Lasers are a common tool used in many industrial arenas. They create precision products time and time again.

But there are pitfalls to lasers—safety hazards that are unique to this high-powered tool.

Three very serious hazards must be dealt with when talking about lasers:

1. The beam
   The beam is concentrated energy. Employees must be aware that, whether visible or not, the beam can cause severe and immediate eye damage, blindness, skin damage and/or skin cancer. Always shield the beam to protect employees from coming into contact with it. OSHA has a great etool that answers many questions.
2. The fumes
   Lasers cut or vaporize materials. When a laser is used on items made of things like plastic or metal, dangerous fumes (along with particles) are released into the air. Companies like Fumex create filters which will eliminate this hazard.
3. The shock
   Lasers use energy (typically electricity) to excite the enclosed molecules which create the light. Often this is a high-voltage situation. Many injuries and deaths associated with lasers come from the shock delivered by the laser’s power supply. Ensure your employees are trained on this hazard.

OK, OK… I guess there is a fourth hazard concerning lasers in the workplace. It is the overuse of any of the lines from the shark tank scene in Austin Powers.

Image © Jonathan Heger – Fotolia.com

I do not see many concerts these days. When I was younger, concerts were a common destination. Today, due to location and lack of desire, I rarely see an ad for a concert that I feel I must attend.

Well, that all changed when I saw that Dinosaur Jr. was coming to State College. My hometown was hosting an intimate concert with one of my guitar heroes (no, not the game).

In any case, my safety senses kicked in before I left. I remembered during so many concerts prior I would find napkins at the bar or toilet paper from the men’s room and stuff it in my ears to dampen the sound. Not this time, I wisely threw some hearing protection in my pocket and headed to see J Mascis perform.

I was concerned I would look like a nerd at the concert with my ear plugs, but I realized being able to hear the next day (and in the years to come) was going to be more important than possibly looking ridiculous.

Well, wasn’t I surprised that merchandise guys selling t-shirts, posters and the like had on their table a box of ear plugs for sale. And many people were using them …

I guess even rockers are getting safer.

Image © Rob Byron – Fotolia.com

Saving lives and preventing injuries with workplace safety practices is more than just numbers, of course, but the numbers can still be impressive. For instance, I just read about improvements over the course of one year at one company that saved $700,000 in worker’s compensation renewal premiums. In the same article, there’s also interesting information about KellerOnline services that help safety professionals be more productive.

Many think the cost of injuries are the bills you pay to the hospital for stitches or the x-ray. This, of course, is true, but it is not the whole story.

Let’s say your company has a 2% profit margin. The bill from the hospital was $1,200. How much money does your company have to make to cover that $1,200 bill? Answer: $60,000.

You average sale is $200 for widgets. How many average widget sales are a wash for that $1,200 bill? Answer: 300.

Your sales staff has to designate 300 widget sales to this injury that could have possibly been prevented. And $1,200 is cheap. Do the same math with a surgery that costs $22,000 or treatments that cost $100,000. Injuries look a lot more costly in that light, don’t they?

Image © demarco – Fotolia.com

A glass bottle drops ten feet onto a concrete floor and …

… bounces?

Yes, now it’s possible to make (nearly) unbreakable glass whose initial cost is about the same as the current stuff and whose long-term cost is less.

Sounds like this goes way beyond CorningWare. (Happy Golden Anniversary, CorningWare! You don’t look a day over 49.)

Ah, well, I guess no one will need these much longer for dealing with broken glass:

Glass Bandage

Cut-Resistant Gloves

Cut-Resistant Sleeves

PIG® Repair Putty

It was fun while it lasted …

On the plus side, we’ll no longer have to worry about an accident with a mirror bringing seven years of bad luck!

Image © Ruta Saulyte – Fotolia.com

What if an aquatic plant that treats hog wastewater were up to six times better than corn as a source for biofuel?

It could mean significant energy savings on wastewater treatment and leave more corn available for food and feed, which would help keep commodity prices down.

Researchers say there is such a plant, and it even has a cool name: Duckweed.

Hope it’s all it’s quacked up to be.

*

And did everyone notice the frog?

Image © Foto Flare – Fotolia.com

I just heard that farmers will soon start using a new type of biodegradable seedling pot and planting cover.

A major raw material for each product is PIG DUNG.

This means that yours truly has transformed from hazardous materials container to recycling container!

I suddenly feel so … green!

Image © Pefkos – Fotolia.com

Click to see Map-A-Spill

Click to see products for emergency spill response

A pig-related article at USA Today has amassed 844 comments at last count.

Updated total since I started drafting this twenty minutes ago: 902 comments.

Military used pigs in blasts to test body armor

WASHINGTON — Military researchers have dressed live pigs in body armor and strapped them into Humvee simulators that were then blown up with explosives to study the link between roadside bomb blasts and brain injury.

Read full article

Now THERE’S an article that gives a lot to latch onto:

• Military
• Science
• Government
• Animals
• Soldiers
• Ethics

Whatever way you or I might respond, someone’s already said it. Here’s a rundown of major ways that the comments sort out:

FOOD: Mention bacon, ham, pork, sausage, jerky, barbecue, grilling, tenderizing … you get the idea.

OTHER TEST SUBJECTS: “No, use _____ instead!”

PUNS: See what you can do with the words squeal, sooie, or pork barrel.

BROADER CONTEXT: Relate this to a bigger arena: the food industry, foreign policy, product testing, history, government spending, religion, video games …

SNARING: Find a way to connect this to your choice of politician, celebrity, profession, cause or video game

THEORIES: Share thoughts on underlying motivations and dynamics

OBJECTIONS TO OBJECTIONS: Correct, criticize or cut down other posters

SHOUT-OUTS: “Hey, PETA! Humane Society! American soldier! ________! Weigh in on this!”

SELF-EVIDENT: “Are you people nuts? This is clearly (awful/just fine/not news).”

REITERATE DETAILS FROM THE ARTICLE: “As mentioned in the story, _________________.”

EXTRA DETAILS: Offer inside knowledge from first-hand experience—or video games

One more updated comment total: 991

For anyone out there who didn’t think they’d meet the July 2009 deadline for ammending their SPCC Plans, the EPA issued a final rule extending the deadline to January 14, 2010.

In addition, they are accepting comments on whether or not further extension is necessary for facilities to comply.

This is a nice way to end the week. We learned yesterday that our new PIG® Poly Spill Containment Pallet won a Plant Engineering Product of the Year Award (Bronze).

Like all of our poly containment pallets, this product is designed to catch leaks, drips and spills from containers of liquids and aid compliance with SPCC and secondary containment regulations.

This Pallet breaks new ground in these ways:

• Only 10″ high—makes it easier to load and unload drums and reach drum tops
• Takes minimal space (51″ x 51″) but still holds up to 4 full drums (6000 lb. UDL capacity)
• Nestable design allows stacked storing and cuts the cost of bulk shipping

Not that we keep track or anything, but this makes 19 Plant Engineering Product of the Year Awards for New Pig in our 23 years, and 41 product awards in all.