Every day, Clark Seif Clark professionals are deployed across the nation helping both large and small customers resolve health & safety, industrial hygiene, environmental and indoor air quality issues.
At a moment's notice, Clark Seif Clark can send their experts anywhere they are needed. No matter if it's in response to a hurricane, wildfire, flood, tornado or other natural disaster, Clark Seif Clark is ready to help and can respond in no time at all.
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OSHA Releases Top 10 Citations List for 2020 and Ways to Prevent Injuries, Illnesses, Fatalities and Costly Noncompliance Penalties |
Protecting the health and safety of the U.S. workforce has improved over the years, but the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) reports that 5,333 workers still died on the job as recently as 2019. In addition to these tragic deaths, countless more were injured on the job or developed preventable occupational diseases.
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To protect workers, there are a number of OSHA standards that are enforced by the agency. Each year, a list of the 10 most frequently cited safety and health violations are released. The list is meant to build awareness of areas that need to be given more attention.
The OSHA Top 10 Citations list for 2020 includes:
- Fall Protection - General Requirements (5,424 violations)
- Hazard Communication (3,199 violations)
- Respiratory Protection (2,649 violations)
- Scaffolding (2,538 violations)
- Ladders (2,129 violations)
- Lockout/Tagout (2,065 violations)
- Powered Industrial Trucks (1,932 violations)
- Fall Protection - Training Requirements (1,621 violations)
- Personal Protective and Life Saving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection (1,369 violations)
- Machine Guarding (1,313 violations)
“Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing ‘safe and healthful working conditions’ for all their employees,” said Zahid Iqbal, MPH, CIH and Technical Director at Clark Seif Clark (CSC). “These citations represent threats to worker health and safety as well as costly fines for employers. This is why CSC is dedicated to helping businesses and institutions comply with OSHA regulations. CSC’s industrial hygiene and environmental professionals assist clients across the country with developing, implementing, managing and assessing occupational health and safety programs.”
CSC also recently sponsored an educational video discussing OSHA’s Top 10 Citations for 2020 that can be seen below:
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To learn more about this or other industrial hygiene, occupational, indoor air quality, environmental, health and safety services, please:
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Infection Control and Indoor Environmental Quality are Key to a Successful Cruise Ship Industry Recovery
In a typical year, millions of people in North America take a cruise on one of hundreds of cruise ships that employ hundreds of thousands of workers, both directly and indirectly. The industry generates billions of dollars in revenue, but this all changed in 2020 when there were several high-profile COVID-19 outbreaks onboard ships and eventually a No Sail Order was issued from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Fortunately, with the success of the COVID vaccine and a widespread understanding of infection control measures, a number of cruise ship operators are gearing up for the industry to resume operations later this year.
Before 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, some wary travelers associated cruise ships with outbreaks of acute gastrointestinal illnesses due to norovirus, but acute gastrointestinal illness is actually relatively infrequent on cruise ships according to the CDC. Other outbreaks that have been linked to cruise ships include influenza, foodborne illnesses, and less commonly, Legionnaires’ disease.
“Germs are everywhere on a cruise ship, including on surfaces, in the water supply, in the food supply and in, or on, all crew members and passengers. Some of these germs can be pathogenic or disease causing,” said Derrick A. Denis, Disaster Ready Emergency Preparedness and Infection Control (DR EPIC) Program Industrial Hygienist for Clark Seif Clark (CSC). “Outbreaks of infectious diseases with an airborne route of transmission, such as respiratory viruses via measuring droplets >5-10 micrometers (μm) or aerosols measuring <5μm. Airborne transmission can occur on cruise ships because passengers and crew spend so much time together in close proximity, much of which is in enclosed spaces with limited air changes per hour (ACH). Close-contact environments can also facilitate surface born, or fomite-borne, transmission of pathogens from person-to-object-to-person. Infected people inoculate or contaminate surfaces and healthy people become infected when they touch these fomites and touch their eyes, nose or mouth.”
An outbreak of an infectious disease on a cruise ship can also impact future voyages if environmental contamination is not addressed. If the source is the ship, such as poor water quality, then multiple voyages might be affected. It the source is a surface-stable pathogen, then uncleaned and unsanitized surfaces might affect future passengers. In the case of illnesses that are transmitted from one person to another, an infected crew member, who remains onboard, can affect future voyages.
Recent media coverage of various isolated outbreaks on ships and the global COVID-19 pandemic have brought renewed attention to the significance of indoor environmental quality and infection control procedures on these massive ships that hold thousands of souls on board. Ideally cruise lines and passengers alike are doing their part to reduce infections and to get the cruise industry back into rest and relaxation mode.
Clark Seif Clark’s unique expertise in IEQ and infection control is distinctly applicable to the health and safety challenges facing the cruise ship industry. CSC’s experts provide emergency response planning, proactive assessments and audits, 3rd party verification of cleaning and disinfection protocols, environmental testing, personal protective equipment (PPE) training and more. They have even sponsored an educational video about IEQ and preventing the spread of germs on cruise ships that can be seen below:
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To learn more about this or other infection control, industrial hygiene, indoor air quality, environmental, health and safety services, please visit www.csceng.com, email csc@csceng.com or call (800) 807-1118. |
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About Clark Seif Clark: CSC was established in 1989 to help clients in both the public and private sectors address environmental issues. CSC is a leading provider of these services with multiple offices along the western seaboard and southwest. The company believes in science-based protocols and has a strong background in engineering making them the preferred environmental consultants to healthcare facilities, architects, schools, builders, contractors, developers and real estate professionals. |
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21732 Devonshire St., Ste. B,
Chatsworth, CA 91311
800.807.1118
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