OSHA providing onsite compliance assistance for Texas tornado recovery
Dallas – OSHA officials were sent onsite to the Dallas-Fort Worth area to provide compliance assistance to employers and recovery workers helping in cleanup efforts following more than a dozen tornadoes.
Sixteen tornadoes were confirmed from the April 3 storm, many of which cut miles-long paths through the area, sweeping through multiple towns and communities, according to the National Weather Service.
“Our main concern is the safety of the workers conducting cleanup activities,” said John Hermanson, the OSHA regional administrator in Dallas. “Workers are exposed to a wide array of hazards during storm recovery efforts that can be minimized by knowledge, safe work practices and the use of personal protective equipment.”
According to OSHA, hazards encountered by workers during cleanup efforts include:
- Contaminated food
- Heat exhaustion
- Downed electrical wires
- Falls and struck-bys
- Lacerations
- Musculoskeletal injuries
Education materials covering safe work practices and appropriate PPE for tornado recovery efforts can be found on the agency’s website.
Post a comment to this article
Safety+Health welcomes comments that promote respectful dialogue. Please stay on topic. Comments that contain personal attacks, profanity or abusive language – or those aggressively promoting products or services – will be removed. We reserve the right to determine which comments violate our comment policy. (Anonymous comments are welcome; merely skip the “name” field in the comment box. An email address is required but will not be included with your comment.)