Canadian Occupational Safety

August/September 2014 3 Latest COS videos Coming up online More videos at www.cos-mag.com/video.html September Machine safety First aid Eye safety OHS legal update August Professional development Forklift safety Discipline for safety OHS legal update 8 ways to improve safety communication Online exclusive: Communications expert TJ Larkin gives his top tips for ensuring employees remember safety policies and procedures, including stop trying to sound smart, write at a Grade 8 level and use more graphics. www.cos-mag.com/8ways.html On now @ twitter.com/cosmagazine Join Canadian Occupational Safety group on Follow us on Safety Tip – Solvents Preventing the dangerous effects of working with solvents Machine safety Pat Barry of Rockwell Automation discusses how common safety standards can be the basis of an effective machine safety program DIRECTOR, CARSWELL MEDIA Karen Lorimer karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters.com (416) 649-9411 PUBLISHER John Hobel (On leave) ACTING PUBLISHER Todd Humber todd.humber@thomsonreuters.com 416-298-5196 EDITOR Amanda Silliker amanda.silliker@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9502 ASSISTANT EDITOR Mallory Hendry PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR Pamela Menezes pamela.menezes@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9298 ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Kathy Liotta kathy.liotta@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9920 Stephen Hill stephen.hill@thomsonreuters.com 416-298-5090 MANAGER, MEDIA PRODUCTION Lisa Drummond lisa.drummond@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9415 MARKETING MANAGER Mohammad Ali mm.ali@thomsonreuters.com 416-609-5866 ART DIRECTOR Steve Maver CIRCULATION CO-ORDINATOR Keith Fulford keith.fulford@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9585 COLUMNISTS Legal Cheryl Edwards and Norm Keith Training Glyn Jones Workers' Compensation David Marchione CUSTOMER SERVICE Tel. 416-609-3800 (Toronto)/ 1-800-387-5164 (outside Toronto) Fax 416-298-5082 (Toronto)/ 1-877-750-9041 (outside Toronto) carswell.customerrelations@thomsonreuters.com ReaDeR comments RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 2075 KENNEDY RD., TORONTO, ONT. M1T 3V4 Contents of Canadian Occupational Safety are copyright © 2014 Thomson Reuters Canada Limited and may not be reproduced in whole or part without written consent. Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the contents of this publication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reliance upon information in this publication. HST/GST # 89717 6350 RT0002 QST # 1019064405 TQ0005 Canada Post – Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement 40065782 International Standard Serial Number 0008-4611. Printed in The publishers accept no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, colour transparencies or other materials. Manuscripts or other materials must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Canadian Occupational Safety is published eight times yearly by Thomson Reuters Canada Limited, 2075 Kennedy Road, Toronto, ON • M1T 3V4 Telephone 416-649-9926 Fax 416-609-5840; www.cos-mag.com Issue dates are February/March, April, May, June/July, August/September, October, November, December/January. Subscription price: Canada: $64 including tax ($59.84 + $4.16 GST); US: $64, International: $96 Canadian Occupational Safety makes every effort to ensure accuracy in all items reported, but cannot accept responsibility for the representations or claims made by sources used. AMANDA SILLIKER FROM THE EDITOR cos-mag.com visit us online gender differences i recently attended a session about women's health and safety in the workplace. (And I was pleasantly surprised at the number of men in the audience.) The speaker, Nina Hansen from the BCFED Health & Safety Centre, was very passionate about employers understanding gender differences in occupational health and safety. She discussed how injuries, hazards, disease and stress all have a gender dimension, affecting women's bodies in particular ways. She explained the effect toxic work substances have on women's health, and the way work is often designed to fi t men's bodies. Even as a woman, I was surprised to learn the plethora of ways work affects women differently than men. Appar- ently women are made of more water and have different metabolisms, so their bodies process things differently. Another eye-opener was when Hansen revealed the majority of studies and many exposure limits are done with a 154-pound male in mind. For example, if one male in a million gets cancer from a chemical, that is considered an acceptable risk. But would this risk be greater for women? Shouldn't we be considering women in these studies and standards? One area of women's health in relation to OHS that should be fairly well known is pregnancy. When a worker is pregnant, even in the very early stages, there are a variety of complications that can arise from exposing the develop- ing fetus to chemicals and harsh environments in the workplace. (See article on page 18.) While a woman might not want to tell her boss about her pregnancy in the early stages, in case a miscarriage should occur, it is the right thing to do for the health of her unborn child. Health and safety professionals should make sure managers are aware of all the potential pregnancy complica- tions that could arise from toxic substances in a particular workplace. Managers should feel comfortable having this discussion with their workers, and should understand what options exist for accommodating them. Another obvious area where women should be considered separately from men is with manual material handling. Special tables and calculators are available for determining how much weight is safe for a woman to push, pull, lift or carry. All employers should be aware of these differences and make sure they are not asking their female employees to go above and beyond what is safe for their bodies. (Stay tuned for the October issue where we delve deeper into safe manual material handling in the manufacturing industry.) The type of work tools being used are often manufactured with men in mind, which can be highly problematic for women. For example, men and women react differently to the use of vibrating tools, commonly used in construc- tion. They often have different postures and the vibrations can affect their bodies in different ways. (Read article on page 20 for more.) Fortunately, there does seem to be some more attention being placed on the tools and PPE available for women. At the American Society of Safety Engineers conference in Orlando in June, many exhibitors were displaying items specifi cally made for women, including shirts tailored to a woman's body — and it's fi nally more than just pink gloves and hard hats. Amanda Silliker, Editor amanda.silliker@thomsonreuters.com Re: Manitoba proposing changes to disclosure act to keep police offi cers safe (www.cos-mag.com) I am always amazed that police offi cers are the only ones mentioned with violence. Correctional offi cers in every area of the country see as much violence as any police offi cer. We are the fi rst responders to the violence, act as a cop in the institution, a pply fi rst aid as required, cut inmates down from hanging, act as psychologists to prevent suicides and many other duties that are involved in violent incidents. At the institution I work in, there was 3,200 incidents last year and 320 were violent and involved staff. Mike Laderoute

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