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Safety Tips for the New Year

© John J. Pascarella

With another year coming to a close and a new one just around the corner, now is the time to begin thinking about your New Year's resolutions. As people who spend some of our free time and money fixing up our homes, increased safety should be a part of your resolutions.

The single most important item in your safety list should be safety glasses. Safety glasses or safety goggles will protect your eyes from dust, flying debris and other hazards of construction.

Other safety items include hearing protection to lessen the damage that loud noise can do to your hearing, gloves to protect your hands and even steel toed shoes to protect your feet from heavy, falling objects. Other items on your list might include a hard hat to protect your head, and a dust mask to protect your lungs from suspended dust as you work.

But the single, most important item in your safety list is something that you can't even see. It is common sense. Common sense will keep you safe and healthy, as long as you use it correctly. Don't try to lift a heavy object by yourself. Get someone to help you. When using air or electrically powered nail guns, do not get into the habit of always keeping your finger on the trigger. These type of nail guns commonly work by pressing down the tip of the gun to the surface to be nailed and pulling the trigger. If you keep your finger on the trigger, you could accidentally fire the gun by bumping the tip against yourself or someone close by.

One of the easiest ways to protect yourself from injury on the job site is to keep your work area clean. A clean work area gives you plenty of room to work without having to think or worry about such things as tripping over items in your way. A clean work site makes it easier to find tools and needed materials. Being in the habit of cleaning as you go also makes the final clean up of the day quite a bit easier

Home Safety Tip of the Month:

I came across this tip while reading a safety magazine I have access to at work. While the magazine, Safety Smart!, is geared toward industrial safety, I found an item that caught my eye and I think it will be of some interest to you.

According to the Fall 2001 issue of Safety Smart!, there have been several fires in cold storage warehouses that were insulated with polyurethane foam. The article goes on to explain that polyurethane foam insulation is basically a solid form of gasoline. The foam is composed of hydrocarbons, the same as gasoline.