Posts Tagged: Brian Oatman
4th of July safety and COVID-19 protocols
As we head off into a long holiday weekend and many of us are taking extended summer vacations, I wanted to wish everyone a safe 4th of July and share a reminder of COVID-19 protocols.
Stay safe over the holiday weekend - If you are making fireworks part of your July 4th celebration, please keep to the “Safe and Sane” versions. To prevent fires and injuries, remember to keep everyone, especially youngsters, a safe distance from fireworks, read the instructions, and have a bucket of water and a hose handy to keep you and your family safe! For more firework safety information, see https://www.readyforwildfire.org/more/fireworks-safety/
Take steps to prevent heat illness. Know the signs and symptoms of heat illness. If you are out in the heat, drink plenty of water, take rest breaks in the shade, and watch your friends and family for signs of heat stress. Our safety note on Heat Illness Awareness is intended for the workplace, but the information is applicable at home as well.
The rate of COVID-19 cases remains high in most parts of the state. According to the CDC COVID Data Tracker, in California, 38 counties are experiencing a high rate of cases, 18 have a moderate rate, and only two counties have a low rate of infections. We are seeing this COVID-19 surge continue within ANR, with June having the second highest number of cases in a month since the pandemic began. In areas with high COVID-19 transmission, CDC and CDPH recommend wearing a mask when indoors.
Please remember that we all need to continue to monitor ourselves for symptoms and take precautions if we learn we have been exposed to someone who has COVID-19. Employees who have symptoms, are exposed to someone who has COVID, or test positive need to report this to their supervisor and use the COVID-19 Screening Report survey to report their conditions. Follow the guidance of the survey if you are advised to stay home from work. If necessary, ANR's COVID-19 response team will follow up with you to provide more information about quarantine, leave, and your return to work. Even if you have been away from work for a few days, it is important to report your COVID-19 case, so we can determine if additional notification or other measures are required and manage your return to work.
Have a happy and healthy July 4th holiday!
Brian Oatman
Director, Risk & Safety Services
State implements regional stay at home order
Because of your due diligence in maintaining safe practices, UC ANR COVID-19 infection rates remain below community rates. Many are weary from the additional effort required to keep loved ones and colleagues safe, and our work is not done. By working together, we can continue to protect those around us, and ourselves. Let's focus on getting through this last push before everyone has had the opportunity for vaccination.
Last week, the Governor and State Public Health Director issued a new Regional Stay At Home Order, requiring additional restrictions and limitations on public activity for portions of the state that are experiencing an impact to hospital ICU capacity. The order mandates that certain businesses may no longer serve customers, restricts the capacity of all retail establishments, and prohibits gatherings with people outside of your household. Over the weekend, two regions – Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley – passed the threshold of reduced ICU capacity that activated the Regional Order. Additionally, five Bay Area Counties issued local health orders that essentially adopted the requirements of the Regional Order immediately. Other counties have issued similar orders or increased stay-at-home restrictions, in advance of being required to do so by the state order.
What does this new order mean for UC ANR? First, stay informed about what is happening in your region and in your county concerning COVID-19 and public health orders. When your location is subject to the Regional Order, or similar local orders, the following adjustments must be made:
1. Research activities and agricultural operations may continue (with existing protective safety protocols), as these are considered critical infrastructure. If you are exploring engaging in new research projects, adopt strict safety standards and be prepared to scale back or cease if further orders may require. If you have questions about what work activities are critical, consult your director or manager.
2. Work remotely as much as possible. Reassess any in-office work; employees should only be coming to the office in the following limited cases:
- Essential business functions needed to support remote work.
- Situations where an employee cannot perform their duties or work effectively remotely.
- Short duration visits to pick up or drop off materials needed for work.
3. Any non-mandatory or non-critical in-person gatherings, meetings, or activities that bring together members of different households must be suspended. This means that 4-H meetings, Master Gardener activities, Master Food Preservers events, or other volunteer programs or workshops may only continue remotely/online.
This is a critical time in the fight against COVID-19. These additional restrictions are needed to “bend the curve” yet again, to bring down the rate of infection in the community and reduce the strain on our healthcare system.
