The OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910.1030 requires employers to provide a safe and healthful work environment for all employees who face a significant health risk as the result of occupational exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials because they may contain bloodborne pathogens including Hepatitis B Virus which causes Hepatitis B, a serious liver disease, and Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
OSHA concludes that this significant health risk can be minimized or eliminated using a combination of task identification, engineering and work practice controls, personal protective clothing and equipment, training, medical follow-up of exposure incidents, vaccination (where applicable), and other provisions.
In general, confined spaces are considered to be enclosures with depths that restrict the natural movement of air; or enclosures with limited openings for entry and exit. Examples of confined spaces include: storage tanks, process vessels, boilers, ventilation or exhaust ducts, sewers, underground utility vaults, tunnels, trenches, pits and pipelines.
Confined Space - A space that:
Permit Required Confined Spaces (PRCS) - A confined space that has at least one of the following characteristics:
Please contact EH&S for proper training/permitting. email: ehs@uncw.edu or call 910-962-3057
Ergonomics
The University of North Carolina Wilmington's (UNCW) program is taken from information provided by the North Carolina Ergonomics Resource Center, for the purpose of making employees conscious of how they are working.
Even using "ergonomically fit" equipment, chairs, and workstations, employees' need to be sure they are working in the best manner possible and doing what is best for their body by reducing stressors in work methods.
Workstation
When setting up your workstation and job materials, items used most frequently (many times during the day) should be placed within immediate forearm reach. Items used less frequently (once or twice a day) can be within a full arm's reach. Those items seldom used (once or twice a week or less) may be placed farthest away.
Adjust the chair height so that the elbows are the same height as the work surface
(keyboard tray or desk)
Rest Breaks
Computer work for long periods of time can cause muscle fatigue and dry eyes. The best way to reduce the discomfort is to take short breaks frequently during the day. Stand up and move around. Even incorporate some simple stretching exercises during your breaks. These breaks promote muscle improvement, blood circulation, and significantly reduce fatigue and discomfort. A good rule of thumb is to take thirty (30) second breaks every twenty (20) to thirty (30) minutes.
Call Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) for an ergonomic evaluation for your specific work area.
Laboratory and other potentially hazardous work areas will have a hazard communication sign at all doors leading into the workspace. These hazard communication signs will identify the categories of potentially hazardous materials contained in the lab.
Emergency contact information will also be included on the sign. This emergency contact information will provide the names and phone numbers of individuals who would know the hazards that may result from an emergency in the laboratory.
EH&S will provide the hazard communication signs for the laboratories after receiving a completed Laboratory Safety Data Sheet for the laboratory. The Laboratory Safety Data Sheet and the hazard communication signs will be reviewed annually and revised if necessary by the CHO and Principal Investigator.