Working, Learning, & Growing

Easy Inexpensive Solutions For Employers To Prevent Day Labor Job Hazards

COMMON HAZARDS

Gardening

• Trips and falls • Poison Oak/Poison Ivy • Cuts • Electrical hazards from power tools • Heat • Herbicides/pesticides • Ergonomic hazards such as reaching, bending, kneeling • Insect bites

Painting

• Lead poisoning • Trips and falls • Ergonomic hazards such as reaching and bending • Chemical hazards such as from paint removers and solvent-based paints

Demolition

• Lead poisoning • Asbestos • Dust • Trips and falls • Noise • Ergonomic hazards such as contact pressure (from a tool pressing into the palm), repetitive motions (swinging a sledge hammer over and over), stressful postures (reaching)

House Keeping

• Chemical hazards such as from bleach, oven cleaner, and glass cleaner • Ergonomic hazards such as contact pressure, repetitive motions, stressful postures • Trips and falls • Biological hazards such as blood and needles

Moving

• Trips and falls • Ergonomic hazards such as contact pressure (from furniture pressing into the palm) and stressful postures (lifting, bending, and twisting)

SAMPLE SOLUTIONS TYPES (Applicable to all jobs)

Personal Protective Equipment

Reduce the contact pressure on a worker's knees by providing knee pads, or if you are unable, by rolling up a thick towel and providing it to the worker for them to place under their knees. Always provide workers protective gloves to do the job. Disposable gloves are especially important to provide a barrier between the worker and lead dust during painting or demolition. Have the worker discard gloves after a day's work or an especially dirty session with lead-containing substances. Never re-use disposable gloves.

Hygiene Facilities

Prevent workplace contaminants from spreading to your or the worker's families! Provide a place for workers to change out of contaminated clothing before getting in the car and going home. Maintain a station for hand-washing that workers can use before eating, drinking and smoking to prevent ingestion of lead and infectious biological agents.

Work Procedures

Simple changes can make a big difference. Purchase a spray bottle, and have the worker spray down lead- or asbestos-containing surfaces before sanding or scraping. Keep these surfaces damp to prevent the dispersal of toxic dusts. Click Here for more simple information on how to reduce lead risks during projects. Click here for a Work Lead Safe pamphlet

Alternative Products

Substitute hazardous cleaning products with soap, water, and other common household ingredients such as vinegar, baking soda. These will be cheaper, and safer for the worker, the family, and the environment. Call us for recipes. Consider low VOC (low vapor) paints as a healthy alternative.

Work Breaks

Allowing for needed breaks will decrease the stress on the workers’ body caused by ergonomic hazards and will also reduce the chances of property, such as furniture, from being damaged by a tired mover.

This information was adapted from:

SAN FRANCISCO DAY LABORERS UNITED WITH THE COMMUNITY
Click here to download a printable copy.