Did you know you can deny to work if you feel unsafe or not properly trained? I didn’t know that until in Maker 10 we started discussing WorkSafeBC! WorkSafeBC teaches students and workers how to say safe and educated. Luckily I am being taught this all before I go into the workforce, but some kids weren’t as lucky. We watched a short documentary based off 3 kids that were brutally injured. These injuries were easily preventable through proper training, but they weren’t given that and that’s why WorkSafeBC is looking out for us! If you want to take a look at the video, here it is. (Beware its very gory)

THE HAZARDS!

As a class we each were assigned with a topic surrounding around injuries that can occur in the workplace. We made small keynotes and took notes on them, Let me explain some of them off what I learnt in the presentations! 

 BIOLOGICAL HAZARDS. The grossest one out of them all. This includes HIV and AIDS and can be transferred through multiple things like needles left on site, drinks or food eaten by a stranger, etc. This hazard is pretty simple and just explains, don’t touch other peoples gross things. 

MSI. This is the most frequent and common injury in BC. This includes things like tendinitis, strains, back pain, carpal tunnel, etc. Most of these are treatable, yet they are very annoying and can cause loss of workers for small amounts of time. 

SUN HEAT AND COLD.  This is the area I focused on in my presentation and it’s mainly about the employers needed to educate their workers on proper clothing and important things have to do with weather. Sun can cause to extremes amount of stress, skin cancer, burns etc. Cold can cause hypothermia which can damage your body, specifically toes, nose, fingers, etc.

NOISE HAZARDS. Hearing is something that you can’t tell most of the time is affecting you until long term damage. One out of four people are affected by their hearing quality lowering because of loud noises coming from construction, kitchens, traffic, loud music, etc. This is definitely something to watch out for.

CHEMICAL HAZARDS. This is a super scary one to me as my dad is a painter in the film industry and I’m always worried about the toxic stuff he is inhaling. Beside things like paint there is dust and asbestos and they can all cause lung cancer and breathing problems. 

This unit is extremely important as safety is a thing you shouldn’t ever avoid. As teenagers we sometimes feel pressured to do stuff as we are younger and just want jobs. That’s why this unit is educational as it teaches us we HAVE a voice and that even if it’s scary we still need to use it. STAY SAFE!