NJAIHA Presents NJ Youth@Work Talking Safety at South River High School

The first scheduled presentation on the NJ Youth@Work Talking Safety program was given at the South River High School (SRHS) on May 31, 2017. Some of the participants will be graduating this year or seeking employment for their first summer job. A few graduates may go into the military while many others are seeking local full- or part-time employment in construction, retail stores, restaurants , farming, hospitals, grocery stores, gas stations, etc.

Most of these students don't have any knowledge of the occupational health and safety hazards facing them while at work nor are they being provided required training on work hazards or the equipment or machinery they use everyday. They also don't understand their rights and the responsibilities of the employer, under OSHA, to provide a safe and healthy workplace so that they can go home without becoming sick or injured on the job.

The Youth@Work Talking Safety course curriculum was created under a grant by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The program was vetted to all states for child labor laws. Why did NIOSH create this program? In 2015, there were approximately 19.1 million workers less than 24 years of age, and these workers represented 13% of the workforce. Young workers have high occupational injury rates which are in part explained by a high frequency of injury hazards found in workplaces where they typically work (e.g. hazards in restaurant settings associated with slippery floors and use of knives and cooking equipment). Inexperience and lack of health and safety training may also increase injury risk(s) for young workers. And, for the youngest workers, those in middle and high schools, there may be additional biologic and psychosocial contributors to increased injury rates, such as inadequate fit, strength, and cognitive abilities to operate farm equipment such as tractors. Psychosocial issues by co-workers and supervisors such as peer pressure, fatigue, bullying, sexual advances, and work stress also may contribute to higher incidence rates.

In 2015, 403 workers less than 24 years of age died from work-related injuries, including 24 deaths of youth less than 18 years of age. For the 10 year period 1998 to 2007, there was an annual average of 795,000 nonfatal injuries to young workers treated in U.S. hospital injury departments. The rate for emergency treated occupational injuries of young workers was approximately two times higher than among workers 25 years and older. The U.S. Public Health Service has a Healthy People objective to reduce rates of occupational injuries treated in emergency departments among working adolescents 15-19 years of age by 10% by 2020, from the 2007 rate of 4.9 injuries per 100 full-time equivalent workers. Besides safety hazards, there are many health hazards related to airborne or skin exposures to toxic chemicals, biological agents, and ergonomic factors.

On behalf of NJAIHA, the Executive Committee wishes to thank the SRHS Principal, Kamila Buffalino, for allowing our 201-6-2017 President, Bernard L. Fontaine, Jr., CIH, CSP, FAIHA to talk about occupational health and safety program for youths who are taking these summer jobs, working part-time during the school year, or seeking employment after graduation. If your middle or high school would like us to deliver the 45-minute presentation given to your students; call NJAIHA at (973) 300-0144, email us at info@njaiha.org, or you can send us a note on the NJAIHA website at http://www.njaiha.org/. Let NJAIHA help protect your children at work.