Risky Businesses

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Monday, September 13, 1999

RISKY BUSINESSES

All jobs have their drawbacks, but some are more dangerous than others. Here

are six jobs that may seem benign but that present a host of occupational

hazards to workers.

By DENISE HAMILTON, Special to The Times

More than 670,000 California workers were injured on the job in 1997, the

latest year for which statistics are available, and the National Safety

Council says that figure is rising. These injuries have broad repercussions,

because employees struck down by work-related illness aren't the only ones

who suffer. Lost production time and health insurance payouts affect a

company's bottom line as well.

Many accidents occur in historically high-risk jobs, such as mining,

meatpacking and law enforcement. But workers in offices, the high-tech

industry and the burgeoning service industry aren't exempt either. Back

problems and repetitive strain injuries, for instance, afflict highly paid

white-collar professionals as well as poorly paid factory workers and

everyone in between, experts say.

Take the federal agency that gave us the lamentable phrase " going postal. "

Postal delivery people face dangers such as being bitten by dogs and getting

shot at, says nne Brown, director of UCLA's Labor Occupational Safety

and Health Program. In addition, " mail sorting still isn't completely

mechanized so they have a lot of repetitive motion disease in the U.S.

Postal Service, " Brown says.

In general, employees who don't speak English are at higher risk for

injuries, says Kushner, who oversees health and safety training for

the Service Employees Union International. Unskilled immigrants often take

dangerous jobs because those are the only labor options open. An inability

to read warning signs posted in the workplace or booklets handed out by

management also makes them more vulnerable to potential injury.

Health-care workers are another group at risk. From doctors to nurses'

aides, these employees are vulnerable to contracting diseases transmitted by

contaminated blood, saliva and air. Some workers are at special risk for

contracting airborne diseases such as tuberculosis, because they're exposed

to certain populations that have higher rates of the disease, such as the

poor, homeless and unvaccinated immigrants. And accidentally pricking

oneself with a contaminated needle can expose a health worker to HIV, the

virus that causes AIDS, or hepatitis B and C.

Last year, Cal-OSHA recorded about 100,000 accidental needle sticks in

California, which so alarmed state officials that they passed a new law. As

of July 1, the state requires medical employers to buy special needles with

built-in safety features that decrease the risk of accidental sticks.

What can employees do to protect themselves? Kushner says it's important for

workers and management to work together to analyze hazards and generate

solutions.

" Often, workers have a pretty good idea of what the problem is, " Kushner

says. " Managers have to include them in the solution. "

The Times surveyed a broad range of professions in Southern California that

present distinct, job-related health issues. Although some of the

occupational hazards in these fields may be obvious, others may come as a

surprise.

Nursing Home Aide

As America grays and hospitals seek to contain costs by transferring

sick people to nursing homes, the demand for nurses' aides has grown

tremendously.

While the jobs are usually low-paid--$6 to $8 an hour is typical--they

are also extremely taxing because of the physical requirements to handle ill

and bedridden patients. In fact, experts say that a little-known secret of

this increasingly pivotal yet bottom-rung health profession is its worker

injury rate: 16 per 1,000 employees--more than twice the national average of

seven per 1,000 employees.

" Unlike meatpacking, which is notorious for its industrial accidents,

people don't really think of nurses' aides as endangered, but they are, "

Kushner says.

Back injuries are the most frequent ailments, because nurses' aides

have to bathe, feed, move and otherwise assist patients. Additionally, they

have heavy workloads and must work fast, which can also lead to accidents,

sprains and pulls.

Purchasing hydraulic lifts for aides to use on patients in care

facilities has been shown to bring down the rate of injury, Kushner says,

but they are expensive.

" There's a certain amount of ignorance out there about these injuries,

so hydraulic lifts haven't been implemented widely. But the money you save

is worth it, " Kushner says.

In fact, he says, UCLA recently finished a program working with a chain

of nursing homes that purchased the lifts and found that despite the big

initial expense, they still saved money over having to deal with workers'

compensation claims and decreased productivity due to illness.

Lifeguard

If the job were only as simple as what's shown on TV's " Baywatch, " the

main problem lifeguards would face would be uneven tan lines. But, says

Steve Moseley, a captain of lifeguard operations for the Los Angeles County

Fire Department, one of the biggest concerns is sprained limbs. The county's

615 lifeguards made 12,000 rescues last year, and that's a lot of sprinting

over the hot sand and into the surf to save someone who is screaming for

help.

" The ocean bottom is an uneven surface, so we tell them to run as fast

as they can but don't risk it, because if you hurt an ankle or a knee and

can't make the rescue, then we have two victims, " Moseley says.

Skin damage comes with the territory, especially for career lifeguards.

These days, bottles of sunscreen, hats and long-sleeved shirts are part of

the standard-issue uniform, and the county even pays for annual

dermatological checkups.

Lifeguards also receive safety goggles, breathing masks and oral

barrier devices to protect them from communicable diseases if they have to

tend open wounds or issue mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

For the record, no local lifeguards have ever been attacked by sharks,

drowned or broken their necks diving into the ocean for rescues.

" The most severe on-duty injury I've suffered was a scratched cornea

from blowing sand, " Moseley says.

Aerobics Instructor

On days when we can barely drag ourselves to the gym after work, the

profession of personal trainer can sound especially appealing--work and work

out at the same time. But despite their superb fitness, on-the-job injuries

can fell trainers and aerobics instructors too, especially if they overdo

it, which isn't difficult in their line of work.

