dealing with the risks posed by the “green” jobs of the 21st century

By Dr. Jim Castagnera, Esq.

     Partner, Portum Group International, LLC

The federal Green Jobs Act of 2007 (H.R. 2847) allocated $125 million per year to create an energy efficiency and renewable energy worker training program, a pilot program to identify the skills and training programs, and subsequently the actual training of workers, for jobs in a wide range of environmentally friendly industries. However, the Act does not outline specifically what does or does not constitute a green job.

The U.S. Department of Energy considers “green” occupations those within the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors; solar panel manufacturing, for example. The Occupational Information Network interprets “green” more broadly, including such work as energy efficient building, energy efficient vehicles, biofuels, renewable electric power, construction and retrofits, and manufacturing that uses sustainable materials and processes to produce sustainable products, as well as agriculture and education. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) currently classifies green jobs as those that produce green goods or services, or those whose employees help minimize businesses' environmental impact.

In short, the most accurate definition is simply those jobs that help to improve the environment. Green jobs also have the secondary goal of creating new jobs and revitalizing the economy by providing more stable, local jobs. Although a job may be environmentally friendly, it is not inherently worker friendly or safe, which is why employers must keep abreast of the new and often unexpected hazards facing green job workers.

Many of the hazards facing green job workers are the same hazards that have long faced workers in more established industries, such as falls, electrical fires, and confined spaces. Other hazards are specific to the line of work, and were previously unidentified. For example, the creation of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation provided 4,000 new jobs in the area, but those jobs come with a litany of possible hazards, such as radiation and other contamination risks, as well as chronic beryllium disease, an incurable condition caused by exposure to beryllium dust. Following is an overview of many of the risks associated with common green job industries.

Biofuels. Because of a demand for low-carbon impact, the use of domestically sourced fuels has increased. The two major types of biofuels produced in the United States are ethanol, a highly flammable liquid used in up to 10 percent of automotive fuel sold in the United States and biodiesel, a combustible liquid. Biofuels are created using renewable resources like grains, vegetable oil, and treated industrial waste. Their manufacture can involve potentially dangerous chemical reactions. Potential hazards in biofuels production and handling include:

• Fire and explosion hazards

• Chemical reactivity hazards (including the rupture of equipment and piping, explosions, fires, and exposure to hazardous chemicals)

• Toxicity hazards (including exposure to methanol, caustic, sulfuric acid, ethanol, and biodiesel)

Wind Energy. Wind turbines are being manufactured and installed across the United States in order to generate electricity from wind. The hazards associated with this industry are not new, but employers should be well aware of them nonetheless.

• Falls

• Confined spaces (including risk of asphyxiation, exposure to a hazardous atmosphere, or the risk of engulfing a person who enters the space)

• Fires

• Lockout/tagout (procedures set in place to safeguard employees from the unexpected startup of equipment, or the release of hazardous energy during maintenance of equipment)

• Cranes, derricks, and hoists

• Electrical injuries (including arc flash burn hazards, electric shock, and thermal burn hazards)

• Machine guarding (including risk of severe injury such as crushed fingers or hands, amputations, burns, or blindness)

• Respiratory protection (including risk of exposure to gases, vapors, and dusts)

Waste management and recycling. The percentage of waste recycled in the United States has doubled since 1985, and the industry—and its job opportunities—is only growing. Each aspect of the recycling industry has its own associated risks.

• Collection

      Traffic safety (including crushing hazards associated with dumpsters and rear-loading trash             trucks)

      Ergonomics (including musculoskeletal disorders from lifting items that are too heavy or                 lifting too often)

• Scrap Metal Recycling

Lead overexposure

Moving parts injuries

Unexpected machine startup injuries

• Cardboard Baling

Moving parts injuries

Unexpected machine startup injuries

Young workers (minors under the age of 18 may not load, operate, or unload certain                      machines, according to the Hazardous Occupations Act Order No. 12)

Green roofs. Growing in popularity throughout the United States, green roofs can be installed by companies that specialize in green roof technology, or an amalgamation of more traditional trades such as landscapers and roofing contractors. Some hazards are new while others are more familiar.

• Falls

• Personal protective equipment-related hazards

• Exposure to silica dust (including risk of Silicosis or death from breathing in silica dust particles)

• Cranes, derricks, and hoists

• Powered industrial truck injuries

• Electrical injuries

• Heat/cold stress (including risk of heat stroke or heat exhaustion from exposure to the elements)

Solar energy. Solar energy is a growing sector for green jobs (two commercially viable solar energy sectors are solar electric and solar thermal heating), but various hazards are associated with the manufacture, installation, and maintenance of solar energy.

