environmental health and safety bear in mind · washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds,...
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ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH and SAFETY
BEAR
in MIND APRIL 2019 VOLUME 21, ISSUE 2
Smoke Alarms 1
New 3D Printer
Requirements 1
National Safety Month 2
De-Stress For Your
Immune System 2
National Prescription
Takeback Day 3
Spring Stormwater 3
Campus Arbor Day
Event / Tree Tours 4
Inside this Issue
Dates to Remember
Safe Thought
April 22 — Earth Day
April 26 — Last Day of Classes
April 29—May 3 — Finals Week
May 3 — UNC Graduate Commencement
May 4 — UNC Undergraduate Commencement
May 12 — Mother’s Day
May 27 — Memorial Day
June 14 — Flag Day
June 16 — Father’s Day
June 21 — First Day of Summer
“Safety saves.
Accidents cost you!”
SMOKE ALARMS
Researchers for the National Fire
Protection Association (NFPA) analyzed
more than 1.7 million home fire reports
from the U.S. fire departments from 2012
to 2016 and found that nearly 60% of
home fire deaths involved missing or
malfunctioning smoke alarms.
In these reports, smoke alarms were
absent in 40% of home fires that resulted
in deaths, and alarms failed to operate
correctly in 17% of these incidents. In the
case of malfunctioning alarms, 43% had
missing or disconnected batteries. Dead
batteries accounted for 25% of the fire
alarm failures.
To help ensure your home’s smoke alarm
is working properly, the NFPA recommends
testing it at least once a month along with
carbon monoxide detectors. Change out the batteries at least once a year and place smoke
alarms outside sleeping areas on each floor.
For more information: NFPA Smoke Alarm Recommendations
NEW 3D PRINTER REQUIREMENTS A new 3D Printer Procedure has been established on
campus to provide minimum requirements necessary
to allow for the safe use of 3D printers. The procedure
can be found on the Environmental Health and Safety
website.
If a campus department is planning to purchase a 3D
printer, please contact the EHS department, before
purchasing the printer, to review the plans and process for the 3D printer. If you already have a
3D printer and have not reviewed the printer with EHS, please contact them at
(970) 351-1963 to evaluate the current process.
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NATIONAL SAFETY MONTH June will be here before you know it. National Safety Month is a time to focus on
the leading causes of preventable injury and how we can work together to
eliminate these injuries.
Did you know that one person dies every four minutes from something
preventable like a car crash, poisoning or a fall? Help us reverse this trend and
bring the number down to zero.
The safety topics for 2019 are: Hazard Recognition;
Slips, Trips and Falls; Fatigue and Impairment.
To give you a head start in planning National Safety Month at your workplace, information is
available at the National Safety Council. You may sign up to receive free materials about these
topics.
DE-STRESS FOR YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM As flu season winds down, we tend to drop our guard when it
comes to infection prevention, but it’s important to remember
that disease transmission happens all year long, especially
during finals week and even graduation when our stress
levels may be higher. As we saw in the news recently,
Norovirus, a gastrointestinal virus that is highly contagious,
forced the closure of numerous schools in our area.
Nationwide we are seeing outbreaks of measles, mumps, and
Hepatitis A.
Handwashing is one of the best ways to prevent infections.
Washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, not
coughing into your hands, and not touching your eyes, nose,
and mouth can help stop disease transmission. If you can’t
wash your hands right away, use hand sanitizer to reduce
your risk. In addition to hand washing, staying mentally healthy and stress free can also ward off those nasty “bugs”. Stress
can weaken your immune system, lead to anxiety and a host of other problems such as restless sleep, but there are some
things you can do to minimize your stress:
Make time for family and friend. Their support and encouragement can reduce anxiety and stress.
Read a book instead. Stress declines by 68% after reading for just 5 minutes.
Go on a digital/smartphone detox. Heavy internet users are 5x more likely to suffer from depression.
Pet your pet because it increases levels of stress-reducing hormone oxytocin and decreases the stress hormone cortisol.
Exercise every day; even 10 minutes can make a difference. Exercise releases endorphins which boosts our immune
system.
Drink plenty of water; water is the number one nutrient! Did you know our brains are 85% water? Drinking plenty of water
every day is crucial for brain health.
Learn a new hobby like cooking; or try a new recipe, learn to tango to relieve stress!
Volunteering is a great way to relieve stress. Helping others makes us feel good and creates community bonds that helps
everyone.
If you drink alcohol; drink in moderation. Alcohol and smoking can affect our overall health.
Get plenty of sleep to help reduce stress. Make sure your bedroom is “sleep friendly” for a restful night’s sleep.
These are just a few of the ways to reduce stress and keep your immune system strong and infection free. A Google search
can reveal other ways, so explore and find something you enjoy. This is a busy time of year, but if you take a few precautions to
prevent infection (practicing proper hand washing techniques and reducing your stress), your mind will be rejuvenated, your
body will be healthy and you’ll be ready for a summer filled with safe fun!