Throughout the summer and early fall, UC ANR has had a very low rate of COVID-19 infections among our employees. However, as the rate of COVID-19 cases is currently surging statewide, UC ANR is also seeing an increase in cases among our employees, similar to the communities where we are located. Please continue your diligence to stay safe at home and at work to keep UC ANR working to serve our clientele.
Brian Oatman
Director, Risk & Safety Services
Summer safety tips
Happy Fourth of July! It's time to get the barbecue grilling and the pool party started. To keep your summer healthy and fun, UC ANR offers some important safety tips.
Food safety
Food poisoning is a serious health threat in the United States, especially during the hot summer months. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 6 Americans suffer from a foodborne illness each year, resulting in thousands of hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths.
Both the CDC and USDA suggest four key rules to follow to keep food safe:
- Clean: Clean kitchen surfaces, utensils, and hands with soap and water while preparing food. Wash fresh fruits and vegetables thoroughly under running water.
- Separate: Separate raw meats from other foods by using different cutting boards. And be sure to keep raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs away from other items in your refrigerator.
- Cook: Cook foods to the right temperature; be sure to check internal temperature by using a food thermometer.
- Chill: Chill raw and prepared foods promptly.
Here are some additional tips from the USDA. Be sure to check out the CDC's comprehensive food safety website, which also has materials in both Spanish and English. For food safety tips in real time, follow USDA Food Safety on Twitter.
Summer also means more outside grilling, which can pose unique food safety concerns. Before firing up the barbeque, check out these five easy tips from UC Davis.
Handling food safety on the road
Before you take off on a road trip, camping adventure or boating excursion, don't forget to consider food safety. You'll need to plan ahead and invest in a good cooler.
Remember, warns the USDA, don't let food sit out for more than 1 hour in temperatures above 90 degrees F. And discard any food left out more than 2 hours; after only 1 hour in temperatures above 90 degrees F.
If there are any doubts about how long the food was out, it is best to throw it out!
Be sure to bring plenty of water, too, to stay well-hydrated.
Get more food safety tips for traveling from the USDA.
Avoid heat illness
“Summer can be a time for fun and relaxation, but in warm climates, we need to stay aware of the signs of heat illness and help keep our family members and co-workers safe,” says Brian Oatman, Director of Risk & Safety Services at UC ANR.
“UC ANR provides comprehensive resources on our website, but it's designed around California requirements for workplace safety.” But, Oatman notes, much of the information applies.
The training and basic guidance – drink water, take a rest when you are feeling any symptoms and having a shaded area available – are useful for anyone at any time.
To increase your awareness of heat illness symptoms – and to learn more about prevention – Oatman suggests a few resources.
“Our Heat Illness Prevention page has many resources, including links for training, heat illness prevention plans, and links to other sites. One of the external sites for heat illness that I recommend is the Cal/OSHA site, which spells out the basic requirements for heat illness prevention in the workplace. It's also available in Spanish."
For those on the go, Oatman also suggests the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) mobile heat safety app.
Have a great (and safe) summer!
/h2>/h2>/h2>Guidance for managing poor air quality conditions
As wildfires continue to burn in the north and south portions of the state, many of us are also affected by poor air quality. For the past several days, throughout much of Northern California, air quality measurements have ranged from “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” to “Very Unhealthy” as measured by the Air Quality Index (AQI).
Based on public health and air quality management information, we have developed the following recommendations:
- Monitor your local air quality predictions and real-time data. Most county or regional Air Quality Management Districts post this information on their website. You can find your local Air Quality Management District here: https://www.arb.ca.gov/capcoa/dismap.htm.
- As much as possible, avoid strenuous work or other activities outside when the AQI is in the Unhealthy range or above. Most buildings have air filtration and the effects of the poor outdoor air quality are reduced inside.
- Since individual employees can have different sensitivity to poor air quality, supervisors should allow employees to take a sick day, or modify their work activities, if needed to reduce exposure.
