According to federal OSHA’s most recent statistics, more than 90,000 workers each year are injured, and 100 workers die, in forklift accidents. Workers are killed when a forklift tips over, when a forklift collides with pedestrians, when the worker is crushed by a forklift, or when the worker falls from a forklift.
This Special Report will help you navigate Cal/OSHA’s sometimes—confusing industrial truck standards, which are arranged differently than federal OSHA’s regulation and have different specific requirements. This Report will also help you ensure that your equipment meets Cal/OSHA standards by providing a comprehensive checklist you can use to inspect your equipment. Safe operating rules—which must be posted in the workplace—and training and instruction requirements are all thoroughly explained.
June 24, 2008
Is your medicine cabinet filled with expired drugs or medications you no longer use? How should you dispose of them?
Most drugs can be thrown in the household trash, but consumers should take certain precautions before tossing them out, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Guidelines for Drug Disposal
- FDA worked with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to develop the first consumer guidance for proper disposal of prescription drugs. Issued by ONDCP in February 2007, the federal guidelines are summarized here:
- Follow any specific disposal instructions on the drug label or patient information that accompanies the medication. Do not flush prescription drugs down the toilet unless this information specifically instructs you to do so.
- If no instructions are given, throw the drugs in the household trash, but first:
- Take them out of their original containers and mix them with an undesirable substance, such as used coffee grounds or kitty litter. The medication will be less appealing to children and pets, and unrecognizable to people who may intentionally go through your trash.
- Put them in a sealable bag, empty can, or other container to prevent the medication from leaking or breaking out of a garbage bag.
- Take advantage of community drug take-back programs that allow the public to bring unused drugs to a central location for proper disposal. Call your city or county government’s household trash and recycling service (see blue pages in phone book) to see if a take-back program is available in your community.