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A SAFETY TALK FOR

DI SCUSSI ON LEADERS

Thi s saf et y t al k i s desi gned f or di scussi on l eader s t o use i n

pr epari ng saf et y meet i ngs.

Set a speci f i c t i me and dat e f or your saf et y meet i ng. Publ i ci ze

your meet i ng so ever yone i nvol ved wi l l be sur e t o at t end.

Revi ew t hi s saf et y t al k bef or e the meet i ng and become f ami l i ar wi t h

i t s cont ent . Make not es about t he poi nt s made i n t hi s t al k t hat

per t ai n t o your workpl ace. You shoul d be abl e t o present t he

mat eri al i n your own words and l ead t he di scussi on wi t hout r eadi ng

i t .

Seat i ng space i s not absol utel y necessar y, but arr angements shoul d

be made so t hat t hose att endi ng can easi l y see and hear t he

pr esent at i on.

Col l ect what ever mat eri al s and pr ops you wi l l need ahead of t i me.

Tr y t o use equi pment i n your wor kpl ace t o demonst r at e your poi nt s.

DURI NG THE MEETI NG

Gi ve t he saf ety t al k i n your own words. Use t he pr i nt ed t al kmerel y as a gui de.

The pur pose of a saf et y meet i ng i s t o i ni t i at e di scussi on of saf et y

probl ems and pr ovi de sol ut i ons t o t hose probl ems. Encour age

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empl oyees t o di scuss hazar ds or pot ent i al hazar ds t he encount er on

t he j ob. Ask t hem t o suggest ways t o i mpr ove saf ety i n t hei r ar ea.

Don' t l et t he meeti ng t ur n i nt o a gr i pe sessi on about unr el at ed

t opi cs. As di scussi on l eader , i t s your j ob t o make sur e t he t opi ci s saf ety. Di scussi ng ot her t opi cs wast es t i me and can r ui n t he

ef f ect i veness of your s af et y meet i ng.

At t he end of t he meet i ng, ask empl oyees t o si gn a sheet on t he

back of t hi s t al k as a recor d t hat t hey at t ended t he saf ety

meet i ng. Keep t hi s t al k on f i l e f or your r ecor ds.

Conf i ned Space Pr ecaut i ons

Speci al caut i on must be t aken when wor ki ng i n a cl osed,

unvent i l ated ar ea. By usi ng t he pr oper per sonal pr otect i ve

equi pment and t aki ng pr ecaut i ons, you hel p assur e t hat t he worki ng

envi r onment i s hazar d- f r ee.

However , under no ci r cumst ances, ent er a sewer , manhol e,

under gr ound chamber , condui t or any ot her conf i ned space wi t hout

f i r st t aki ng t he pr oper saf et y pr ecaut i ons.

Thi nk bef or e you enter a conf i ned space. Peopl e have di ed because

t hey di dn' t .

Fol l ow t hese pr ocedur es:

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Don' t ent er a conf i ned space i f you can per f orm t he j ob f r om t he

out si de.

Open door s or r emove covers and ai r out t he ar ea as l ong as

possi bl e.

Bl ank- out i nl et and out l et l i nes whenever possi bl e; l ock al l

val ves i n t he cl osed posi t i on and t ur n al l swi t ches of f t o be sur e

t hat t he ar ea i s cl osed of f as much as possi bl e.

Bl ow ai r , st eam or bot h i nt o t he space to be ent ered or exhaust

t he ai r i n the conf i ned space i n some way.

Test f or combust i bl e gas, oxygen def i ci ent at mospheres ( carbon

di oxi de) , car bon monoxi de and ot her suspect ed gases, i ncl udi ng

met hane, hydr ogen sul f i de and ni t r ogen.

Al ways put on a harness and l i f el i ne ( wi t h st andby pers onnel

att ached t o the per sons i nsi de) . Cont i nue to t est t he ai r whi l e

ent er i ng t he conf i ned space. I f oxygen i n t he ai r i s l ess than 19

per cent , anyone who br eat hes i t wi t hout a r espi r at or coul d become

unconsci ous.

Al l el ect r i cal equi pment must be expl osi on- pr oof .

I f t he at mosphere i s danger ous, wear an appr oved ai r l i ne or

sel f - cont ai ned br eat hi ng apparatus.

Whenever t he conf i ned space i s r e- ent ered, check condi t i ons

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agai n. Keep recor ds of t he test r esul t s and al l per sons who ent er ed

t he ar ea.

Most of what we have di scussed so f ar r el at es t o respi r at or s;

however , some condi t i ons r equi r e compl et e body pr ot ect i on becausesome gases or vapor s, such as hydrogen cyani de, can be absor bed

t hr ough t he ski n.

Never f or get t hat a chamber t hat i s saf e one day may be deadl y t he

next t i me you ent er i t . Thi s i s because when t her e i s a r api dl y

f al l i ng bar omet er , i ndi cat i ng decr easi ng at mospheri c pr essure,

oxygen coul d be r epl aced i n t he chamber by anot her agent , such as

car bon di oxi de.

Bef or e ent eri ng a sewer or conf i ned pi t , ask your sel f t hese

quest i ons. Your l i f e coul d depend on i t .

Has organi c mat t er used up al l of t he oxygen?

Has f er ment at i on pr oduced suf f ocat i ng car bon di oxi de?

Has decomposi t i on cr eat ed an expl osi ve mi xt ur e?

Has a chemi cal r eact i on creat ed dangerous hydr ogen sul f i de,

car bon monoxi de or ot her t oxi c subst ances?

.