Canadian Occupational Safety

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2018 19 period for any sensitivities to the terpenes (the odour) from the flower. Although ver y rare, the company handles each terpene sensitivity on a case-by-case basis. It will try to place the employee in another work area, but accommodation is not always possible, says Jeff Purcell, vice-presi- dent of operations at Organigram. Another biological hazard that can arise from working directly with plants, including the cannabis plant, is mould, which can cause nasal congestion, coughing and wheezing and throat, eye and skin irritation. Since marijuana production requires increased levels of humidity — sometimes as high as 70 per cent — mould can grow easily if not properly addressed. In general, moisture and dampness controls as well as local and general exhaust ventilation can control the growth of mould. PESTICIDES Marijuana cultivation operations may be using pesticides within their facilities. Some pesticides have been associated with dermal and respira- tory toxicity for the workers who apply them, says the Guide to Worker Safety and Health in the Marijuana Industry published January 2017 by the Colo- rado Department of Public Health & Environment. Those who mix, load or apply agricultural pesticides, clean or repair pesticide application equip- ment or assist with the application of pesticides are at risk of exposure. "Pesticides and herbicides are designed to kill. They kill either a pest that they don't want or a weed or some other growing material that they don't want," says Curts. "You have to ensure, particularly during the application — usually it's a spray application — that the workers who are also susceptible to some of the active ingredients in the herbicides and pesticides are protected." Employers should conduct a risk assessment and consider the follow- ing: How the herbicides and pesticides are being applied and at what concen- tration; what the active ingredients are; how these factors might impair or impact workers; and what controls are being put in place, says Curts. At Organigram, any worker who is handling the pesticides has to go off- site to receive specific training and accreditation from a third-party. "It's mandated by provincial law that our workers are trained and accredited by the province to handle Health Canada-approved pesticides. It's a matter of health and safety and it's important that our staff are trained properly to handle any and all chem- icals used within our production facility," Purcell says. Depending on the type of growing operation, pesticides may not be used at all. Greenhouses, for example, have a highly controlled environment and will be very different from other warehouse or outdoor operations, says Bennett. "They have very strict bio security so the introduction of anything that goes into a facility has to pass through a real stringent set of standards to be able to get into where the growing operation is happening," she says. A 2017 survey titled Work and Well- Being in the Colorado Cannabis Industry found 66 per cent of workers never had symptoms after handling pesticides, but 18 per cent reported skin irritation, 14 per cent headaches and dizziness and 13 per cent eye irritation. Colo- rado and Washington were the first U.S. states to legalize marijuana in 2012. Cannabis workers may be exposed to excessive ultraviolet (UV) rays from grow lamps. While employees' dura- tion exposure is usually quite short, the lights give off a fair amount of ultraviolet rays, including UVC, so proper PPE is important, especially eye protection. UVC is absorbed by the atmosphere, so it does not reach the Earth's surface, but it is found in man-made items, such as mercury lamps and welding torches. "Because of what we use in our rooms to grow, (UVC) is in our rooms. We have special safety sunglasses that we use that are rated for all three: UVA, UVB and UVC," says Patterson. If workers have any exposed skin on their face, employers should have a sunscreen process in place to block the UV rays from workers, says Bennett. ERGONOMICS Proper ergonomics is important for workers in the marijuana industry. Roles such as trimming marijuana leaves or manual cultivation activities may present the following ergonomic issues: Awkward postures, including squatting or hunching; twisting the wrists and other joints to perform tasks; high hand forces; repetitive motions or prolonged activities; and heavy, frequent or awkward lifting. "They stand in one place and they cut and they trim and it's with really small scissors, or they're bending over, depending on how they have the plants," says Bennett. "They need to be really aware of ergonomic positions and the potential musculoskeletal injuries that can happen." The Colorado survey found 54 per cent of cannabis workers said they experienced back pain every day for at least one week or more in the past year. More than one-quarter (28 per cent) said they had discomfort in their