I was asked to perform asbestos training…and, “…maybe talk a little on lead”. However, I knew the employees needed to hear something totally different.
The firm requesting the training was a large excavation company that does a lot of road work. The training was at their bi monthly company wide meeting . I was given one hour.
So, my idea: Give them a quick overview of asbestos and lead, and then talk to them about silica. I called the training, “IH Health Topics in Construction”. And, as suspected, the questions that were posed all dealt with either: 1. “in my home I have…” or 2. silica and how to protect themselves.
I have made it my personal aim to talk about silica to as many employees as I can. I throw it into any training (even if I have just 5 minutes). Chances are, these guys WILL have overexposure to silica. Â The owner did not mind since I told him we were going to talk about a few different kinds of health issues in construction.
My suggestion: see if you can work Silica into your conversations and trainings.