Known for great online deals, Cyber Monday is the last big bang of special deals and limited offers for the Holidays.
Break out your list, see what you did and didn't accomplish in the stores this past 3 days, and get it all finished off tomorrow!
Known for great online deals, Cyber Monday is the last big bang of special deals and limited offers for the Holidays.
Break out your list, see what you did and didn't accomplish in the stores this past 3 days, and get it all finished off tomorrow!
When the temperatures fall, many people use fireplaces, wood stoves and other fuel-fired appliances to heat their homes. Heating is the second leading cause of residential fires in the U.S. Fires confined to chimneys, flues or fuel burners account for 87 percent of these tragedies and are often due to creosote buildup in chimneys and stovepipes. The U.S. Fire Administration encourages these steps and more to keep your home fires burning safely:
Home fires occur more often in the winter months than any other time of the year. Learn how to properly build and maintain a fire to heat your home with this video series hosted by the National Fire Academy Deputy Superintendent. The series includes an overview on inspecting your fireplace, appropriate materials to burn, and how to control the fire to prevent unwanted accidents.
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Whether you are lazy, concerned about safety at the shopping malls, or just want to stay home to enjoy the game and family today... never fear, your Black Friday Deals are here at your fingertips!
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, Thanksgiving is the peak day for home fires involving cooking equipment. By making safety part of the Thanksgiving dinner menu, you can avoid preventable cooking fires. Here are some steps to follow when preparing your holiday feast:
In recent years, deep-frying turkeys has become a popular cooking method. While fried turkey may be a tasty addition to your meal, cooking with deep-fat turkey fryers can be a recipe for disaster! They have a high risk of tipping over, overheating or spilling hot oil - which can lead to fires, burns and other injuries.
For a safer alternative to deep-frying your bird, the National Fire Protection Association encourages the use of an outdoor turkey cooking appliance that does not use oil.
Crowd Management Safety Guidelines for the Holiday Season
A retail worker was trampled to death on Black Friday in 2008 when shoppers rushed through the store to take advantage of holiday sales. "During the hectic shopping season, retail workers should not be put at risk of injury or death," said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. On Nov. 13, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration sent letters to major retailers to remind employers about the potential hazards involved with managing large crowds at retail stores during the holiday season when sales events attract a higher number of shoppers. OSHA encourages retailers to use the agency's crowd management safety guidelines to prevent injuries.
READ BLACK FRIDAY BLOGS AND SAFETY TIPS
Tragic consequences and risk to workers can occur if the proper safety procedures are ignored. In 2008, a retail worker was trampled to death when shoppers rushed through the store to take advantage of holiday sales.
"During the hectic shopping season, retail workers should not be put at risk of injury or death," said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. "OSHA urges retailers to take the time to adopt a crowd management plan and follow a few simple guidelines to prevent unnecessary harm to retail employees."
OSHA sent letters to major retailers to remind employers about the potential hazards involved with managing large crowds at retail stores during the holiday season when sales events attract a higher number of shoppers. Retailers are encouraged to use the safety guidelines, Crowd Management Safety Guidelines for Retailers, provided in the OSHA fact sheet they received.
Crowd Management Safety Guidelines (November 2014)
Letters to Retailers | Retail Trade Associations | Fire Marshals
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance.
Voice Your Input on Future Research, Practice and Policy for Worker Safety, Health and Well-being!
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Office for Total Worker Health™ has proposed a National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) meant to stimulate innovative research, practical applications, policy guidance, and capacity-building of health protection and health promotion practitioners across the Nation. We invite you to provide input on the top priority research, practice, and policy issues to include in the proposed National Total Worker HealthTM Agenda to help improve integrated workplace practices, prevent worker injury and illness, and advance worker safety, health, and well-being. The draft agenda is available for public comment, until closing of the federal docket on December 22, 2014, 11:59 pm EST.
“A growing body of science supports the effectiveness of integrating health protection programs with health promotion programs in efforts to create workplace interventions that advance worker safety, health and well-being,” said NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D. “A National Agenda with stakeholder input and support is imperative in moving forward with the Total Worker Health strategy.”