hands, wrists or fingers (such as pain, burning, stiffness, numbness or tingling), and 23 per cent identified knee pain. For ergonomic issues of all kinds, job rotation is the number 1 way to mitigate the hazard, says Bennett. Workers should rotate their roles, such as switching between base trim- ming at ground level and de-leafing at chest level, as well as rotating their postures, such as changing from left to right hand or from sitting to standing. The recent expansion at Organi- gram resulted in many changes that improved ergonomics for workers, including reducing manual tasks through increasing automation and redesigning the growing room so there is a lot less bending and reach- ing, says Purcell. Other changes include larger har- vest rooms that have space for stools, so workers don't need to be on their feet all day, and floor mats that not only make the floor less slick but also take the shock out of workers' knees and backs, says Patterson. Employees were very involved in the selection of the new floor mats. "They are the best people to talk to because they are the ones doing it day in and day out," he says. "Any time you involve the employees and they have some kind of say in the decisions that you are making that affect them, they feel good about it." Like many industries, slips, trips and falls is a top workers' compensa- tion claim in the marijuana industry. When AgSafe analyzes injury informa- tion, it often finds that an injury could have been prevented if a worker had only taken two seconds to pick some- thing up and put it away, says Bennett. "There's cords and there's hoses and there's potential leaves falling off plants. And when people are trim- ming, they can drop stuff. It's stuff that people need to be aware of all the time," she says. Some growing operations have workers working at heights, so fall pro- tection is a concern. At Organigram, 66 per cent of the plants are grown above workers' heads, which means there are scissor lifts in every room. "That's probably our greatest chal- lenge. We have probably 45 scissor lifts here," says Patterson, who is a certified fall arrest and lift truck weeds "The number of people that they need to hire is just insane and trying to keep up with making sure each orientation is done thoroughly is something that they really have to focus on because once they are oriented to the health and safety practices, it's full speed ahead," says Wendy Bennett, executive director of AgSafe, British Columbia's agriculture safety association, in Langley, B.C. According to an estimate by Can- nabis at Work, Canada could add 150,000 jobs in the industry over the next couple of years alone. Organigram, a licensed medical and recreational marijuana producer, has 300 employees — 250 of which were hired in this past year — and the plan is to double its workforce by 2020. The company has a very in-depth orientation program that every worker must go through. New staff also receive their WHMIS training before they hit the floor, and no one uses any equipment until they are properly trained on it, says Jim Patterson, safety and security manager, at the Moncton, N.B.-based company. But some new cannabis companies may not know what they are getting into, since recreational marijuana will be a newly legal industry. "(Previously) there were a few com- panies that had licenses to produce it, but now with the legalization coming into effect (on Oct. 17), I would expect there are many, many more companies that are getting into this business. For the most part, they may not be aware of their health and safety obligations under the law," says Dan Curts, lead application development specialist, personal safety division, at 3M in London, Ont. Cannabis growers need to have a handle on a wide range of workplace hazards, from biological risks to secur- ity concerns. Although uncommon, allergic reac- tions associated with occupational exposure to cannabis have been reported. Some workers have experi- enced asthma, hives, itchy skin and swollen or puffy eyes after working with the plant. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Washington, D.C., THC and cannabinol (two of the 100-plus cannabinoids identified in cannabis) have been found to be "extreme sensitizers." Exposure may not initially cause any issues, but it can lead to progressively strong and abnor- mal responses over time. If someone is sensitive to the plant, they may need specific personal protective equipment (PPE), such as a powered air purifying respirator, rather than the standard N95 mask, says Curts. Alternatively, they may need to leave the job altogether. Organigram evaluates workers in the interview process, during orien- tation and through the probation With the legalization coming into effect (on Oct. 17), I would expect there are many, many more companies that are getting into this business. For the most part, they may not be aware of their health and safety obligations under the law.

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