Written By: Deb Miller; Student Health Center
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NATIONAL PRESCRIPTION TAKEBACK DAY
Mark your calendars for Saturday April 27th, from 10:00 a.m. to 2 p.m.
because National Prescription Take-Back Day has arrived once again! Individu-
als can drop off their over the counter medications and unused or expired
prescriptions at several collections sites along the Front Range.
Proper pharmaceutical disposal is very important. If medications aren’t
disposed of properly they can end up in landfills where they soak into the
ground and surface waters where they reside as residual contaminants that
have the possibility of having detrimental effects on animal life and the
environment. A good portion of improperly disposed of medications end up going down the toilet which then end up
contaminating the water supply which our current waste water treatment plants aren’t equipped to handle. By following the
drug disposal instructions that have been set in place by the Food and
Drug Administration you will not only be helping yourself but the
environment.
Visit the DEA National Take-Back Initiative for collection sites along the
Front Range and for more information on the proper disposal methods
for medications visit the Food and Drug Administration.
Local Collection Sites
UNC, University Center, 2101 10th Avenue, Greeley
Greeley Police Headquarters, 2875 W 10th Street, Greeley
Evans Police Department, Sam’s Club, 3247 23rd Avenue, Evans
SPRING STORMWATER After a long winter, it’s finally spring! With the arrival of
spring, we will all start venturing out to our yards and start
fertilizing our lawns, cleaning up yard waste that
accumulated during the winter, cleaning the grime off our
vehicles that come with the snow, and maybe picking up
some of that dog waste that we’ve been putting off because
it was too cold outside.
But beware, what you do in your yard can directly impact our
local waterbodies and negatively impact aquatic habitats. We
all know that spring is the rainy season in Colorado, and with
the rain comes the increased potential to carry what’s on
your lawn to our streams, lakes, and rivers. So as you start
your spring cleaning, keep these couple of things in mind to
protect our local waterways, and remember, only rain (and
snow) to the drain!
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It is the mission of the Environmental Health and Safety Department to support university functions by promoting a safe and healthy campus environment for students, faculty, , staff and
visitors, as well as to provide professional guidance and direction toward compliance with University, Federal, State and local rules and regulations.
Parsons Hall
501 20th Street
Campus Box 57
Greeley, CO 80639
Phone: 970-351-2446
Bear in Mind (BIM) is a publication brought to you by your
campus Environmental Health and Safety Department (EHS).
We are interested in your thoughts and submissions.
Contact the Environmental Health and Safety department at
970-351-1149. Suggestions can also be sent by campus mail
attention EHS, Campus Box 57. Bear in Mind issues are
published every quarter. Find current and archived issues
on-line at the EHS Website.
CAMPUS ARBOR DAY EVENT / TREE TOURS
UNC Tree Tours
The self-guided Tree Tours are ‘rooting’ in new additions of tree species on the University of Northern Colorado’s campus.
The updates to the Tree Tours at the University Center includes newly planted trees around the new Campus Commons facility
as well as European Larch trees, planted in the Carter Hall north lawn. There’s a total of 106 different types of trees on all of
the tree tour trails.
Trees that are selected for the trails reflect Colorado native trees, historically significant trees, state champion trees, unique
trees and trees that have significant horticultural value, such as flowering, ornamental, shade and special plantings. The
updates are needed due to a loss of trees over the past few years as well as newly planted trees around campus. All updates
are expected to be finalized by Friday, April 26, which is National Arbor Day.
It takes about an hour to walk each of the three tree trails and every trail has its own kiosk, map guide and holder with a QR
code that takes users to the interactive Tree Tour. The three Tree Tours include:
* Central Campus Trail: located at the west entrance of Gunter Hall with 38 trees;
* University Center and Campus Commons Trail: located at the main entrance of the University Center with 32 trees; and
* West Campus Trail: located in the Ross Hall courtyard with 36 trees.
Landscaping and Grounds Department reviews the trail marker posts and trail guides for updates. Learn more about the UNC
Tree Tours.
UNC Tree Inventory
Tree inventory maps were recently updated. It has been seven years since the original inventory. As of Feb 06, 2019, there
are currently 3,463 trees on campus. This inventory simply verified species and location but did not include any updates to
size or health status.
Arbor Day Celebration
To celebrate Arbor Day, there will be an event at 9:30 a.m., on April 26 (Arbor Day), west of Candelaria Hall, in L-Lot. The event
involves the planting of three new Greenspire Linden trees. Also, the Colorado Forest Service will present UNC with its seventh
Tree Campus USA recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation.
Emerald Ash Borer Awareness
Although this insect has not arrived in Weld County as
yet, it is coming, and it will be devastating to the Ash
tree population on campus and the City of Greeley.
Upon its arrival in Boulder County in 2012-13 the
University had 450 ash trees on campus. As part of the
overall strategy to combat this destructive insect, the
university has reduced the population of ash trees to
288 trees and have replanted with 139 new varieties of
trees. The ultimate goal is to reduce the ash tree
population by half, or 225 trees. These remaining trees
would be prioritized for treatments.
Written BY: Pat McDonald, Landscaping and Grounds Manager