The NIOSH Total Worker Health program is guided by the vision that both work-related factors and health factors beyond the workplace jointly contribute to many safety and health problems that confront today’s workers and their families. The Total Worker Health perspective is a broad-based, integrated approach and includes issues related to protecting the safety and health of workers in the work environment, preserving human resources through employment practices, and promoting health and well-being for individual workers.
The Proposed National Total Worker Health Agenda includes four strategic goals:
The NIOSH Office for Total Worker Health encourages all comments, and specifically seeks to address the following questions:
To view the draft National Total Worker Health Agenda and to learn more, visit www.cdc.gov/niosh/docket and search for NIOSH Docket 275.
Official written comments, identified by CDC-2014-0014 and docket number NIOSH-275, may be submitted by any of the following methods by 11:59 p.m. EST on December 22, 2014.
Need a little inspiration? Read the recently released Institute of Medicine Workshop Summary Report on Promising the Best Practices in Total Worker Health.
Please consider sharing this opportunity to provide public comment on future research and practice for Total Worker Health with your colleagues.
That;s right - National Geographic recently showed us that the average child born today may have a life expectancy of 120 years... and now we learn that pregnancy terms are lasting longer on average... are the two related?
As scientists unlock genetic answers to a long life, the Jewish blessing "May you live to be 120" could become reality, according to NatGeo.
Trends in Fetal and Perinatal Mortality in the United States, 2006–2012
According t an NCHS (National Center for Health Statistics) report - Changes in outcomes among live births were seen during 2006–2012. For example, the percentage of births delivered at 39 weeks of gestation or more rose and preterm birth and infant mortality rates declined. Limited recent data, however, have been available on fetal mortality. This information is essential for a more complete understanding of pregnancy health in the United States. This report focuses on fetal deaths (spontaneous intrauterine deaths) at 20 weeks of gestation or more, sometimes referred to as stillbirths, using recently released national data. Trends are examined for fetal mortality for 2000–2012, focusing on the period 2006–2012, and for perinatal mortality by race and Hispanic origin for 2006–2011 (the latest year available) and by state for combined years 2005–2006 and 2010–2011.
Unlike the 1944 movie with Cary Grant (Arsenic and Old Lace) this story is not a comedy.
What is arsenic?
Arsenic is an element that occurs naturally in rocks and soil and is used for a variety of purposes within industry and agriculture. It is also a byproduct of copper smelting, mining, and coal burning. Arsenic can combine with other elements to make chemicals used to preserve wood and to kill insects on cotton and other agricultural crops.
Arsenic is found in groundwater, many chemicals, and foods. If arsenic is in the organic form, it is likely nontoxic or weakly toxic to humans, but inorganic arsenic can also be found in similar locations and materials and in high concentrations in industrial processes. In 2013, the FDA made recommendations that less than 10 parts per billion of arsenic was acceptable for levels in apple juice. Levels for arsenic have yet to be FDA approved for rice (still under study), although groundwater levels that provide arsenic to rice are FDA set at less than 10 parts per billion.
Arsenic poisoning typically occurs through industrial exposure, from contaminated wine or homemade alcohol (moonshine) or due to malicious intent. It may also occur through heavy metal contamination of herbal preparations and nutritional supplements. A resurgence of interest in arsenic as a medicinal agent for the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemias, multiple myeloma, myelodysplastic syndromes, and assorted resistant solid tumors may potentially contribute to arsenic toxicity.
Where and how does arsenic get into drinking water?
Arsenic can enter the water supply from natural deposits in the earth or from industrial and agricultural pollution. It is widely believed that naturally occurring arsenic dissolves out of certain rock formations when ground water levels drop significantly. Some industries in the United States release thousands of pounds of arsenic into the environment every year. Once released, arsenic remains in the environment for a long time. Arsenic is removed from the air by rain, snow, and gradual settling. Once on the ground or in surface water, arsenic can slowly enter ground water. High arsenic levels in private wells may come from certain arsenic containing fertilizers used in the past or industrial waste. It may also indicate improper well construction or overuse of chemical fertilizers or herbicides in the past.
