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    By job · 10 tips

    Factories and construction sites

    Dust, noise and chemical damage is mostly irreversible. Tips for protective equipment and for first aid at the scene.

    1 Protection

    On the job, leaving a job and workplace injury

    Much of the damage from dust, noise and toxic chemicals is irreversible (for example pneumoconiosis and noise-induced deafness): the employer must supply protective gear, and you can refuse work with no protective measures

    Pneumoconiosis (dust disease of the lungs), noise-induced deafness and chemical eye burns are all statutory occupational diseases, and once lungs and hearing are damaged they can't be cured. You have the right to know what hazards the post has, and the right to ask the employer for protective facilities and protective gear. You can decline work that has no protection. If the employer cuts your pay or dismisses you for that, it does not count.

    • High value
    • Evidence A
    • Buys life
    Don't die early

    Before using an angle grinder, fit the guard, wear safety glasses plus a face shield, hold it firmly with both hands, and never mount a wood saw blade to cut wood

    An angle grinder spins extremely fast; a disc that breaks can fly out and hurt someone, and a wood saw blade fitted to it can suddenly kick back. In two accidents in China, a saw blade was fitted and no guard was on: one worker had a thigh artery cut and one had a neck artery cut, and neither could be saved. The guard, safety glasses plus face shield, and a firm two-handed grip cost very little.

    • Moderate value
    • Evidence C
    • Buys life
    Don't die early

    Don't pick up, take apart or sell metal parts of unknown origin, and stay away from anything with a trefoil warning sign

    Radiation can't be seen with the naked eye, and a radioactive source is a solid sealed inside a small metal shell, so “it looks fine” is no way to judge. The chance of an ordinary person running into one is very low: fewer than 1 incident per year per 10,000 sources. But once it happens the consequences are severe. In 1987 in Brazil, people took apart a radiotherapy machine from an abandoned clinic, and in the end 4 people died.

    • Top value
    • Evidence A
    • Buys life
    Don't die early

    Before going down into a septic tank, manhole, sewage pit, vegetable cellar, fermentation tank or similar confined space, ventilate it first, get a passing gas test, and put protection and a watcher in place; if you can't, don't go in. If someone collapses inside, don't follow them down; call 119 (China's fire emergency number) and 120 (China's ambulance number)

    Places like septic tanks, manholes and vegetable cellars can fill with toxic gas and run short of oxygen, and a person can collapse in seconds. Before going in, ventilate, get a passing gas test and put protection on, with someone outside watching the whole time. If any one of these is missing, don't go in. Opening the cover and waiting a while does not confirm it is safe inside. If you see someone collapse, don't go down after them; call 119 (China's fire emergency number) and 120 (China's ambulance number).

    • Moderate value
    • Evidence C
    • Buys life

    2 First aid at the scene

    Emergencies: what to do first

    For heavy bleeding, first press hard on the wound with your hand; if you can't stop it on a limb, put on a tourniquet; and call 120 (China's ambulance number) at the same time

    First press hard with your hand or clothing. If you can't stop the bleeding on a limb, put on a tourniquet, then call 120 (China's ambulance number), and once it is on, don't loosen it. Among wounded soldiers, nine in ten lived when the tourniquet went on before shock, and only one in ten when it went on after shock; all 5 who needed one and didn't get it died. Put it on above the wound, twist until the bleeding stops, and note the time. Don't use shoelaces or rope instead. On the neck and the trunk you can only press, not tie.

    • High value
    • Evidence A
    • Buys life
    Emergencies: what to do first

    If someone is electrocuted, cut the power first, then push the source away with a dry wooden stick or similar, and don't pull them with your bare hands

    First cut the power, or push the source away with a dry wooden stick or similar, and only then touch the person. If you grab them with your bare hands, one victim becomes two. Once they are free of the source, if they aren't breathing normally, start pressing right away as in §13.1 (press hard on the chest), and don't hold back because it is an electrical injury. For a downed high-voltage line or near power equipment, don't handle it yourself; stay well back and wait for the power company to cut the power.

    • Top value
    • Evidence B
    • Buys life
    Emergencies: what to do first

    If a knife, steel rod or glass is stuck in the body, press around the object to stop bleeding and do not pull it out

    Pulling it out can cause heavy bleeding, and also makes it harder for the doctor to tell how deep the injury is. What to do: call 120 (China's ambulance number), press around the object with your hand or a dressing to stop the bleeding, and pad around the object to keep it steady and stop it from moving. If organs are showing through a wound in the belly, don't push them back in; cover them with a clean, damp dressing. If a chest wound is bubbling, don't seal it tightly with plastic sheeting, because sealing it can collapse the lung.

    • High value
    • Evidence B
    • Buys life
    Emergencies: what to do first

    In high heat, if there is dizziness, nausea, no sweating or confusion, move to a cool place at once, take off clothing and pour water to cool down, don't give water to someone who isn't fully conscious, and call 120 (China's ambulance number)

    Skin that is hot and red, slurred speech and confusion are heat stroke. Body temperature can rise above 41 ℃ within 10 to 15 minutes, and the death rate of severe cases is very high. At once move to a cool, ventilated place, take off the clothing, cool with cold water and wet towels, and call 120 (China's ambulance number) at the same time. If the person is not fully conscious, don't give even a sip of water, because it can go down the windpipe.

    • Top value
    • Evidence B
    • Buys life
    Emergencies: what to do first

    If you suspect a fracture, stop moving that part, support it still, use a cold pack for no more than 20 minutes, and don't try to straighten it yourself

    Treat any injury to a hand or foot as a fracture first; being able to stand and move does not rule it out. Keep the injured part still, hold it in place by hand or support it in place with a stiff board, and use a cold pack for no more than 20 minutes at a time. Don't try to straighten it yourself, and if bone has pushed through the skin, stop the bleeding first and don't push it back. An X-ray can miss a fracture. If the film looks normal but the doctor still suspects a fracture or a ligament injury, follow the doctor's advice to recheck or get an MRI.

    • High value
    • Evidence B
    • Buys life
    Emergencies: what to do first

    If a finger or toe is cut off, press the wound to stop the bleeding, wrap the severed part in damp gauze and put it in a sealed bag, put the bag in ice water, and go to a hospital with a hand surgery department

    First press the wound with your hand to stop the bleeding, and call 120. Wrap the severed part in damp clean gauze, put it in a sealed bag, and put the bag in ice water; it should not touch ice directly or be soaked in water. Without cooling, a severed finger can wait only about 4 to 6 hours. More than 80% of reattached fingers survive.

    • High value
    • Evidence B
    • Buys life

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