The Small Business Safety and Health Handbook highlights the benefits of implementing an effective safety and health program, provides self-inspection checklists for employers to identify workplace hazards and review important workplace safety and health resources for small businesses.
“The revised Small Business Handbook is a valuable tool to help employers identify where to take action to make their workplaces safer and more healthful for their employees,” said Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Jim Frederick. “Safety has to be a continuous process that involves preventing injuries and illnesses, and saving lives.”
The handbook includes self-inspection checklists for various work processes in general industry workplaces, such as fire protection, hazard communication, permit-required confined spaces, respiratory protection and walking-working surfaces. The checklists are not intended for construction or maritime industries.
“Small businesses face many unique challenges and providing a safe and healthy work environment shouldn’t be one of them,” said NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D. “The updated Small Business Handbook is an easy-to-use tool to help keep your most valuable asset – your employees – safe and healthy on the job.”
A section of the handbook lists OSHA and NIOSH resources available to help employers recognize and correct safety and health hazards in their workplace, including the OSHA On-Site Consultation Program. The handbook also gives employers information on whistleblower protection laws, training through OSHA’s education centers and professional occupational safety and health associations with local chapters that small businesses can join.
U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The Department’s Reasonable Accommodation Resource Center converts departmental information and documents into alternative formats, which include Braille and large print. For alternative format requests, please contact the Department at (202) 693-7828 (voice) or (800) 877-8339 (federal relay).
U.S. Department of Labor
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Office of Communications
Washington, D.C.
Contact: Office of Communications
Phone: 202-693-1999 www.osha.gov
U.S. Department of Labor Approves New Respirator Fit Testing Protocols to Protect Workers from Airborne Contaminants
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today issued a final rule that provides employers with two new fit testing protocols for ensuring that employees’ respirators fit properly.
The new protocols are the modified ambient aerosol condensation nuclei counter (CNC) quantitative fit testing protocol for full-facepiece and half-mask elastomeric respirators, and the modified ambient aerosol CNC quantitative fit testing protocol for filtering facepiece respirators. Both protocols are variations of the original OSHA-approved ambient aerosol CNC protocol, but have fewer test exercises, shorter exercise duration, and a more streamlined sampling sequence.
These two quantitative methods add to the four existing in Appendix A of OSHA’s Respiratory Protection Standard, which contains mandatory respirator fit-testing protocols that employers must choose from to protect employees from hazardous airborne contaminants. The rule does not require employers in general industries, shipyard employment, and construction to update or replace their current fit testing methods, and does not impose additional costs.
The rule becomes effective September 26, 2019.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to help ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.
The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.
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U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The Department’s Reasonable Accommodation Resource Center converts departmental information and documents into alternative formats, which include Braille and large print. For alternative format requests, please contact the Department at (202) 693-7828 (voice) or (800) 877-8339 (federal relay).
The Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) has joined the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Alliance Program. Through this 2-year collaborative program, OSHA provides mentoring and resources to help safety and health-focused organizations prevent workplace fatalities, injuries, and illnesses. BCSP members will take part in developing educational safety resources for employers, and participate in OSHA’s Safe + Sound Campaign, and the National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction.
BCSP sets the standards for safety practices and has certified over 38,000 safety, health, and environmental professionals.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.
The world’s leading conference on laser safety returns in 2017, drawing professionals from a variety of industry backgrounds ranging from nurses and applications engineers to researchers and even government and military personnel. LIA’s biennial International Laser Safety Conference (ILSC®) will be held on Mar. 20-23, 2017 at the Sheraton® Atlanta Airport Hotel in Atlanta, GA, with the goal of educating laser safety personnel on everything from bioeffects research to the best practices for Laser Safety Officers (LSOs).
Successfully prepared again by General Chair John O’Hagan of Public Health England, ILSC 2017 is comprised of three main parts: Laser Safety Scientific Sessions (LSSS), Medical Practical Applications Seminar (MPAS) and the Technical Practical Applications Seminar (TPAS). When asked about the value that ILSC brings to its attendees, O’Hagan said that the conference “provides a unique opportunity for both experienced laser safety specialists and newcomers to get together over four days. It attracts attendees from around the world, so that experiences can be shared, lessons learned and hopefully workplaces containing lasers are safe.”
A new addition to this year’s ILSC are the two Opening Plenary speakers who are both clinicians. “Jacques Abramowicz will speak about the World Health Organization task to develop Basic Safety Requirements and Fundamental Safety Principles for non-ionizing radiation, including laser radiation. Jeff Luttrull, who is an expert in diseases and surgery of the retina and vitreous, will talk about how lasers can be used to prevent blindness,” remarked O’Hagan.