• Falls

• Lockout/tagout

• Crane and hoist injuries

• Electrical injuries

• Heat/cold stress

• Personal protective equipment-related injuries

Geo-thermal energy. Geo-thermal energy uses the heat from the earth to create electricity, and to heat and cool buildings. Some systems use the earth's natural geothermal reservoirs to heat and cool buildings, while others pump water underground through piping and allow the earth to heat that water. Some geo-thermal systems use a brine or saltwater solution while others use glycol.

• Trenching and excavation-related injuries (including risk of collapse and smothering)

• Silica dust exposure

• Personal protective equipment-related injuries

• Welding and cutting injuries

• Falls

Weather insulating/sealing. Weatherizing, insulating, and sealing are important aspects of energy efficiency, but many types of weatherizing products (such as fiberglass, cellulose, spray polyurethane foam, spray polystyrene, and spray latex sealant) include blow-in and spray-on applications that can be hazardous to the health of workers. Extra training may be required to learn how to safely and accurately apply these products.

• Confined spaces

• Falls

• Electrical injuries

• Respiratory protection

• Personal protective equipment-related injuries

• Ventilation

• Fires

Hydrogen fuel cells. Hydrogen fuel cells produce electricity without combustion (though hydrogen is a very flammable, potentially dangerous gas). The fuel cell industry is rapidly growing, as hydrogen fuel cells can be used to power vehicles, provide electricity for remote locations like remote weather stations, and serve as power plants. Hazards associated with the fuel cell industry include:

• Fire and explosion

• Freeze burns (from liquid hydrogen)

• Electrical injuries

Oil cleanup operations. Another aspect of green jobs are those jobs that work solely to help the environment, such as oil cleanup. These, however, come with many dangerous and unexpected hazards.

• Heat stress

• Boat and vessel-related injuries

• Crude oil injuries (including risk of dermatitis and inhalation of toxic components)

• Dispersants (including risk of skin contamination, ocular exposure, ingestion exposure, and inhalation exposure)

• Drowning

• Emergency response and shoreline cleanup-related injuries

• Ergonomics

• Fatigue

• Personal protective equipment-related injuries

• Poisonous plants (including risk of bruises, burns, or damaged skin)

• Respiratory protection

• Severe weather and oil (including risk of rash caused by weathered oil)

• Slips, trips, and falls

• Snakes, insects, and rodents

Stress (including risk of emotional distress caused by a traumatic incident, such as witnessing the untimely death or injury of oil-covered wildlife, or the impact on fishing communities and the environment) [https://www.osha.gov/green-jobs]

OSH Act requires employers to comply with certain safety and health regulations and standards outlined by OSHA or by a state with an OSHA-approved plan. These regulations cover many of the hazards those working in green industries face, and outline standards for implementing safety controls and protocols. Further, the OSH Act's General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1), demands that employers provide all employees with a workplace “free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm.” [https://www.osha.gov/dep/greenjobs/index.html] This clause can be enforced in the absence of an OSHA standard. The full list of standards and regulations can be read at: https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs.

The NIOSH is leading an initiative called Prevention through Design (PtD) in order to “design out” hazards and risks to green job workers while green jobs are still in the early stages of being created and developed—before the risks are considered inherent to the jobs. Many companies and business leaders in the United States support PtD and see it as a cost-effective way to enhance occupational safety and health. Other countries are following suit. The United Kingdom, for example, requires construction companies, project owners, and architects to address safety and health issues, and companies have responded by altering their practices to comply with the new regulations. Similarly, Australia created the Australian National OHS Strategy 2002-2012 to eliminate hazards at the design stage, making it a national priority. [https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/PTD/]

The NIOSH has also outlined several ways in which green jobs could be better monitored for safety. The first is to define, categorize, and track green jobs in order to identify and better understand exactly what new hazards green job workers face and how those hazards affect worker safety and health. Then all products and processes associated with green jobs must be evaluated for safety and health, presently and over greater lengths of time. For example, 1-Bromopropane was introduced as an environmentally friendly alternative to ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons. Over time, however, studies began to show nervous system, reproductive, and other effects in workers and lab animals after prolonged exposure, illustrating the need for careful evaluation of all new products, even environmentally beneficial ones.

NIOSH also suggests making safety and health an integral part of green jobs training, as well as adding safety and health to green benchmarks. Although benchmarks exist to evaluate which jobs are green and sustainable, there are almost no guidelines for measuring the occupational safety of performing green jobs.

[https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ptd/greenjobs.html]

Like this Blog?

You might also like Dr. Jim’s May 18 webinar:

ChatGPT Legal Implications

Date : May 18, 2023 | EST : 01:00 PM | PST : 10:00 AM | Duration : 60 Minutes

Product Code : AG3067 | Speaker : Dr. James Castagnera, Esq. 

Register right here: https://assentglobal.us/webinar/3067/ChatGPT-Legal-Implications