Deaths of Three Hardwood Floor Sanders Leads to Fire Safety Prevention

Transcription

1 Deaths of Three Hardwood Floor Sanders Leads to Fire Safety Prevention E. Pechter, P. Hunt Occupational Health Surveillance Program Massachusetts Department of Public Health May 15, 2006 AIHCE

2 Acknowledgements Michael Fiore, FACE program director Letitia K. Davis, OHSP director Lenore Azaroff, Dorchester Occupational Health Initiative and UMass Lowell MassCOSH, Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health VietAID, Vietnamese American Institute for Development

3 FACE Program Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation Funded by NIOSH (CDC) Prevention program in state health department based on fatality investigation Understand causes of workplace fatalities Help employers and employees develop effective safety programs Distribute information hazards & solutions

4 Fatal Occupational Injuries by Major Industry Division, MA, , (CFOI) N u m ber of F atalities Number of Fatalities Number of Forestry/Fishing Fatalities Fatality Rate Fatality Rate per 100,000 Workers 0 Agriculture Construction Transportation & Public Utilities Government & Public Admin Services incl forestry & fishing Trade Manufacturing 0 Industry Division

5 September 2004 Somerville, Massachusetts Deaths of two Vietnamese hardwood floor sanders Toan Bui, 35 Ha Vu, 35 Two coworkers seriously injured Three family house

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7 July 2005 Hull, Massachusetts Fire in a single family home resulted in death of a Vietnamese hardwood floor finisher Tinh Huynh, 43 Coworker sustained minor burn injuries

8 Contributing factors Application of lacquer sealant with Flash Point of 9 F/-13 C Ignition source Pilot light gas stove Pilot light gas hot water heater No ventilation. Windows closed

9 Hardwood floor finishing workforce Boston 80% of floor finishing contractors are Vietnamese 127 of 144 registered Boston hardwood floor contractors have Vietnamese workers Many contractors not registered

10 Floor Finishing Fires Result in Loss of Life and Property Damage nationwide 52 fatalities SIC 1752 of which 21% were from fires and explosions Boston had >25 fires attributed to hardwood floor installation and finishing Property loss $1.5 million

11 Potential for control Less flammable products on the market Products meet or exceed quality UML Toxics Use Reduction Institute laboratory Protocols for contractors Preparation by owners Product selection Hazard information

12 Barriers to change Small business - competition No information in Vietnamese on hazards Distributors don t stock all products EPA VOC regs still allow flammables Limited information on cost-benefits tradeoffs

13 DOHI* community based research project NIEHS/NIOSH EJ grant Farm workers Indigenous farm workers Day Laborers Asian nail salon workers Housecleaning Construction Farm workers Floor finishing Poultry workers Restaurant workers Community orgs, health facilities, UML Assess occ health needs of Dorchester immigrants Involve workers, families and small businesses in designing culturally Community, university and medical resources *Dorchester Occupational Health Initiative

14 Protecting Workers and Homeowners from Wood Floor-Finishing Hazards in Massachusetts Prevent fires Reduce toxics Promote good business Protect homes Save lives Massachusetts Floor Finishing Safety Task Force Bowdoin Street Health Center Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety & Health New Ecology, Inc. University of Massachusetts Lowell Vietnamese American Initiative for Development (Viet-AID) September 29,

15 DOHI and Floor Finishing Task Force Activities Interviewed floor finishing contractors and workers Enlisted MA TURI in laboratory testing of floor finishing products Engaged stakeholders in discussions about alternative products, labeling, worker education, policies change Legislative action

16 Spurred by floor workers' deaths, Massachusetts workplace safety advocates call for immediate measures to prevent fires, toxic exposure Massachusetts State House, September 29, Determined to make the death of floor finisher Tinh Huynh the last of its kind in Massachusetts, workplace safety advocates released the first of its kind report, "Protecting workers and homeowners from floor refinishing hazards in Massachusetts." A briefing held today was organized by the Floor Finishing Safety Task Force and co-sponsored by Representatives Martin Walsh, Patricia Jehlen and Garrett Bradley, and Senators John Hart and Robert Hedlund. Task force members called for a licensing program for floor-finishing companies, a requirement that only non-flammable floor finishing products be sold and used, and that non-flammable, less toxic floor products be promoted through economic support for small businesses and state procurement programs. "The tragedy is that most of the injuries, deaths and property losses were preventable," stated MassCOSH Executive Director Marcy Goldstein-Gelb. Goldstein-Gelb is a member of the task force along with representatives from Viet AID, Bowdoin Street Health Center, New Ecology and University of Massachusetts at Lowell...

17 FACE Accomplishments FACE report Alert, jointly issued with Fire Marshall New working relationships with Vietnamese community Collaboration for a broader response

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19 Task Force Accomplishments Taskforce broad-based participation Legislative briefing Consideration of certification of hardwood floor contractors

20 Task Force Accomplishments May 2006 Two distributors will stop distributing highly flammable sealant Distributor to Vietnamese contractors providing training

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22 Resources ma044.html &L=5&L0=Home&L1=Consumer&L2=Comm unity+health+and+safety&l3=workplace+h ealth+and+safety&l4=fatal+workrelated+injuries&sid=eeohhs2