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 ModeratorDate: 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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