Every year, the LSSS addresses developments in regulatory, mandatory and voluntary safety standards for laser products and laser use. Chaired by Karl Schulmeister of Seibersdorf Laboratories, he emphasizes that the ILSC Scientific Sessions will continue to cover the most important topics to its attendees — including laser product safety, bioeffects, injury thresholds for the varying tissues of the eye and skin, as well as eyewear, outdoor lasers, high power lasers, materials processing and broadband incoherent radiation.
Dr. Schulmeister also noted that there are many first-time presenters contributing to the LSSS this year, “which shows that the interest and the ‘discipline’ of laser safety is ever growing and developing — away from the historical main interest in user precautions to the safety of products, particularly of consumer products which will be soon ubiquitous.”
The Medical and Technical PAS are designed to complement the Scientific Sessions by exploring everyday scenarios that the LSO and MLSO could encounter. The Medical PAS is a two-day seminar that will take place Mar. 20-21 and be Co-Chaired by Kay Ball (Otterbein University) and Certified Medical Laser Safety Officers (CMLSOs) Vangie Dennis (Emory Healthcare), Patti Owens (AestheticMed Consulting International), and Leslie Pollard (Southwest Innovative Solutions, Inc.), who have constructed this seminar around the theme of Laser Safety: More than Smoke and Mirrors. The MPAS will be particularly useful for MLSOs who work in operating rooms, surgical centers, aesthetic clinics and medical spas.
“Day one will include pertinent information regarding the hazards of surgical smoke and plume. The latest research will be presented,” stated Owens. “Analyzing the toxicity of surgical plume, the impact of chronic exposure to second hand smoke, recommended respiratory protection, new international initiatives and organizations, along with future legislation for management of this health hazard.”
Owens went on to add that “the second stimulating day will focus on management of collimated medical devices with exciting lectures addressing new applications of innovative laser technology, retinal and corneal injuries from exposure to lasers and Intense Pulsed Light, veterinary utilization of medical laser devices, Low Level Light therapy and PDT. Also, the role of the laser safety officer and how to produce positive safety outcomes for both staff and patient will be explored.”
According to Kay Ball, “ILSC 2017 offers learning and networking opportunities to help health care professionals meet the challenges of laser technology. Advancements and exciting new information will be highlighted, while experts will be able to share their knowledge and experiences.”
The two-day Technical PAS, on Mar. 22-23, is expected to provide LSOs with the knowledge they need to address more common laser safety issues and concerns for day-to-day operations in manufacturing, research and product development, as well as laser safety training and program setup. Co-Chairs and Certified Laser Safety Officers (CLSOs) Eddie Ciprazo (UC Berkeley) and Jamie King (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), are focusing on just that with the motif of Back to the Basics – Laser Safety 101.
Topics covered in the Technical PAS will range from determining Nominal Hazard Zones (NZH) to laser eye protection selection to what regulations apply. This seminar will start off on Wednesday with So You are the LSO, Now What? and will conclude on Thursday with Resources for the LSO, Don’t Reinvent the Wheel. The newest and most anticipated addition to this year’s TPAS will be an open forum panel discussion with the FDA.
According to King, LSOs of all experience levels will leave this seminar with a variety of valuable information. “From basic optics to cutting edge technologies and everything in between, it’s here.”
Additional highlights at ILSC include the Welcome Reception on Sunday, Mar. 19 at 4pm and the Awards Luncheon, taking place on Monday, Mar. 20 at 12pm. This two hour luncheon includes the presentation of the Wilkening and Rockwell awards. The Wilkening Award is being presented to Wesley J. Marshall of Laser Safety Specialties, recognizing his outstanding contributions to laser bioeffects research, development of human exposure limits and safety standards, and to applied laser safety. This year, the Rockwell Award is being bestowed on none other than ILSC General Chair John O’Hagan, for his outstanding contributions to laser safety education.
Attendees can expect plenty of networking opportunities at ILSC, promises O’Hagan. “Those new to laser safety can hear from world experts and build up their networks. Experienced laser safety professionals get the opportunity to hear about the latest research on bioeffects and practical solutions to laser safety problems. Having attended ILSC, you become part of a community, which can provide guidance and support throughout your laser safety career.”
In addition to attending the seminars, the CLSO/CMLSO Appreciation Reception will be another great opportunity to hear first-hand from certified laser safety professionals. Taking place on Monday, Mar. 20, this reception honors LSOs with 10+ years of certification. Anyone with certification or an interest in LSO certification is welcome to attend.
