Odds of a Catastrophe
On Friday, February 15, 2013 a meteor streaked across the sky and exploded over Russia’s Ural Mountains with the power of an atomic bomb. Its sonic blast shattered countless windows and injured nearly 1,000 people in the nearby city of 1 million people, Chelyabinsk, according to early reports.
The shock wave released several kilotons of energy above the region. City officials said 3,000 buildings in the city were damaged by the shock wave, including a zinc factory where part of the roof collapsed. The shock wave blew in more than 1 million square feet of glass, according to city officials.
Several Hollywood movies have been produced over the years themed on the destruction of the earth by a meteor or asteroid hitting the earth and increased hype on the topic has been evident over the past year.
But what are the chances for you being killed by such an event? You have about a 1 in 4,000,000,000,000 (4 trillion) chance of being killed by such an event.
What about being killed on the job? About 1 in 25,000! Now that is something you should take serious. It’s also something that, in more than 80% of the incidents, are preventable by your actions.
Ensure you follow the established safety procedures for your specific job functions by wearing your PPE, being involved in writing and discussing JSA’s, knowing the job procedures, and being alert at all times. Similar to an asteroid hitting, an incident can happen in a flash, when you least expect it. And in most cases you can ensure the odds in your favor.
Questions:
- Your chances of being killed on the job are what?
- Why is it important to wear the proper PPE?