Monthly Archives: October 2011

Making a construction worker costume for Halloween is not only fun for kids, it’s also a chance for parents to gently introduce the importance of personal protective equipment.

Many injured workers know the feeling of pain that shuts down their lives, but it usually goes away – though some cases it doesn’t. Chronic pain is on the agenda at the federal level, and with any luck, we’ll soon see relief for an estimated 1 in 5 people in BC who suffer from chronic pain.

I will join hundreds of thousands of my fellow British Columbians at 10:20 a.m. on October 20, 2011 to “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” during the Great British Columbia ShakeOut. This annual event will be held the third Thursday of October.

Her husband came home from work every day at the asbestos plant, covered in “fairy dust” and hugged her and the kids. Now she lay dying of mesothelioma – a rare cancer caused by asbestos exposure. She wanted to prevent others from suffering as she had, without realizing her risk until it was too late.

In the middle of the night, two men struggled to change the tire of a huge transport vehicle stranded near Dorval Airport. The boss was under the rear axle, half-way through the lift, when the vehicle began to shake. Luckily his apprentice was paying attention.

A 41-year-old man in England was seriously injured – but thankfully survived – after he was pulled into the rotating parts of a machine that was not locked out, and from which the built-in guard had been removed.

Abby is a self-employed doula and part of what is known as the “grey fleet”: workers who drive a vehicle during the course of their work but not as their work. Self-employed workers face the same road safety issues as other people who drive while working for employers, so they have to know the risks and take the necessary precautions.