National Burn Awareness Week, observed during the first full week in February, is an opportunity for organizations to share burn awareness and prevention messages in our communities and workplaces.

One of the key elements of a safe workplace is the maintenance of fire safety. Thermal, chemical, and electrical burns are common types of burns at the workplace. Contributory factors include inexperience, failure to enforce safety regulations, inadequate training of employees about handling bio-hazardous materials, and employee non-compliance.

THERMAL BURNS are skin injuries caused by excessive heat — typically from contact with hot surfaces, hot liquids, steam, or flame. Thermal burns are the most common type of burn injuries, making up about 86% of the burn patients requiring burn center admission.

CHEMICAL BURNS are the result of exposure to a variety of substances commonly found at home, in the workplace, or in the surrounding environment. Chemical burns can cause short-term, long-term, or even lifelong health problems, especially if undertreated.

ELECTRICAL INJURIES occur when the body comes in contact with an electrical source, either directly or through material that is a conductor.

Significant research and medical advances have dramatically improved burn care and treatment, aided rehabilitation, shortened hospital stays, and increased burn survival rates. Burn safety education and prevention efforts continue to reduce the number of people who suffer from burns each year.

To learn more about burn injuries, see the burn injury article available through the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7224101/

Credit to: American Burn Association, National Center for Biotechnology Information, govinfo

HazTek Inc. is a leading provider of comprehensive safety management services designed to protect workers by enhancing workplace safety. For additional information or to learn more about HazTek’s services, please contact us at 888.842.9835, email us at info@haztekinc.com, or visit our website at www.haztekinc.com

Learn more about HazTek Safety Consulting.