The following links provide information on hazards and controls for many topics associated with sawmill operations. The actual hazards encountered will depend on an evaluation of the operation in question.

What types of injuries and illnesses can occur in the Wood Products Industry? The following data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) characterizes injuries and illnesses for selected SIC codes from the Wood Products Industry. Visit the BLS Safety and Health Statistics page for more information.

• Table 1. Number, median days away from work, and incidence rate for nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work by ownership, industry, musculoskeletal disorders, and event or exposure, 2015.
• Table 2. Number, median days away from work, and incidence rate for nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work by ownership, industry, and nature of injury, 2015.
• Table 3. Number, incidence rate, and median days away from work for nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work by selected worker occupation and ownership, 2015.
• Table 4. Number, incidence rate, and median days away from work for nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work by injury or illness characteristics and ownership, 2015.
• Table 5. Number, incidence rate, and median days away from work for nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work by gender, age groups, length of service, race or ethnic origin, by ownership, 2015.
• Table 6. Incidence rates for nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work per 10,000 full-time workers by injury or illness characteristics, gender, and age groups, all ownerships, 2015.
• Table 7. Incidence rates for nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work per 10,000 full-time workers by selected worker occupation and nature of injury or illness, all ownerships, 2015.
• Table 8. Incidence rates for nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work per 10,000 full-time workers by selected worker occupation and events or exposures, all ownerships, 2015.
• Table 9. Number, incidence rate, and median days away from work for nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work and musculoskeletal disorders by selected worker occupation and ownership, 2015.

Health Hazard References:

Heat Stress

• Protecting Workers from the Effects of Heat. OSHA Fact Sheet, (2010).
• Protecting Workers from Heat Stress. OSHA QuickCard™, (2010).
  
• Working Outdoors in Warm Climates. OSHA Fact Sheet, (2005, September).
• OSHA's Campaign to Prevent Heat Illness in Outdoor Workers. OSHA provides additional educational resources and training materials.
• Extreme Heat Prevention Guide. Centers for the Control and Prevention of Disease (CDC).
• OSHA-NIOSH INFOSHEET: Protecting Workers from Heat Illness, US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 2011-174, (2011, May).
• OSHA Technical Manual (OTM). OSHA Directive TED 01-00-015 [TED 1-0, 15A], (1999, January 20).
  • Heat Stress
• Rom, William N. "Hot and Cold Work Environments." Environmental and Occupational Medicine, 3rd Edition. London: Lippincott - Raven, (1998), pp.1389-1395.
• Wald, Peter and Greg Stave. "Hot Environments." Physical and Biological Hazards of the Workplace, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, (1994), pp.93-111.
• Zenz, Carl, O. Bruce Dickerson, and Edward Horvalt. "Physical Work and Heat Stress." Occupational Medicine, 3rd ed., St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby, (1994), pp.305-333.

Cold Stress

• Extreme Cold: A Prevention Guide to Promote your Personal Safety and Health. Centers for the Control and Prevention of Disease (CDC). Also available as a PDF.
• Wald, Peter and Gregg Stave. Physical and Biological Hazards of the Workplace. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, (1994), pp.113-124.

Diesel Exhaust

• Diesel Exhaust. OSHA Safety and Health Topics Page.
• Diesel Exhaust. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Health and Safety Fact Sheet.
• Exhausted by Diesel - How America's Dependence on Diesel Engines Threatens Our Health. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Coalition for Clean Air, (1998, June).
• Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety. International Labour Organization (ILO).
  • Chapter 68, Forestry - Chemical Hazard.
  • Chapter 71, Lumber
• Graves, J. and John Cain. "A survey of exposure to diesel engine exhaust emission in the workplace." Annals of Occupational Hygiene 44.6(2000): 435-447.
• Carraro, E. et al. "Biological activity of particle exhaust emissions from eight-duty diesel engines." Journal of Environmental Petrology, Toxicology and Oncology 16.2-3(1997): 101-109.
• Boffetta, P., R.E. Harris, and E.L. Wynder. "Case-control study an occupational exposure to diesel exhaust and lung cancer risk." American Journal Industrial Medicine 17.5(1990): 577-591.
• Kilburn, Kaye. "Effects of diesel exhaust on neurobehavior and pulmonary functions." Archives of Environmental Health. (2000, January).

Chemical Hazards

• Levin, J., C. Nilsson and A. Norstream. "Sampling and analysis of polycyclic hydrocarbons (PAH) from two-stroke chain saw engines." Chemosphere 13.3(1984): 427-435.
• Boffetta, P., N. Jourenkova, and P. Gustavsson. "Cancer risk from occupational and environmental exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons." Cancer Causes Control 8.3(1997, May):444-472.

Lyme Disease

• Lyme Disease Facts. OSHA Fact Sheet.
• Potential for Occupational Exposure to Lyme Disease. OSHA Safety and Health Information Bulletin (SHIB), (2003, February 11). Also available as a PDF.
• "Preventing Lyme Disease." The Nurse Practitioner 25.10(2000): 50-53.
• Lyme Disease. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• Theresa Donahue and James Cowley. "Case Study: Enrlichosis: A New and Emerging Infectious Disease." Physician Assistant 24.8(Aug, 2000): 17-24.
• Fell, Elizabeth. "An Update on Lyme Disease and other Tick-Borne Illnesses." The Nurse Practitioner 25.10(2000, October): 38-58.
• Parola, Philippe and Didier Raoult. "Ticks and Tick-Borne Bacterial Diseases in Humans: and Emerging Infectious Threat." Clinical Infectious Diseases 32.6(2001, March 15):897-952.

