Highway workers routinely work in proximity to construction vehicles and motor vehicle traffic. Workers on foot are exposed to the risk of being struck by traffic or construction equipment if they are not visible to motorists or equipment operators. Workers who operate construction vehicles or equipment risk injury due to overturn, collision, or being caught in running equipment. Highway workers, regardless of their assigned task, work in conditions of low lighting, low visibility, and inclement weather, and may work in congested areas with exposure to high traffic volume and speeds.

The most effective method to combat work zone related hazards is through administrative and engineering controls such as training, personal protective equipment, speed reduction, barriers, and lighting. Workers on highway and street construction work zones should receive training specific to the hazards of being struck by motorists as well as moving construction vehicles and equipment. High-visibility apparel should be provided to all workers in work zones and workers should be familiar with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).

The Federal Highway Administration’s MUTCD, provides for uniform design and setup of highway work zones. The primary focus is the interaction between the road user and the work zone. The MUTCD contains specifications for signage, pavement and curb markings, traffic signals, and marking of school zones, bicycle facilities, and highway-rail crossings. Most importantly to a work zone, it specifies temporary traffic control measures for numerous scenarios involving lane closures, lane shifts, detours, shoulder work, median crossovers, mobile operations, and blasting. A copy of the MUTCD can be downloaded from www.fhwa.dot.gov/. You can also contact the New England Laborers’ Health and Safety Fund to request a copy of their Highway Work Zone Safety Checklist at info@nelhsf.com or by phone or mail.

Due to the unprecedented warm winter that we have experienced in New England, 2012 is predicted to be the worst year yet for allergy sufferers. Additionally, this year’s allergy season is expected to last longer than usual and the fall allergy season is predicted to be nasty as well.

An allergy is a specific reaction of your body’s immune system to a normally harmless substance. There are many causes of allergy symptoms but of all the things that can cause an allergy, pollen is one of the most common. To a great extent, people can avoid many of the foods, medicines, or animals that cause allergies. But, short of staying indoors with the windows closed when the pollen count is high—and even that may not help—people have no easy way to avoid breathing in pollen that floats in the air.

Many people know pollen allergy as hay fever, but health experts usually refer to it as “seasonal allergic rhinitis.” This simply means an allergy to pollen that makes your nose run during certain seasons. Each spring, summer, and fall, tiny pollen grains are released from trees, weeds, and grasses. These grains hitch rides on currents of air. Although the job of pollen is to fertilize plants, many grains never reach their targets. Instead, pollen can enter your eyes, nose, and throat and trigger pollen allergy. Common sources of allergy causing pollen are ragweed, Kentucky bluegrass, Bermuda grass, and trees such as oak, ash, elm, hickory, pecan and elder.

Symptoms of pollen allergy include any of the following:
• Runny nose
• Sneezing
• Itchy eyes
• Congestion of the nose
• Red and watery eyes

Because it is nearly impossible to avoid contact with pollen, you might be able to control your symptoms with medicines. Most over-the-counter medicines are antihistamines. If these medicines don’t give you relief or they cause unwanted side effects such as drowsiness, your healthcare professional may write a prescription for a more powerful medicine called a topical nasal steroid to take with an antihistamine.

Your healthcare provider may recommend a series of allergy shots which can provide a long-lasting benefit against allergies, even after the treatment is stopped. Allergy shots contain increasing concentrations of the pollen allergen(s) to which you are sensitive. These shots reduce the level of antibodies to pollen in your blood and cause your body to make another protective antibody. Typically, a patient will receive allergy shots regularly for a period of 3 years or longer.

Each year, more than 500,000 people receive medical treatment for injuries sustained from improper use of ladders. Most injuries are cuts, bruises, and fractured bones. However, almost one death per day is attributable to injuries related to ladders. Even a fall from a low height can mean a painful and incapacitating injury.

Proper Procedure
• Before working with a new ladder, read the manufacturer's instructions.
• Do not use a ladder when sleepy, ill, taking medication, or in foul weather.
• Do not use ladders in doorways or other high traffic areas unless the door is locked or someone is available to stay with the ladder.
• Never use metal ladders near power lines or other sources of electricity to avoid electrical shock hazards.

Inspection
A ladder should be thoroughly inspected each time it is used. Rungs should be firm and unbroken, braces fastened securely, and ropes, pulleys, and other moving parts in good working order. All damaged ladders should be repaired or replaced.

Proper Setup
The feet of a ladder should be level and positioned solidly on the ground. If the ground is soft or uneven, use boards under the legs for support. Test the ladder to verify that it is secure. For stability, both sides of the ladder top need to be against the wall or other support at a 75 degree angle. The legs on a stepladder should be spread fully and locked into position.

How to Climb
• Make sure hands, shoes and ladder rungs are dry.
• Use a second person to hold the bottom of the ladder.
• Keep a three-point grip on the ladder at all times (two hands and one foot or one hand and two feet).
• Avoid distractions that make you turn away from the front of the ladder.
• Climb slowly with weight centered between side-rails.
• Do not lean back.
• Never stand on the top or the top rung of a stepladder or top three rungs of an extension ladder.