" It's easy to overuse your muscles and hurt yourself, especially if you

teach too many classes. Some instructors teach 15 to 20 classes a week, and

that's a lot, " says Diekmann, a corporate and personal trainer who

also teaches aerobics at the Glendale YMCA.

Diekmann recalls a hamstring pull that was painful for weeks. She also

once fell and sprained an ankle while teaching an aerobics class but was

able to return to her routine after a few days by cutting back and being

extra careful. But Diekmann admits she has been lucky. She knows trainers

and instructors, many of them self-employed, who have been forced to stop

working altogether until muscle injuries healed.

Colds are another problem for fitness instructors, who often work up

close and personal with clients or lead routines in a room that is hot,

humid and sweaty. In the flu season, those endorphins come at a price.

" A lot of instructors are off because of colds, and if it gets down

into your lungs, exercising will make it worse, " Diekmann says. " But if this

is your career, you don't want to stop. You have to know your own body. "

Coffeehouse Worker

A little caffeine buzz never hurt anybody, but those gleaming,

high-tech espresso machines are another story. Scalding is an occupational

hazard among those who sling cappuccino all day.

" It happens all the time, " says Sue Cake, who works the day shift at

Insomnia Cafe on Los Angeles.

Luckily, most coffeehouse scaldings don't require visits to the

emergency room. But according to UCLA's Brown, another lurking danger is

carpal tunnel syndrome. Brown says her information is anecdotal rather than

scientific--as far as she knows, no one has actually studied the

occupational health of coffeehouse employees. However, " we've heard

complaints about the force that they have to exert when they're using those

machines and the repetitiveness. "

The fact that many coffeehouses employ teens may also contribute to

injuries. The National Research Council says teens are injured at double the

rate of adults.

Teen workers are " kind of a forgotten group, ignored or hidden. A lot

of it has to do with not being trained . . . and they don't feel

self-confident about speaking up, " Brown says.

When asked about the sharp, shooting pains of carpal tunnel syndrome,

Cake says she gets such symptoms but isn't sure whether they are caused by

the coffee machines or her work as an artist.

Brett Schoenhals, owner of Silver Lake's Coffee Table, says that while

he's heard of other coffeehouses having problems, he relies on extensive

training to keep his employees healthy.

" It's all in the wrist--you just have to teach people how to use the

machines, " he says.

Gardener

These workers have a tough row to hoe. Mostly self-employed and lacking

medical insurance, the Southland's gardeners often exacerbate injuries

suffered on the job by failing to seek appropriate medical attention, says

Alvaro Huerta, a spokesman for the L.A.-based advocacy group Assn. of Latin

American Gardeners.

" It's the type of industry where you have to live with the pain because

you can't afford to go to the hospital or take a lot of time off, " says

Huerta, who estimates there are as many as 50,000 gardeners plying their

trade in L.A. County.

The most common gardener complaint is lower back pain due to repetitive

bending, lifting and stooping. Gardeners typically visit 15 to 20 homes a

day and each time, they haul equipment weighing about 50 pounds in and out

of their trucks.

Huerta says the hotly contested L.A. city ordinance prohibiting

gas-powered leaf blowers has also increased workplace injuries, because many

gardeners, fearful of breaking the law, are using brooms and rakes, which

require more stooping. (Other gardeners have switched to methanol, which is

legal.) Falling out of trees and becoming sick from herbicides are also

concerns. When illness strikes, gardeners--90% of whom lack health

insurance, says Huerta--may simply get a massage or visit a doctor in

Tijuana when they get a day off. Meanwhile, the illness may get worse.

" The majority of these things go unreported, and the injuries get

compounded by not getting treated properly, " Huerta says. " We're trying to

get them group medical insurance, but they're in a tough predicament. This

industry's not regulated by anyone. "

Chef

It's been said that chefs are the rock stars of the '90s, and with

applications to culinary schools surging, the profession is hotter today

than it ever has been. But occupational hazards abound here too.

One obvious danger is burning yourself in the hot kitchen where you

spend your day. But there are more subtle ones. Industry watchers say chefs

are at great risk for stress, weight gain and alcoholism.

" You work really hard in the kitchen all day, and then that pace is

magnified by 100 times for three hours during service, " says ,

the restaurateur behind Rix in Santa .

" Chefs probably eat worse than anyone on the planet, " continues.

" They don't sit down and eat a meal, they just snack and pick all day, and

typically, chefs eat really late. "

With access to all that food and booze and those late hours, chefs are

at risk for overindulging. Their frantic pace and long hours can also poison

their home life.

" Most chefs have terrible marriages because they're never home or not

at the times when someone in a normal marriage would be home, " says.

" You're working most of the times when everyone else is being social. And

now you're overweight and have a terrible marriage, so you start drinking. "

But there are ways to minimize the stress. At Rix, chefs work only five

days a week, whereas in many restaurants they work six. And says his

chefs are encouraged to take five to six weeks off annually instead of just

two, often going on restaurant-sponsored excursions to other cities or

countries to sample different meals and learn new techniques.

In the weight department at least, has seen some promising

changes in recent years.

" It used to be that chefs were a lot heavier than they are now. For a

long time, it was a bunch of old guys, " he muses. " Now there are a lot of

kids going to culinary school, and they tend to be thinner. "

Copyright 1999 Los Angeles Times.