Inside this issue...

-    Milking an old wives’ tale in health and safety

Dear reader,

I don’t know about you, but the whole Post Office strike situation has left me a little muddled: one minute it’s on, and the next it’s off. As I write this, it’s officially off, but this may change at any point! But wait! Now SARS employees have also embarked on a strike this week. I’m beginning to think we should start counting those who aren’t on strike as the number will be far smaller than those who are.

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Milking an old wives’ tale in health and safety

We’ve had many questions about the supply of milk to workers employed in specific industries. Each time we tell you, “This is hogwash”. But because every situation differs slightly from the last, you’re not convinced unless we do say so each and every time. So, here’s another situation for you to consider...

Question

When I joined the company I found that some of the employees working at the weighing section are drinking milk at certain intervals. I have questioned how this is relevant to what they do, and the purpose of drinking milk. They say it helps them eliminate the amount of dust they exhale from the chemical they’re working with. We provide them with all the necessary PPE such as respirators and dust masks. From a medical point of view is it necessary for us to keep providing milk for these people and if so is there a law that says we should do this?

Answer

Drinking milk to alleviate the effects that exposure to chemical fumes or dust has on the body is an absolute old wives’ tale! It has no substance.

Milk does nothing at all to prevent damage to the body. It’s a very costly exercise to the company with very little effect other than being a source of general nutrition to the employees.

You must correct this assumption, and emphasise the benefit of using the PPE you’ve provided for protection.

In the name of safety,

Christel Fouché
Editor-In-Chief: Health and Safety Advisor

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