Public Power - September/October 2007 - (Page 51)

immediately, said Tinker. “Our recommendation, as well as that of the CDC and Homeland Security, is that companies should think from an ‘all hazards’ perspective. You need to be talking about the full range of emergency scenarios to which your organization might be subject, including pandemic flu. The focus here should be on low-likelihood, but highconsequence events (e.g., terrorist attack, etc.). “Be they low-probability, highconsequence events, such as pandemic flu or act of terrorism, or a high-probability, high-consequence event, such as hurricanes or tornadoes, your emergency plan should account for all possible scenarios.” “The H5N1 virus looks very much like the 1918 Spanish flu virus,” said Amy B. Dixon, a paramedic and utility specialist for ARAMSCO, a distributor of environmental safety products, including avian flu products. The company has been building its emergency preparedness and disaster recovery business for years. It was on the scene of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks the first day and it set up an entire warehouse in New Orleans just after Hurricane Katrina. “It is important to change the way your business thinks and the way you do your work every day,” said Dixon. “People say the bird flu will never materialize in the United States. However, we lose 36,000 people a year just to seasonal influenza, and these are not just old people and children. They include people in their 30s and 40s.” Dixon emphasized the importance of washing hands www.APPAnet.org frequently, not just before meals. “Anytime you or a coworker coughs or sneezes, and then you use your keyboard or phone, or put your hands on your desk, germs are spread,” she said. She shared some startling statistics. The average germ count on an office desktop is 20,961 per square inch; on a telephone is 5,127; on a keyboard is 3,295; and on a toilet seat is a mere 49. Lots of people may place their hands on your desk, two or three might use your keyboard, and maybe only you use your phone. However, no one thinks to clean these surfaces, whereas toilet seats are cleaned and sanitized every day. “Have hand sanitizers at your desk,” she said. “Clean your workspace, your phone, and your keyboard.” She also encourages employees to get flu shots. Each February, the CDC looks at the most virulent virus in the United States—what kills more people than anything. It then takes six months to develop a vaccine for that virus. By September of each year, that vaccine is available. Longer term, utilities should consider respirator protection, Dixon said. “If a pandemic hits the United States, our company will run out of respirators and masks,” she said. “That is guaranteed, because manufacturers simply won’t be able to keep up with demand.” The last pandemic that struck near the United States was SARS. It was not very big, and it affected Canada, not the United States. “However, you couldn’t find a respirator in the entire United States,” she said. “You need to think about stockpiling masks and respirators. Even if you don’t need them Power Products Ltd. Box 364, Mirror, Alberta, Canada T0B 3C0 Telephone: (403) 309-7282 Fax: (403) 788-3723 E-mail: kri-tech@telus.net Web: www.kri-tech.ab.ca Patented since 1998 Your original 1/4" two grid wire and 1/2" perimeter wire Portable Protective Ground Mat was designed for safety redundance The Portable Protective Ground Mat provides the best way to help establish an equipotential zone for a lineworker to stand on during various energized and de-energized work practices. Properly applied it accomplishes compliance with the U.S.A. Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 1910.269. Practical Task-Oriented Design! SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2007 51 http://www.ofilsystems.com http://www.APPAnet.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Public Power - September/October 2007

Contents Washington Focus 10 Questions Public Power (Every) Week Training Tomorrow’s Work Force What’s in Your Wallet? U.S. Lags in Broadband Deployment Now What? For Engineers Safety Community Broadband For Governing Boards Human Resources Hometown Connections Customer Service DEED Index to Advertisers Advertisers by Category Parting Shot

Public Power - September/October 2007

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