Professional Safety
For more than 50 years, ASSE's Professional Safety journal has been sharing the latest technical knowledge in SH&E—information that is constantly being developed through research and on-the-job experience.
Each issue delivers practical guidance, techniques and solutions to help SH&E professionals identify hazards, protect people, prevent injuries, improve work environments and educate management that investing in safety is a sound business strategy.
In This Issue...
Cover Story & Features
Welcome to the Professional Safety articles section. Here you'll find this month's offering of articles that deliver cutting-edge information, lessons learned and practical guidance from practioners in the safety, health, and environmental profession.
Full-issue PDFs of Professional Safety (from January 2005 forward) are now available to members through ASSE's Members Only website. Each file contains interactive links to help members navigate through the file. We've also included links to ASSE, regulatory agencies and other sources, and the journal's advertisers. A reader simply needs to mouse over a link to be redirected.
Cover Story
Worker Protections Peer-Reviewed
By Isaac Slaven and Ed Dennis
The wind energy industry has been identified as a major source of green jobs. But what about safety? While most wind turbines can be operated remotely, their maintenance often requires technicians to climb the towers and perform tasks in tight quarters. More programs are being introduced to teach these technicians about safety, including a program developed at Ivy Tech Community College that integrates wind safety topics into OSHA 10-hour courses for general industry and construction.
Features
Public Safety Peer-Reviewed
By E. Scott Geller, Joseph E. Bolduc, Matthew J. Foy and Joseph C. Dean
In 2004, a residential elemental mercury contamination incident in Rhode Island resulted in the evacuation of an entire apartment complex. To develop recommendations for increasing the efficiency and expediency of future responses to elemental mercury-related incidents, all response-related documents were examined; personnel involved in the response were interviewed; policies and procedures were reviewed; and environmental monitoring data were compiled from specific phases of the response for analysis of effect. Recommendations for better communicating risks with affected residents are offered as well.
Safety Management Peer-Reviewed
By Fred S. Drennan and David Richey
Leadership is not a rare, charismatic or inherent talent. Rather, it can be learned, observed and measured. In particular, supervisors would benefit from being better leaders because employees often view them as the company and, therefore, adopt their immediate supervisor's attitude toward safety—either positive or negative. Five core leadership skills can help most supervisors become more effective. Part 1 of this two-part article examine the first two skills: 1) giving positive recognition; and 2) building teams.