Postal Workers and Paper Dust

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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(HealthNewsDigest.com) - One of the drawbacks to the increasing mechanization of postal facilities is the increase in paper dust. The machines doing the grunt work loosen the dust and send it airborne where workers can breathe it in copiously. Contrary to what management and the union may say, paper dust can be a hazard to postal workers, causing and exacerbating respiratory problems. Sorting machines could also theoretically disperse contaminants (such as anthrax) intentionally sent through the mail into postal facilities, further adding to the risk of the job.

“There's no federal safety standard on it, so it’s a real problem,” reports Bob Williamson, president of the San Francisco chapter of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU). “We’ve had people who have developed occupational asthma from breathing the fine dust.” Other reported problems include bronchitis, allergic reactions, migraines, bacterial infections, conjunctivitis and sore throats.

In the Fall of 2008, more than 450 current and former postal employees, many in the Chicago area, signed a petition to occupational health officials and postal unions blaming health problems on paper dust fibers inside post offices. Some are seeking health benefits to pay for related medical treatment.

“I do believe that my life is going to be shortened,” Delphine Howard, a former manager at two local post offices, told Chicago’s ABC7 News. “I started having severe bronchitis attacks, severe asthma attacks, and severe chest pains.” She worked for the postal service from 1987 until 2005 when her doctor diagnosed her with “a medical condition that is affected by unclean air, dust particles and residue in volumes in her present employment areas.” Several other Chicago area postal workers complained of similar symptoms as a result of ongoing exposure to postal dust.

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) studied the issue in 1998 and found no direct link between health and postal dust, but did discover that sorting machines could send potentially carcinogenic volatile organic compounds (such as ink) and other irritants like dust mites, into the air. The USPS told ABC7 News it had “only received two direct complaints of respiratory problems in the last several years.”

Diligent cleaning of the machines can help keep the problem in check. “Vacuum and wipe down the machines every day rather than resorting to the quicker method of blowing the dust off the machines and into the air,” says the APWU’s Williamson, adding that workers can also wear masks to minimize breathing in of postal dust and any contaminants in the air with it. He also recommends that post offices rotate their workers around to different duties to avoid perpetual exposure to potentially harmful or aggravating activities. Besides dealing with paper dust, mail sorters frequently suffer from muscular-skeletal problems associated with repetitive motion strain.

CONTACTS: American Postal Workers Union (APWU), apwu.org; U.S. Postal Service, usps.com.

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[axeman]

there is one person who will come to the front and say r.m's haphazard way of curtailing this problem is o.k as he resolutely defended policy on cleaning machines before !!
as i see it all machines of this type should be encased and properly vented filtered etc.. by not doing this your putting your staff under threat of contracting illiness after repeated exposure to this environment ...............but royal fail cares nothing about it's staff we after all only numbers

[stokes11eg]

http://www.healthnewsdigest.com/news/En ... Dust.shtml

(HealthNewsDigest.com) - One of the drawbacks to the increasing mechanization of postal facilities is the increase in paper dust. The machines doing the grunt work loosen the dust and send it airborne where workers can breathe it in copiously. Contrary to what management and the union may say, paper dust can be a hazard to postal workers, causing and exacerbating respiratory problems. Sorting machines could also theoretically disperse contaminants (such as anthrax) intentionally sent through the mail into postal facilities, further adding to the risk of the job.

“There's no federal safety standard on it, so it’s a real problem,” reports Bob Williamson, president of the San Francisco chapter of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU). “We’ve had people who have developed occupational asthma from breathing the fine dust.” Other reported problems include bronchitis, allergic reactions, migraines, bacterial infections, conjunctivitis and sore throats.

In the Fall of 2008, more than 450 current and former postal employees, many in the Chicago area, signed a petition to occupational health officials and postal unions blaming health problems on paper dust fibers inside post offices. Some are seeking health benefits to pay for related medical treatment.

“I do believe that my life is going to be shortened,” Delphine Howard, a former manager at two local post offices, told Chicago’s ABC7 News. “I started having severe bronchitis attacks, severe asthma attacks, and severe chest pains.” She worked for the postal service from 1987 until 2005 when her doctor diagnosed her with “a medical condition that is affected by unclean air, dust particles and residue in volumes in her present employment areas.” Several other Chicago area postal workers complained of similar symptoms as a result of ongoing exposure to postal dust.

