The Occupational Safety and Health Act, Research Paper Example Example

Like so many other substances in today’s workplaces, the hazardous materials found in nail polish and other items used in nail salons across the country can create long-term health problems after being exposed to something like hydroquinone which has been shown to produce skin irritations, skin rashes, nausea, dizziness, and even damage to the central nervous system and the brain. Although workers in nail salons often wear some kind of protective devise like a facemask, prolonged exposure to the hazardous chemicals in nail polish, hair dye, hair bleach, and other commercial substances can cause permanent damage that might not show up for many years when it is too late to do something about it. One other downside to this is that nail salon owners, if they were to equip their workers with proper protection, would have to increase their prices, thus affecting their profit and the salaries of the workers.

RESPONSE # 2–The article by the US Department of Labor via OHSA concerning the violations made by Thomson Plastics is nothing new because this sort of indifference to the safety of a company’s workers has been around for a long time, going back to the early days of industrial manufacturing in the 1920’s and 1930’s when OHSA laws did not exist. However, it is still amazing that a 21st century company like Thomson Plastics would intentionally ignore the safety of its workers through a failure to train them on the proper use of a dangerous machine, to install guardrails so that a machine worker won’t fall to the concrete floor, and making sure that acetylene cylinders which are used for wielding and other purposes are stored properly, due to their explosive nature. Also, no fire extinguisher training which could result in a devastating fire. In fact, this action by OHSA was directly responsible for the CEO and founder of Thomson Plastics to step down from their management responsibilities (“Thomson Plastics CEO and Founder Steps Down”).

References

“Thomson Plastics CEO and Founder Steps Down.” 2012. Web. 4 August 2012.