can be especially true during the winter months
when employees use this type of equipment in indoor spaces
that have been sealed tightly to block out cold temperatures
and wind. Symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure can in-
clude everything from headaches, dizziness, and drowsiness
to nausea, vomiting, or tightness across the chest. Severe
carbon monoxide poisoning can cause neurological damage,
coma, and death.
Sources of carbon monoxide can include anything that
uses combustion to operate, such as gas generators, power
tools, compressors, pumps, welding equipment, space heaters
and furnaces.
To reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning in the
workplace, employers should install an effective ventilation
system, avoid the use of fuel-burning equipment in enclosed
or partially-enclosed spaces, use carbon monoxide detectors
in areas where the hazard is a concern, and take other pre-
cautions outlined in OSHA’s Carbon Monoxide Fact Sheet. For
additional information on carbon monoxide poisoning and
preventing exposure in the workplace, see OSHA’s Carbon
Monoxide Poisoning Quick Cards (in English and Spanish).
Labor Department Announces
Winners of Safety App Challenge
T
he U.S. Department of
Labor recently announced
the winners of its Worker
Safety and Health App
Challenge. Prizes total-
ing $30,000 are being awarded to four
entrants who submitted tools that best
demonstrate the importance of recogniz-
ing and preventing workplace safety and
health hazards, and help young people
understand their rights in the workplace.
Submissions were designed for internet
browsers, smartphones, feature phones,
and social media platforms, or as native
Windows or Macintosh applications.
The panel of judges, including co-
hosts of the popular Discovery Channel
show “Myth Busters,” Adam Savage
and Jamie Hyneman, selected winners
of the Safety in the Workplace Innova-
tor Award, the Safety and Health Data
Award, and the Workers’ Rights Award
from 20 finalists. A People’s Choice
Award was given to the entry that
received the most public votes on the
challenge website.
The Safety in the Workplace Innova-
tor Award and $15,000 went to Work-
ing Safely Is No Accident, a website
developed by the University of Tennes-
see Construction Industry Research and
Policy Center and the Department of
Industrial and Systems Engineering. The
website is designed to offer workers,
primarily those ages 13-24, conveniently
accessible information on common
workplace hazards and workers’ rights
to a safe workplace. 

The Safety and Health Data Award and
$6,000 went to the United Steelwork-
ers union for its USW Chemical Safety
application that allows users to search a
Material Safety Data Sheets database for
information on workplace exposure lim-
its, health hazards, workplace controls,
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