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National Burn Awareness Week
February 5-11, 2023
Did you know that roughly 10% of burn injuries occur in the workplace?
Observed in the first full week of February each year, National Burn Awareness Week is an opportunity for organizations and educators to share everyday burn awareness and prevention messages with the community. In the United States, over 400,000 people receive medical treatment for burn injuries each year.
National Burn Awareness Week offers an excellent opportunity for safety managers, team leaders, and even business owners to demonstrate the commitment your organization has towards workplace safety.
You can participate by holding a brief safety meeting, a bulletin board posting, or at a minimum, an email from management providing additional awareness to employees regarding burns in the workplace. If your team doesn’t currently hold safety meetings, this week offers an excellent opportunity to demonstrate your dedication to the safety and health of your employees by putting a scheduled safety meeting program in place!
While fires are a common cause of burns, 2022’s National Burn Awareness Week focuses on burns in the kitchen. A few other common causes of burns in the workplace include:
- Hot liquid or steam
- Hot metal, glass, or other objects
- Electrical currents
- Radiation
- Sunlight
- Chemicals such as strong acids, paint thinner, or gasoline
Restaurants, electricians, medical facilities, welders, anyone that works outdoors, and many other industries are all examples of operations that can lead to burns in the workplace. Whether dealing with fryers in a restaurant or performing welding operations, burn awareness is something that should be included in your company’s safety programs. You can visit the AlaCOMP Online Safety Library to find materials to assist in your burn awareness program.
For additional resources that your organization can use to participate in this year’s National Burn Prevention Week you can also visit the American Burn Association. As always, please feel free to reach out to our Loss Control Department if we can provide additional assistance or answer any questions you may have.
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