A Couple of Important, Breaking News Items

I didn't want the week to slip by without bringing everyone up to date on these two important stories.

First, out in the midwest, following yet another Bush representative speech about how we need to "save" the Social Security system, environmental and health officials in Nebraska were left dealing with massive, smouldering piles of bullshit.

MILFORD, Nebraska (AP) -- Urban dwellers who enjoy dining on filet mignon at five-star restaurants would probably just as soon not know about David Dickinson's dilemma.

Bad for the appetite, you know.

But Dickinson, who makes his living in the cattle business, has an environmental problem on his hands that is vexing state officials: a 2,000-ton pile of burning cow manure.

Dickinson owns and manages Midwest Feeding Co. about 20 miles west of Lincoln, which takes in as many as 12,000 cows at a time from farmers and ranchers and fattens them for market.

Byproducts from the massive operation resulted in a dung pile measuring 100 feet long, 30 feet high and 50 feet wide that began burning about two months ago and continues to smolder despite Herculean attempts to douse it.

You'd think they would have learned after Dubya's previous appearances before and after the election.

In July, crews fighting a blaze in a three-acre manure lagoon at a dairy farm in Washington smothered the flames with more of the same -- a blanket of wet cow manure.

In December, Montana officials ordered the owner of a horse feedlot to extinguish a large manure fire that sent a stench over a nearby town.

It was bound to happen. But at least the news isn't bad all over the world. While similar problems have gone largely ignored in America under this administration, workers in New Zealand are getting important information on ergonomics and safety in the workplace. Well, at least the hookers are.

Every occupation can benefit from ergonomics. So after New Zealand’s Prostitution Reform Bill was passed last June, decriminalizing prostitution in the country, the country’s Occupational Safety and Health Service (OSH) created a printed guide covering everything from cleanliness and injury reporting to ergonomics for workers in the sex industry.

The guide, titled A Guide to Occupational Health and Safety in the New Zealand Sex Industry, puts the responsibility on both employer and worker to create a safe and healthy work environment, both ergonomically and otherwise, for the country’s sex workers.

Specifically addressing ergonomics considerations in the “Overuse Disorders” section of the publication, the publication notes that like other industries, in the sex industry, “overuse conditions occur particularly among people who work in fixed or constrained postures, or who perform rapid repetitive tasks or use forceful movements.” Taking steps to limit the risk of injury associated with these types of conditions, either through workplace modifications and equipment modifications or through administrative means, should be a goal, says the guide, for both employee and employer.

Specifically, OSH offers New Zealand’s sex workers the following ergonomics-driven recommendations to help prevent work-related injuries:

• Beds and workstations should support the worker’s back and allow for services to be performed without strain or discomfort.
• Beds and massage tables should be adjustable to allow employees to use them without strain.
• Employees should be trained for safe use of equipment and techniques.
• Workers’ clothing should be comfortable and should not affect the employee’s posture.
• Workers should take breaks between shifts and clients to avoid stress and fatigue.
• Workers should alternate between repetitive and non-repetitive activities.

OSH also recommends that employers and employees together identify potential overuse situations and develop strategies to prevent them as well as train employees on how to avoid those situations.

The clothing issue really shouldn't be much of a problem, except for a few specialists in the field who deal primarily in .... errr... leather, rubber, etc.

But "rapid repetitive movements" are going to be a serious problem, I'm afraid.

Happy Friday.