- If you cannot postpone outdoor work, consider using a respirator that will filter the particulate pollution that is in the air, such as an N95. However, be aware that when a particulate respirator is working effectively, it can slightly restrict air flow and make breathing more difficult. People with chronic respiratory, cardiac or other medical conditions that make normal breathing difficult should check with their doctor before using an N95 or any respirator.
- If you are using a respirator, read the instructions on proper use, so you know what it will protect against, and how to wear it properly. The respirator must fit tight in order to be effective. For more information about how to properly wear a respirator, see http://www.sparetheair.com/assets/FaceMasks-FiltersInfo.pdf
- Normally, the use of a respirator at work is to prevent exposure to workplace breathing hazards and a medical evaluation and a fit test are required. However, due to these extreme environmental conditions, voluntary use of a respirator may be appropriate, as long as the employee is provided the following information about respirator use:
http://safety.ucanr.edu/Programs/Respiratory_Protection_Program/Voluntary_Use_Provisions/ - For more details about use of respirators, see NIOSH: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/respirators/
- If your office needs to close due to fire-related conditions, the County Director, REC Director, or other leader should contact Brian Oatman (baoatman@ucanr.edu or 530-304-2054) to inform ANR administration of the closure.
The UC ANR Fire in California website has additional tips and information:https://ucanr.edu/sites/fire/Current/Health/Air_Quality/
You can also consult the UCANR Environmental Health & Safety website at: http://safety.ucanr.edu.
Brian Oatman
Director, Risk & Safety Services
View or leave comments for ANR Leadership at http://ucanr.edu/sites/ANRUpdate/Comments.
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.
Preparing to evacuate during wildfire? These checklists can help
To help people prepare, CAL FIRE has a checklist for evacuation online at http://www.readyforwildfire.org/Evacuation-Steps. UC Agriculture and Natural Resources scientists contributed to the research behind the recommendations.
A one-page checklist online at http://disastersafety.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/IBHS-Wildfire-Last-Minute-Checklist.pdf, also based on research by UC ANR scientists, is available from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety.
Napa County residents have been told to be prepared in case they need to leave.
“We have team members tending to their own homes and or family's needs, providing support in shelters, and being available for immediate clientele needs in any way they can,” said David Lewis, UC Cooperative Extension director in Napa and Marin counties. “We look forward to calling upon UC colleagues with more experience to support our communities in the long recovery period. For the immediate future, we will stay focused in our efforts to support evacuation and shelter efforts – personal safety and needs are priority one until the fires no longer pose a threat.”
The main thing to remember when preparing to evacuate is to protect your life first.
“Don't die trying to prepare your house before you leave,” said Yana Valachovic, UC Cooperative Extension director and forest advisor in Humboldt and Del Norte counties. “Monitor the situation, watch the wind directions, and listen to all emergency personnel.”
To receive timely updates on fire conditions, Brian Oatman, UC ANR Risk & Safety Services director, uses Nixle. “While some communication methods may not work due to outages, the more sources we have, the better the chance that the message gets through,” Oatman said. To sign up for text alerts, visit http://www.nixle.com or text your zipcode to 888-777 to opt-in.
“We have coordinated with CropMobster to create a resource list at https://sfbay.cropmobster.com/bay-area-fire-resources where anyone can post any needs or offer help of any kind,” said Stephanie Larson, UC Cooperative Extension director in Sonoma County. “UCCE Sonoma has also created a Disaster Recovery for Agriculture Operations at http://cesonoma.ucanr.edu/Disaster_Resources for homeowners and managers of rangelands. UCCE is working closely with Sonoma County to provide UC ANR resources to assist with the recovery of our community that has been devastated by this fire.”
In Yuba County, the Cascade fire is 45 percent contained as of Oct. 12. “Evacuation orders are being lifted in parts of Yuba County,” said Janine Hasey, UC Cooperative Extension director for Sutter and Yuba counties. “Kate Wilkin, our new UC Cooperative Extension forestry, fire science and natural resources advisor in Sutter, Yuba, Butte and Nevada counties, has assembled resources for residents who are returning to their homes at http://cesutter.ucanr.edu/Fire_Information. We will be updating the website with more recovery information in the coming days.”