What are some common locations for falls? Plus, fall prevention tips!

It's week 1 of National Safety Month, and the theme for this week is "Preventing Slips, Trips, and Falls."

Some common locations for falls include:

• Doorways
• Ramps
• Cluttered hallways
• Areas with heavy traffic
• Uneven surfaces
• Areas prone to wetness or spills
• Unguarded heights
• Unstable work surfaces
• Ladders
• Stairs

Fall prevention tips from the National Safety Council (NSC) include:

• Keeping floors clean and clear of clutter.
• Maintaining good lighting both indoors and on outdoor walkways.
• Installing handrails on all stairways.
• Using a sturdy stepstool when climbing or reaching for high places.
• Wearing sensible footwear.
• Never standing on a chair, table or surface on wheels.
• Arranging furniture to provide open pathways to walk through.
• Periodically checking the condition of outdoor walkways and steps and repairing as necessary.
• Removing fallen leaves or snow from outdoor walkways.
• Being aware that alcohol or drugs, including prescription and over-the-counter medicine, can affect your balance and increase your risk of falling.
• Secure electrical and phone cords out of traffic areas.
• Remove small throw rugs or use non-skid mats to keep them from slipping.
• Remove tripping hazards (paper, boxes, toys, clothes, shoes) from stairs and walkways.
• Clean up all spills immediately.

Visit the NSC website for a downloadable fact sheet on slips, trips, and falls.

Why do we care about slips, trips, and falls?

1. Falls are the leading cause of death in the construction industry.
2. Falls are one of the leading causes of unintentional injuries in the United States, (~8.9 million visits to the emergency department annually).
3. Falls are (for the most part) preventable.    

The Industrious Hygienist is celebrating National Safety Month!

Just a heads up that the Industrious Hygienist will be celebrating National Safety Month with other occupational safety and health professionals, including more frequent and more educational blog posts related to the National Safety Council focus areas.

This year's focus areas are:

Week 1: Preventing Slips, Trips, and Falls
Week 2: Employee Wellness
Week 3: Emergency Preparedness
Week 4: Ergonomics

There will be videos, posters/images, fact sheets, and how-to's. Stay posted and  follow me if you want to learn more.

How to Use Stormwater in Green Infrastructure

This is a *late* shout-out to one of my alma maters, the University of Arizona (U of A) in Tucson.

Congratulations to Rayka Robrecht and Micaela Machado, both landscape architecture graduate students at U of A - they designed one of the winning stormwater harvesting systems in the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Campus RainWorks Challenge. They achieved second place for large institutions in the nationwide competition.

The system, shown in the image below, was designed to re-use stormwater, roof drain water from surrounding building roofs, and air-conditioning condensate water.


The second-place-winning design from U of A for large institutions in the USEPA Campus RainWorks challenge.

Stormwater collected in this green infrastructure design is collected in underground cisterns. The spiral shape is supposed to evoke an agave, petroglyphs, or the monsoon storm patterns in Tucson. The water is funneled to the center of the basin. The designers anticipate that the design, if implemented, could save U of A almost 2 millions gallons of water each year.

The spiffiest feature is at the center of the design - a view window that shows the collected water in the cisterns or chambers. If U of A really decides to modify the existing parking lot into green infrastructure like what was proposed by the designers in the Campus RainWorks Challenge, it would be a very pleasant place for students and faculty/staff to enjoy the tactile benefits of sustainability.

According to the USEPA Press Release:
"The University of Arizona team’s design plan centers on the redevelopment of a 70,000-square-foot parking lot located within a cluster of academic buildings. The design will replace the parking lot with a campus common area featuring two rings of retention basins to infiltrate stormwater runoff, five underground cisterns to harvest runoff and HVAC condensate from the adjacent buildings, and a translucent shade structure with an ephemeral water feature. Water collected in the underground cisterns is used to irrigate the landscape, reducing potable water use from 700,000 to 90,000 gallons/year."
More images of their project design posters:

The Industrious Hygienist is a HUGE fan of practical methods of implementing sustainability. Well done, Rayka, Micaela, and faculty advisor Ron Stoltz.