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Have you ever been looking for your glasses and then realized they were on top of your head? The great thing about the Petzl VIZIR face shield is that is the first place you are going to look for them. The cleverly named VIZIR visor mounts to the top of a VERTEX VENT or ALVEO helmet creating convertible eye protection. Down when you need it, up when you don't. But your eye protection is always available as long as your helmet is on your head. The VIZIR has several advantages over reg …

"When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all" (Futurama). Most days employees arrive, do their jobs, and then leave for the day. Often, it isn't until an injury occurs, that people question the safety policies in place or the person that designed them. Welcome to the role of the Industrial Hygienist. What is industrial hygiene? The practice of industrial hygiene, also known as occupational health, involves identifying existing and potential hazards in …

If a workspace contains hazardous permit-required spaces, OSHA mandates the employer must inform exposed employees of their existence, location, and the hazards they pose. This can be done by posting unambiguous warning signs such as "DANGER-CONFINED SPACE- AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY." And while signs like that are pretty clear, there will still be folks who assume it doesn't apply to them. So OSHA also requires physical barriers such as locks, chains, and other impediments to entr …

What is MERS? The acronym stands for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome also known as Camel Flu. You may also see the abbreviation MERS-CoV referring to MERS Coronavirus (the virus itself). The virus is zoonotic, spreading between camels and humans directly and indirectly. The virus spreads through an infected person's respiratory secretions, such as through coughing. 150 people have contracted MERS and 16 people have subsequently died since a new outbreak in South Korea last month. …

Summer is right around the corner, are you adequately protected? Depending on your geographic locale, some insect borne illnesses that you may be at risk for are: Lyme disease, Heartland virus, West Nile disease, and more.There are many repellent ingredients and application types on the market. Depending on the work environment you need to use it in, there can be unique advantages and disadvantages for each of the products available. A few lesser known facts about these repellents includ …

For electricians and electric power industry workers the threat of electrical arc is the most serious they face. During their short blasts, flash hazard temperatures can be literally hotter than the sun. Combine this with the pressure wave from the explosion and searing flying metallic particles, and you've got yourself a seriously bad situation. The clothing electrical workers choose can play an important role in how serious an injury is received in the event of one of these arc blasts. …

Hydration is often a forgotten element of safety in a confined space. With so many potential hazards during confined space entry, loss of water because of sweating isn't high on the list for many workers. However, hydration is just as important as many of the other safety considerations of a confined space project. Fluids lost in a hot environment, or because entrants are wearing protective, and non-breathable clothing, must be replaced to help prevent heat-related injuries. To pr …

The first of a two-part series on confined space gas monitoring: Unlike a raging river or pounding surf, the dangers of confined spaces are often silent and unseen. Unless a dangerous atmosphere creates a visible cloud of vapor, there isn’t any way for you to see what hazards lurk within a confined space. This is precisely the reason monitoring equipment is so vital to confined space entry. While it isn’t possible within this format to provide a comprehensive guide for the use of …

"OSHA certified" is a bit of a misnomer. OSHA produces the standards which personal protective equipment must meet, but the organization doesn't certify equipment. The  Allegro air line respiratory systems, for example, are made to fulfill safety requirements, and are useful against a range of workplace challenges. While you need equipment that meets the OSHA requirements for your specific work place challenge, you won't find anything that is actually OSHA certified or OSHA approved. …

The most common injury among all construction and industrial workers is a hand injury. Makes perfect sense. Our hands are the tools we use most often. And we've all probably put them places we shouldn't. To better protect your important assets, new gloves from HexArmor have been added to our PK Safety site. Glove science has made big advances over the past 10 years. Didn't realize there was such a thing as glove science? Well there is. We send our Customer Service Reps …