National Safety Month 2008

Every June the National Safety Council celebrates America’s official National Safety Month by addressing four unique and common safety topics. The safety council will highlight the most significant reasons for unintentional injuries and deaths in the American workplace, on the road and in the home and community. This month, the topics are emergency prevention, distracted driving, poison prevention, and fall prevention. Usually you can see the professional safety community supporting the cause with their green ribbons pinned to their chests as a sign of solidarity for safety in the community.
As the month approaches it is important for the UIC community to take notice of these topics since a significant proportion of us are involved with these tasks. Distracted driving is responsible for nearly 80 percent of crashes. The NSC reminds drivers that their first responsibility is safe driving. Make a difference at work, at home, in your community. Another important issue involves prescription medication. Did you know that prescription drug overdoses are a leading cause of accidental death. Use caution when taking medications. Knowing your risk of unintentional overdose can save your life and those closely related to you.
A common fallacy of thinking about serious injury from falls are that they only happened to the elderly or the disable, this stereotypicall thinking must be avoided since falls are more common than you think – and are a leading cause of on-the-job injuries. Keep your workplace safe. A few changes can make the difference between safety and being at-risk for falls.
So as June approaches take a closer look at the routine things you and others do. You may find yourself wondering why you take such unreasonable chances for something so simple as talking on a cell phone while driving or skipping over the directions of your medical prescriptions. You may find that life can be more rewarding if you stop, take a breath, think, and then act. For more information visit www.nsc.org

Laboratory Identification Data Card Goes Online            

When fires, chemical releases, power failures, water leaks and other building emergencies occur on Campus, UIC Police, Facilities Management and the Chicago Fire Department are hesitant to enter a room for fear of what may be on the other side of the door.  Being a premier research institution, we should appreciate that unfamiliar settings create anxieties, especially under emergency response events.  To help mitigate the unexpected and comply with federal, state and local signage regulations, the UIC Environmental Health and Safety Office (EHSO) had instituted the Laboratory Identification Data Card (Lab ID Data Card) system. 

 The 4” X 6” Lab ID Data Cards are posted in acrylic holders adjacent to rooms containing chemical, biological, electrical, ionizing and non--ionizing radiation or other potential hazards.  They identify the hazards and lab contacts who can provide information regarding the status of the room.  Unfortunately, it has not always been easy to update this information as frequently as space use or personnel have changed.  In some instances, the cards have disappeared, been damaged during flooding or destroyed in a fire.

 Through the combined effort of Facilities Information Management (FIM) and EHSO, a more efficient system has been created to electronically update Lab ID Data cards.  It will generate a database that can be accessed from several locations.  The cards can be easily updated and printed.

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