Sun Exposure

• Protecting Yourself in the Sun. OSHA Publication 3166, (2003). Also available as a PDF. A PDF (Spanish version) is also available.
• Sun Safety. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Contains both general sun safety tips as well as specific health advisories for each UV Index level.
• Be Safe in the Sun. The American Cancer Society.
  • Skin Cancer Facts. Reports that most of the more than 1 million cases of non-melanoma skin cancer diagnosed yearly in the United States are considered to be sun-related. Melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer, will account for about 68,720 cases of skin cancer in 2009 and most (about 8,650) of the 11,590 deaths due to skin cancer each year.
• Questions and Answers on Skin Cancer Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• Guidelines for Outdoor Workers. The Skin Cancer Foundation.
• Sun Exposure (Protect Your Skin). Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet. 

Noise

• Occupational Noise Exposure. OSHA Safety and Health Topics Page.
• Health Surveillance in Noisy Industries - Advice for Employers. United Kingdom Health and Safety Executive. (2002, August).
  • Noise at Work.
• Noise and Hearing Loss Prevention. National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Workplace Safety and Health Topic.
• Pekkarinen, J., M. Iki, J. Starch and I. Ryykko. "Hearing loss risk from exposure to shooting impulses in workers exposed to occupational noise." British Journal of Audiology 27.3(1993, June): 175-182.
• Jones, C.M. "ABC of work related disorders: Occupational hearing loss and vibration induced disorders." British Medical Journal 313.7051(1996): 223-226.

Vibration

• Health Risks - Vibration: Advice for Employers. United Kingdom Health and Safety Executive (HSE), (2001, June).
  • Hand Arm Vibration - Advice for Employers (PDF).
  • Chainsaws at work (PDF).
• Criteria For a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Hand-Arm Vibration. US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) Publication No. 89-106, (1989, September).
• Yamada, S. and H. Sakakibara. "Prevention strategy for vibration hazards by portable power tools, national forest model of comprehensive prevention system in Japan." Industrial Health 36.2(1998, April): 141-153.
• M. Bovenzi, F. Gianni and S. Rossi. "Vibration-induced multi focal neuropathy in forestry workers: electro physiological findings in relation to vibration exposure and finger circulation." Environmental Health 73(2000, November): 519-527.
• Nagase, H., et al. "Multivariate analysis on the relationship between subjective symptoms and risk factors for the development of symptoms including working conditions, life habits and physical status in forestry workers using chain saw." Japanese Journal of Industrial Health 34.6(1992, November): 551-559.
• McKenna, K.M., A.D. Blann and J.A. Allen. "Vascular responses in chain saw operators." Occupational and Environmental Medicine 51.6(1994, June): 366-370.
• Futatsuka, M. et al. "A preliminary study on the function tests of the vibration syndrome in tropical rain forest workers." Journal of Human Ergology 20.1(1991, June): 95-99.

General Resources

• Rosenstack, L. and Cullen, M. Textbook of Clinical Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders, (2004).
• Wald, Peter H., and Gregg M. Stove.  Physical and Biological Hazards of the Workplace. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, (1994).
• Zenz, Carl, Dicherson, O. Bruce, and Horwoth, Edward P. Occupational Medicine. 3rd ed. Mosby: St. Louis: Missouri, (1994).
• Parmeggiani, Luigi, ed. Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety. 4th ed. Geneva: International Labor Office, (1998).
• Raffle, P.A.B., P.H. Adams, Peter J. Baxter and W.R. Lee. Hunters Diseases of Occupations. 8th edition. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, (1994).
• Peter H. Wald, and Greg M. Stove. Physical and Biological Hazards of the Workplace. Van Nostrand Reinhold, (1994).
• Carl Zenz, O. Bruce Dickerson and Edward P. Harvath Jr. Occupational Medicine. 3rd edition. Mosby: St. Louis, Missouri, (1994).
• William N. Rom. Environmental and Occupational Medicine. 3rd edition. Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven, (1998).

Dermal Exposure

• Dermal Exposure. OSHA Safety and Health Topics Page.
• Armstrong, W.P. and W.L. Epstein. "Poison Oak: More Than Just Scratching The Surface." Herbalgram 34  (1995):36-42.
• Lee, N.P. and E R Arriola. "Poison ivy, oak and sumac dermatitis." Western Journal of Medicine 171.5-6(1999, November-December):354-355.
• Poison Ivy Control. Missouri Department of Conservation.  
• Outsmarting Poison Ivy and Other Poisonous Plants. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Discusses how to treat and prevent poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac.
• Hauser, Susan Carol. Outwitting Poison Ivy. Guilford: The Lyons Press, (2001).
• Fisher, A.A. "Poison ivy/oak dermatitis. Part I: Prevention - soap and water, topical barriers, hypersentization." Cutis, 57.6(June, 1996): 384-6.