THE AMERICAN WELDER Workplace Safety Starts from the Ground Up Protective footwear makes strides on the job site BY MARK REILLY Now, more than ever, the right safety footwear on the job can mean the difference between workplace success and work site injury. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, falls, slips, and trips accounted for 699 deaths in 2013, or 16% of all occupational fatalities. In addition, according to recent reports, 80% of all footwear injuries on the job site are caused by an object weighing no more than 30 lb impacting the foot. Many of these injuries can easily be avoided by wearing work boots with sufficient toe protection. A 2011 study from Foot & Ankle International, the journal of the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society, proved crush injuries to the foot are more likely to occur using work boots without steel toe caps. In the experiment, five paired cadaver lower extremities were fitted into work boots, with one foot in a work boot with steel toe caps and the other in a regular work boot without toe caps. After a controlled force was dropped onto each foot, researchers examined each specimen and found that the feet in regular boots averaged 8.2 fractures per foot while those protected with steel toe caps averaged 3.6 fractures per foot (Ref. 1). Safety should always come first on Choosing the wrong boot for the job can lead to foot fatigue and pain; certain boot constructions are better suited for specific jobs. 80 WELDING JOURNAL / DECEMBER 2015
Welding Journal | December 2015
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