How do I remove arsenic from my drinking water?
Heating or boiling your water will not remove arsenic. Because some of the water evaporates during the boiling process, the arsenic concentrations can actually increase slightly as the water is boiled. Additionally, chlorine (bleach) disinfection will not remove arsenic.
Is my private well at risk?
Exposure to arsenic in drinking water has been identified as a health concern in regions of the United States where bedrock contains unusually high levels of arsenic, such as areas of New Hampshire, Maine, Michigan, and regions in the Southwest and the Rockies. Your state’s Department of Natural Resources or Geological Survey Office may have information on any areas of your state that may be prone to the presence of high levels of arsenic.
Private well water should be tested annually for bacteria, nitrates, and anything else of concern to the well owner, such as arsenic. Testing should be conducted by a certified drinking water laboratory. Visit http://water.epa.gov/scitech/drinkingwater/labcert/statecertification.cfm to find your state drinking water testing laboratory certification officer who can provide a list of certified labs in your area, or call the Private Well Owner Hotline at (855) 420-9355.
If you do have an arsenic level in your water that is higher than you would like, there are water treatment technologies available to address the problem.
Arsenic is widely distributed throughout the earth’s crust, and is found in groundwater supplies in a number of countries.
Long-term human exposure, through drinking of contaminated water, is an important public health problem in some regions and countries, and is associated with cancer of the skin, lungs, bladder and kidney. Acute arsenic poisoning produces vomiting, esophageal and abdominal pain, and bloody “rice water” diarrhea.
Arsenic contaminates the groundwater in many parts across the United States, Arsenic in groundwater is largely the result of minerals dissolving from weathered rocks and soils. Several types of cancer have been linked to arsenic in water.
The USGS has developed maps that show where and to what extent arsenic occurs in groundwater across the country. The current maps are based on samples from 31,350 wells. Widespread high concentrations were found in the West, the Midwest, parts of Texas, and the Northeast. Check out your area
Drinking water that contains arsenic can raise one’s risk for cancer and other health problems
You can share arsenic resources from CDC and the National Ground Water Association to help protect private well owners in your area
Affected Organ Systems: Dermal (Skin), Gastrointestinal (Digestive), Hepatic (Liver), Neurological (Nervous System), Respiratory (From the Nose to the Lungs)
Cancer Effects: Known to be a Human Carcinogen
Chemical Classification: Inorganic substances
Summary: Arsenic is a naturally occurring element widely distributed in the earth's crust. In the environment, arsenic is combined with oxygen, chlorine, and sulfur to form inorganic arsenic compounds. Arsenic in animals and plants combines with carbon and hydrogen to form organic arsenic compounds. Inorganic arsenic compounds are mainly used to preserve wood. Copper chromated arsenic (CCA) is used to make "pressure-treated" lumber. CCA is no longer used in the U.S. for residential uses; it is still used in industrial applications. Organic arsenic compounds are used as pesticides, primarily on cotton plants.
Many people find that multi station home gyms offer a way to weight train at home by themselves and in safety. These operate via simple systems of cables and pulleys that link all of the components to a solid weight stack on the back of the gym; if you feel that the weight is too heavy, all you need to do is release the equipment and it will drop back into place. When choosing a station for use at home, however, it is essential that you have taken safety into account.
What should I avoid?
There are a number of things that you should look out for in multi station workout equipment, as they will severely impair the equipment’s safety. These include:
Jerky Motions, – If, whilst exercising, you feel an unnatural motion (so that the exercise doesn’t feel smooth) this is an indication that something is not quite right with the equipment.
What should I look for?
There are also a number of things that you should be looking for in a home gym, as they will ensure your safety whilst exercising. These include:
At the end of the day, a multi station home gym represents a significant investment, so care should be taken to ensure that you aren’t wasting your money or compromising on safety. We hope that the above tips of what to avoid and what to look for in the equipment will help you in making the right decision, otherwise we recommend speaking with a professional. After all, you want to ensure the safety of anyone using the machine.