A Fresh Look at Chemical Safety
by Kirk Lloyd, Risk Management Services, Inc.

Reading about chemical safety is usually like getting a lecture from Mom. It’s the one that starts out with “Be careful, that stuff could put your eye out, and sorry won’t put it back.” No lecture here, just a couple of important points we want to share with you.

Many ABC members conduct food processing or fresh packing operations. During recent visits, I have found that employees and managers were not aware of the dangers from chemicals used in sanitation. Some products are very corrosive, with potential for immediate and permanent eye damage. Label information and the Material Safety Data Sheet will often state that a safety shower and eye wash station must be immediately available. Also, some cleaners will react with the chlorine products used in our facilities. Dangerous levels of chlorine gas may be released, so employees need complete training, proper equipment, and appropriate supervision.

In production agriculture, spraying crops is a big part of our spring work. Oregon has an excellent safety record with pesticides, judging by the relatively few injury claims. However, our record for following the regulations and safety instructions is not as good. Those two observations seem like opposites but are probably related. With many farm chemicals, the safety procedures (like wearing personal protective equipment and keeping decontamination supplies nearby) are mainly to protect us in case something goes wrong. If we don’t hear many horror stories locally, and if we don’t feel any ill effects when everything goes right, we may begin to think that those extra precautions aren’t so important. That is a classic “risk taking behavior” situation in which little shortcuts eventually lead us to taking bigger chances until something really bad happens.

There are some great reasons to avoid starting down this slippery slope! For one, active enforcement efforts are going on now. I have many recent reports of OSHA pesticide-emphasis safety inspections being conducted, and if your business gets caught breaking the rules it will cost you. For another, risk-taking is a behavior that tends to spread in many directions. When employees, family members, or even your neighbors observe a spraying operation in which standards have begun to slip, that may be reflected later in dangerous tractor operations, questionable ergonomic practices, or even quality control problems on the production side. And lastly, we all know that on some level Mom was right – that stuff really could put your eye out! 

A record based on good luck will only hold up for so long. Good management and high standards are necessary to achieve those long-term positive results we all want.

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