Monona,

Well said! Start the EHS education and awareness process early, followed by good practices that incorporate medical evaluation, fit-testing and certification...the road to reduced liability.  Agree 100%.

Regards,

Carlos Rentas Jr., MA, MPH, CSP, CHMM, CCHO, EMT-D
Director of Safety, Health & Environmental Compliance Programs
Nassau Community College- State University of New York
358 Davis Avenue, 2nd Floor, Rm. 8
Garden City, New York  11530
(516) 572-7781  FAX (516) 572-7841
rentasc**At_Symbol_Here**ncc.edu or crent001**At_Symbol_Here**waldenu.edu

"Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself."  Lois McMaster Bujold 
 

----- Original Message -----
From: List Moderator 
Date: Friday, October 6, 2006 7:43 am
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Hold on a minute, Dr. E.

> 	From:           ACTSNYC**At_Symbol_Here**cs.com
> 	Subject: 	Re: [DCHAS-L] Hold on a minute, Dr. E.
> 	Date: 	October 5, 2006 4:29:36 PM EDT
> 
> >I believe this discussion is about use of respirators and the 
> like  
> in secondary school activities.  There, OSHA regulations have 
> little  
> presence and the driving force is doing it right to protect the  
> students, avoid
> litigation, and perhaps even teach them something about good practice.
> 
> 
> If you mean by "good practice" letting high school students put on 
> 
> masks without knowing about and following the rules that apply in 
> the  
> adult world, then I take issue.  And with the large number of  
> asthmatics in schools today, and undiagnosed heart problems in  
> occasional students, medical certification is a must.
> 
> The worst thing about this idea is schools that do this are adding 
> 
> their students to the numbers of uneducated members of the public 
> who  
> will go to the hardware store for a mask when they are doing some  
> hazarous household or hobby task.  They'll buy a mask for the 
> wrong  
> contaminant, that doesn't fit properly, and wear it past 
> expiration  
> while thinking they are protected.
> 
> Or worse yet, the students will graduate and get a job with some  
> unscrupulous employer who hands them the wrong mask without proper 
> 
> fit testing and training and they'll be too uneducated to know 
> that  
> their rights have just been trampled on.
> 
> I deal with dozens of people who are injured by this practice 
> every  
> year.  They are always amazed to learn that they are supposed to 
> be  
> fit tested, certified and trained to wear them properly.  They 
> should  
> have learned this in high school along with basic hazard  
> communication, and the lot.
> 
> Monona Rossol
> 

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