The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has deployed teams of technical experts to provide assistance as areas devastated by this week’s storms begin their recovery efforts.
OSHA staff is meeting with incident commanders at the various county emergency management centers in Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia to assess safety needs and provide guidance to assist them in being sure that those responding to the devastation do so in a safe manner.
OSHA is also contacting electric power companies that will be involved in the cleanup to ensure that their workers take the proper precautions when working in these areas that contain numerous hazards. OSHA’s goal is to minimize the number of injuries and deaths that occur as people attempt cleanup activities in areas where debris creates an unstable physical environment for workers.
“Emergency response should not put you in the hospital emergency room,” said Cindy Coe, OSHA’s regional administrator in Atlanta. “Storm recovery work encompasses a wide range of safety and health hazards, which can be minimized by knowledge, safe work practices and personal protective equipment.”
On OSHA’s web site, there is information on recovering safely from storms: http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/flood-tornado-recovery.html
Information from OHSA press release.
EHS Safety News America 