Safety Fair promotes awareness for office and home
“You only spend a third of your time at work,” said Ethan Carter, director of Environmental Health and Safety. “We want people to be safe the other two thirds of the time, too”
Carter coordinated today's Safety Fair that drew a crowd of students, faculty and staff to learn about different aspects of safety.
“We wanted to bring in a wide-range of vendors. There is everything from hazardous materials disposal here on campus to infant sleep safety at home,” Carter said.
Among the more than 20 vendors were some offering information and services that included aspects overall wellness. There was even a booth for flu shots (discussions are in progress to provide information about additional offerings of flu shots in the months ahead). There was another vendor with information on ways to eat healthier.
Ann Halbower, Ph.D., from the pediatric pulmonary medicine division at Children’s Hospital Colorado, along with Kate Johnston and Michelle Brock, were on hand to give demonstrations and advice on how to keep infants safe while sleeping.
“Most people don’t realize what they see in stores might suffocate a baby,” Halbower said. “The rate of accidental suffocation in infants is rising, not only here in Colorado, but also nationwide. We want to help educate people how to decrease the chances of suffocation.”
Veolia Environmental Services was also on hand to explain to researchers what happens to the waste from their labs. Carter said, “Without Veolia here on campus, research wouldn’t happen.”
“We are very behind the scenes, but we wanted to come out and show people where their lab waste goes,” said Andy Jung of Veolia. “We can recycle it and reuse it, so we don’t want people to dump it down the drain because they think that’s what we do anyway.”
Along with all the great information there were several door prizes for completing the Safety Fair quiz and visiting all of the vendors. Door prizes included two Nooks and safety goggles.
Added Carter, “We just want people to be safe in all aspects of their life and give them an opportunity to find that information.”