Another networking opportunity for attendees to take advantage of is the Sponsor Reception on Tuesday evening, Mar. 21, from 5-7:30pm. This is the perfect time to interact with key safety companies including longtime Platinum Sponsors Honeywell Safety Products and Rockwell Laser Industries; Gold Sponsors ASC Z136, Kentek Corporation and Lighting Systems Design, Inc.; Silver Sponsors Buffalo Filter and Engility Corporation; and Bronze Sponsors BEAMSTOP’R Laser Barriers, Inc., Laser Safety Systems, LASERVISION USA, NoIR LaserShields, Ophir-Spiricon LLC and RT Technologies Inc.
“We look forward to welcoming friends to Atlanta for ILSC 2017,” says O’Hagan. “If you haven’t been before, make sure you say hello!”
For more information and to register for ILSC 2017, visit www.lia.org/ILSC.
The Laser Institute of America Weekly Lasers Wrap-Up is an aggregation of all that you may have missed this week in the world of lasers. From Industry news to Conference updates and LIA happenings, here’s what happened during ICALEO Week 2016:
ICALEO 2016 wrapped up yesterday – explore photos on our Twitter profile @LaserInstitute and on LasersToday.com.
LIA Happenings & Updates
This week brought us the 35th ICALEO® in San Diego, California. The LIA Twitter page is filled with updates, photos, and featured tweets from the event. Follow @laserinstitute on Twitter to see what you may have missed at this year’s event.
Be sure to download our latest trend report The Future of Laser Technology Manufacturing. As an increasing number of industries harness laser technology as part of their protocol, what impact could this have on the future of laser applications? Learn about alternatives to traditional manufacturing applications, as well as emerging developments in laser technology, in new industries here.
Are your laser safety precautions up to date? The Laser Accident Series reveals what may happen if proper procedures are not met in the workplace. Featuring real-life OSHA accident reports, the Laser Accident Series paints an unsettling picture of the potential of accident or injury, when working with lasers. Read the LIA Blog post here.
Laser Industry News
Lasers Today featured two guest posts of interest to laser enthusiasts this week. The first, The Magic of Non-Linear Laser Processing: Shaping Multi-functional Lab-in-Fiber, discusses “the manipulation of femtosecond laser light inside transparent media” and how it can be directed to “open new directions in creating dense memory space, 3D optical circuits, 3D microfluidic networks, and high speed scribing tracks.” Take an in-depth look at the potential capabilities of this exciting form of laser processing here.
Figure 2. (a) Schematic of a temperature-compensated 3D fiber shape sensor, coupled to single-mode fiber (SMF), and laser-written in coreless fused silica fiber
Also featured was Laser Weld Process Monitoring: Seeing the Unseeable. This guest post gives an interesting perspective on the current state of laser weld processes. Discussing the before, during, and after processes of laser welding checks as well as top measuring methods, the importance of record keeping, and more. Find it here.
ICI can be used to monitor multiple aspects of the laser weld process at the same time
A scientist at University of Central Florida has created the “most efficient” quantum cascade laser ever. According to Space Coast Daily, Professor Arkadiy Lyakh and team have simplified the traditional process in developing quantum cascade lasers, with the intention of seeing them used in a greater number of processes. Read the original article here.
Lasers may soon be responsible for a more accurate atomic clock. Science Daily reports that a group of physicists have designed a laser that is “based on synchronized emissions of light, from the same atoms used in advanced atomic clocks.” Find the official news release here.
Want the latest information on laser industry conferences, like ICALEO®? Interested in the latest in laser news? Sign up to receive Lasers Today updates, straight to your inbox, here. The Laser Institute of America (LIA) is the international society for laser applications and safety. Our mission is to foster lasers, laser applications, and laser safety worldwide. Visit us at www.lia.org.
![Figure 2. (a) Schematic of a temperature-compensated 3D fiber shape sensor, coupled to single-mode fiber (SMF), and laser-written in coreless fused silica fiber[8]. The λ1 to λ9 wavelengths represent nine different Bragg resonances for waveguide gratings distributed along three laser-written and parallel waveguide tracks. Micrographs of the fiber cross section (125 μm diameter) at the (b) coupling and (c) sensor regions show the arrangement of the internal laser-written waveguides. The figure is reproduced, with permission, from Fig. 1 of Lee et al.[8] © 2013 OSA [http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.21.024076].](https://www.laserstoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Fig_2_Lee-300x246.png)
