a ~~ 5 THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER a SAFETY PAGE ERGONOMICS THEME OF SAFETY CONFERENCE By VERNA LEDGER, Safety & Health Director “Ergonomics” a rather - strange word, which really means the study of methods to adapt work and the work en- vironment to the aptitudes and needs of the working in- dividual, was the main educa- tional theme presented at the Regional Safety and Health Conference held in Kamloops, B.C. on April 6th and 7th. The “Spring Conference’’ which is usually held in the Interior or Northern areas of the Province is designated as an educational conference. FIRST INTERNATIONAL The first International IWA Safety and Health Conference held in Seattle, Washington in April 1978, presented ‘‘Ergo- nomics”’ as it’s theme, which sparked the interest of B.C. delegates who recommended the topic again be introduced at the Region No. 1 Spring 1979 Safety and Health Conference. Other beneficial side effects of - the 1978 International IWA Safety and Health Conference which had a bearing on this year’s Spring Conference in Region No. 1, were the fraternal friendships developed between IWA mem- bers on both sides of the bor- ~ der. To ensure that this type of exchange continued, several members from Region No. 3, IWA were invited to attend the Spring Conference. Brother Rahberger Safety and Health Co-ordinator, Region No. 3, Brother R. Whitmarsh, Fi- nancial Secretary, Local 3-38 and Brother J. Hembree, Local Union 3-536, Safety and Health Director, accepted the invita- tion and attended the Con- ference. They expressed their interest and gratitude for the opportunity to participate. Hopefully this kind of ex- change will be repeated in the future and continue to promote interest and understanding of our mutual problems. RESEARCHER SCOTT Brother Denny Scott, Re- search Economist for the In- ternational office of the IWA presented most of the sessions for the two-day Conference. The topics covered by Brother Seott included “An Introduc- tion To Ergonomics,’’ “Recognizing the Problem — Noise, dust, ventilation,” “Chain Saw Vibrations” and included a series of slides ob- tained from Sweden, which proposed some solutions to the problems. The subject of “‘Woodworker Exposure to Wood Preserva- tives — A Proposed Study” was presented by Goldy Flein- man, a lecturer at the Univer- sity of Washington. Ms. Flein- man is a member of the re- search group from the Depart- ment of Environmental Health’ at the University of Washing- ton, who hope to conduct a study on the long term health effects of pentachlorophenol and other wood preservatives. If the proposed study receives the go ahead, the major portion of the research will be con- ducted in a B.C. lower main- land sawmill. The remaining time of the Conference was devoted to reports from the Regional Safety and Health Director and Safety and Health Directors representing Region No. 1 Local Unions. STAYING ALIVE The task of staying alive while earning a living is quick- ing a major priority Socom _ their attempts arms screaming for a solution. But the murder of 67 wood- workers seems to be a fact of life many are willing to accept. The IWA will not. Unfortunately figures are not available to indicate if most of these fatal accidents occurred amongst workers in the unorganized sector. How- ever, from our own informa- tion, it would appear this is a fact. IWA Safety and Health Com- mittees, Local Safety & Health Councils as well as Local Union Safety and Health Directors have been working tirelessly in to improve the situation in operations under f their jurisdiction. Progress has been made in some areas, and the educationand training pro- grams which have been developed appear to be working. The number of IWA members being fatally injured is declining, but still more and more workers in unorganized operations are dying. We are concerned and we ac- cept the responsibility that we are our brother’s keeper. It is time the WCB began clamping down on the quick buck, fly-by- night operators and make the training of all workers as well as the compliance of W.C.B. regulations by all employers in logging, their number one priority. The IWA intends to pressure for this training as well as more intensive and extensive inspections of these operations by the Board. Delegates expressed shock and dismay as report after report told of fatalities and serious injuries which had oc- curred in their areas during 1978 and the early months of 1979, and demanded that an all out campaign to publicize these tragic figures be under- taken. Delegates: also supported a recommendation that would result in the compilation of information from Local Unions related to woodworker ex- posure to toxic substances. They expressed the view that the implementation of the re- commendations would go a long way toward developing eventual solutions to these serious problems. FACTS... We worry about cancer and heart attacks ... yet keep putting off getting a medical checkup. We worry about the kids eating the right kind of food .. then leave household poisons lying around for them to snack on. We’re bothered by thoughts of a plane crash when we’re flying . . . then stand on the top of a rickety ladder to do a painting job. We worry about the kids when they’re swimming ... then go too far out into the lake without a life preserver while on a fishing trip. We’re concerned about the little nick or scratch on the new car’s paint job . then ignore minor cuts and scrat- ches and other injuries to our own bodies. We worry. about the kids driving too fast when they’re out with the car. . . then try to cover 600 or 700 miles per day on a vacation trip. INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS — SHOW SHOCKING PICTURE By VICTOR RABINOVITCH CLC Health & Safety Officer OTTAWA (CPA) — The full story on the true costs of dis- ease and accidents in Canadian workplaces has never been: told. But recent research by the Canadian Labour Congress has revealed at least part of - the story. The facts are shocking — a minimum of 70 million working days were lost because of job related injuries and illness in 1977. That is at least six times The most recent study on cancer in the U.S. concluded that between 20 and 38% of all fatalities from that disease should be blamed directly on the effects of chemicals and other products used on the job. In Canadian terms, this means that as many as 16,000 workers die each year from cancer caused by working conditions. A conservative estimate would place that figure at 12,000 per year. On the aver- age, these workers are 50 years old when they die: But even be- ing conservative, this means STATISTICAL AVERAGE All the Workers’ Compensa- tion Boards in Canada use the same statistical average of 6,000 lost days for each death: This adds up to six million days lost each year due to fatalities. It should be noted that this figure is rarely mentioned in government reports. When official figures are gathered on annual accident totals, the losses due to death are usually omitted. No reason has ever been given to explain this significant error. Permanent disabilities: A third source of loss is injuries or sickness which have a per- manent effect on a worker but which are only partial in ex- tent. For example, the loss of one arm is known as a ‘“‘per- manent disability.” No official statistic is avail- able in this category. In fact, most Workers’ Compensation Boards refuse to publish totals -in this category even though the figure is known. Our own sources enable us to reliably estimate that 4,900,000 working days were lost in 1977 due to permanent disabilities. Temporary disabilities: This refers to the effects of an acci- dent or illness when a worker is off the job for a limited time and is usually the best known source of loss. A reliable estimate (again, official statistics are hard to come by) is that 7,150,000 working days were lost in 1977 due to this type of injury. The total annual loss from these four main sources is a lit- tle over 62 million days. But this does not tell the whole story. A genuine total statistic must take into account the following items: —The total days lost at the start of a disability period (no WCB in Canada pays for time RECENT STUDY | the time lost due to strikes and lockouts. There are four main identifi- able sources of loss and suffer- ing in the working community: Cancer and other diseases: the most important single source is illnesses (often fatal) which arise directly from working ‘conditions. These dis- eases hardly figure at all in Workers’ Compensation re- ports and are totally ignored in government statistics. that 45 million days are lost each year through cancer . deaths alone. This estimated statistic re- fers to cancer only. It does not include losses from other ma- jor diseases where no statistics are available — such as cor- nonary disease, stress-induced illness, heavy metal poisoning and others. Accident fatalities’ The second major source of loss is fatal accidents. In recent years, an annual average of 1,000 workers have been killed on the job. lost the day of an accident or illness.. The total days lost is nearly one million each year.) —Accidents and diseases not reported. Failure to report is a significant item which arises due to the ignorance of some workers, to carelessness or to employer pressures and con- nivance. —Accident and disease claims rejected by local Com- pensation Boards and there- fore omitted from any statis- ties. —Additional diseases which are not yet recognized as hav- ing workplace origins. —Diseases which are sup- posedly admitted for com- pensation but which most doc- tors do not know how to diag- nose (such as lead poisoning, various agricultural diseases, or hearing loss). : —General non-specific wear and tear on the human body, often associated with recurrent problems of the back. All of this adds up to a total of at least 70 million working days lost through disease and accidents. And this figure says nothing about the pain and suffering for individual workers and their families brought on by accidents or disease. This massive total is clear evidence that a genuine crisis exists in health and safety in Canadian workplaces. A true extent of the crisis is still denied and hidden in offi- cial government statistics. Employers usually deny it as well. It is further proof that action by workers — individually, politically and collectively — at the plant level and at provin- cial and national levels is the only certain way of finding solutions to this crisis.