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) studied the issue in 1998 and found no direct link between health and postal dust, but did discover that sorting machines could send potentially carcinogenic volatile organic compounds (such as ink) and other irritants like dust mites, into the air. The USPS told ABC7 News it had “only received two direct complaints of respiratory problems in the last several years.”

Diligent cleaning of the machines can help keep the problem in check. “Vacuum and wipe down the machines every day rather than resorting to the quicker method of blowing the dust off the machines and into the air,” says the APWU’s Williamson, adding that workers can also wear masks to minimize breathing in of postal dust and any contaminants in the air with it. He also recommends that post offices rotate their workers around to different duties to avoid perpetual exposure to potentially harmful or aggravating activities. Besides dealing with paper dust, mail sorters frequently suffer from muscular-skeletal problems associated with repetitive motion strain.

CONTACTS: American Postal Workers Union (APWU), apwu.org; U.S. Postal Service, usps.com.

SEND YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS TO: EarthTalk, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: http://www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. EarthTalk is now a book! Details and order information at: http://www.emagazine.com/earthtalkbook" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

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Add to that the four inches of dust that gathers round the overhead pipes, and we do have problem--no kidding,
in our office within minutes of coming in,the sneezing starts.We often bring in weyt wipes to dust sown the top shelf
on the I.P.S frames!

[baldrick]

I developed allergic rhinitis (hayfever) after working 3 years in a MC.
I know a number of other people who have developed allergies or asthma
after starting work in a MC. There is paper dust everywhere - not helped
by the cuts in cleaning staff.

[DGP1]

I've developed serious sinus trouble in the past 6 months and I'm wondering is it anything to do with work I suppose I'll be sent to the ENT who will do tests but I'd be really surprised if enough dust are in the trays of mail to affect me (I'm off in a couple of weeks so I'll see if it calms down).

[stokes11eg]

I've developed serious sinus trouble in the past 6 months and I'm wondering is it anything to do with work I suppose I'll be sent to the ENT who will do tests but I'd be really surprised if enough dust are in the trays of mail to affect me (I'm off in a couple of weeks so I'll see if it calms down).

There's got to be a joke here somewhere!!

[dvbuk55]

I've developed serious sinus trouble in the past 6 months and I'm wondering is it anything to do with work I suppose I'll be sent to the ENT who will do tests but I'd be really surprised if enough dust are in the trays of mail to affect me (I'm off in a couple of weeks so I'll see if it calms down).

There's got to be a joke here somewhere!!

No there's no joke when your nose is that big - talk about Cyrano de Snout - what a conker

[DGP1]

I don't think my nose is that big

[stokes11eg]

I don't think my nose is that big

So, the last joke is on you ,not the last drinkD.G?!

[dvbuk55]

He doesn't drink out of a glass with a conk like that - no no it's two straws - when I say straws - it's two pieces of half inch hosepipe.

I think the title of the movie says it all really - just one from his very large collection of - ahem questionable material

[stokes11eg]

He doesn't drink out of a glass with a conk like that - no no it's two straws - when I say straws - it's two pieces of half inch hosepipe.

I think the title of the movie says it all really - just one from his very large collection of - ahem questionable material

Yip, and have you found the naked clown on a pogo stick yet, from some more of his dubious collection?

[DGP1]

He doesn't drink out of a glass with a conk like that - no no it's two straws - when I say straws - it's two pieces of half inch hosepipe.

I think the title of the movie says it all really - just one from his very large collection of - ahem questionable material

Yip, and have you found the naked clown on a pogo stick yet, from some more of his dubious collection?

I see you've found the naked clown

[dvbuk55]

He doesn't drink out of a glass with a conk like that - no no it's two straws - when I say straws - it's two pieces of half inch hosepipe.

I think the title of the movie says it all really - just one from his very large collection of - ahem questionable material

Yip, and have you found the naked clown on a pogo stick yet, from some more of his dubious collection?

I didn't realise that was a pogo stick he was holding - I was well impressed 'til now. I was going to ask how you knew I was naked, I thought I'd left the webcam on.