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ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH and SAFETY

BEAR

in MIND APRIL 2019 VOLUME 21, ISSUE 2

Smoke Alarms 1

New 3D Printer

Requirements 1

National Safety Month 2

De-Stress For Your

Immune System 2

National Prescription

Takeback Day 3

Spring Stormwater 3

Campus Arbor Day

Event / Tree Tours 4

Inside this Issue

Dates to Remember

Safe Thought

April 22 — Earth Day

April 26 — Last Day of Classes

April 29—May 3 — Finals Week

May 3 — UNC Graduate Commencement

May 4 — UNC Undergraduate Commencement

May 12 — Mother’s Day

May 27 — Memorial Day

June 14 — Flag Day

June 16 — Father’s Day

June 21 — First Day of Summer

“Safety saves.

Accidents cost you!”

SMOKE ALARMS

Researchers for the National Fire

Protection Association (NFPA) analyzed

more than 1.7 million home fire reports

from the U.S. fire departments from 2012

to 2016 and found that nearly 60% of

home fire deaths involved missing or

malfunctioning smoke alarms.

In these reports, smoke alarms were

absent in 40% of home fires that resulted

in deaths, and alarms failed to operate

correctly in 17% of these incidents. In the

case of malfunctioning alarms, 43% had

missing or disconnected batteries. Dead

batteries accounted for 25% of the fire

alarm failures.

To help ensure your home’s smoke alarm

is working properly, the NFPA recommends

testing it at least once a month along with

carbon monoxide detectors. Change out the batteries at least once a year and place smoke

alarms outside sleeping areas on each floor.

For more information: NFPA Smoke Alarm Recommendations

NEW 3D PRINTER REQUIREMENTS A new 3D Printer Procedure has been established on

campus to provide minimum requirements necessary

to allow for the safe use of 3D printers. The procedure

can be found on the Environmental Health and Safety

website.

If a campus department is planning to purchase a 3D

printer, please contact the EHS department, before

purchasing the printer, to review the plans and process for the 3D printer. If you already have a

3D printer and have not reviewed the printer with EHS, please contact them at

(970) 351-1963 to evaluate the current process.

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NATIONAL SAFETY MONTH June will be here before you know it. National Safety Month is a time to focus on

the leading causes of preventable injury and how we can work together to

eliminate these injuries.

Did you know that one person dies every four minutes from something

preventable like a car crash, poisoning or a fall? Help us reverse this trend and

bring the number down to zero.

The safety topics for 2019 are: Hazard Recognition;

Slips, Trips and Falls; Fatigue and Impairment.

To give you a head start in planning National Safety Month at your workplace, information is

available at the National Safety Council. You may sign up to receive free materials about these

topics.

DE-STRESS FOR YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM As flu season winds down, we tend to drop our guard when it

comes to infection prevention, but it’s important to remember

that disease transmission happens all year long, especially

during finals week and even graduation when our stress

levels may be higher. As we saw in the news recently,

Norovirus, a gastrointestinal virus that is highly contagious,

forced the closure of numerous schools in our area.

Nationwide we are seeing outbreaks of measles, mumps, and

Hepatitis A.

Handwashing is one of the best ways to prevent infections.

Washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, not

coughing into your hands, and not touching your eyes, nose,

and mouth can help stop disease transmission. If you can’t

wash your hands right away, use hand sanitizer to reduce

your risk. In addition to hand washing, staying mentally healthy and stress free can also ward off those nasty “bugs”. Stress

can weaken your immune system, lead to anxiety and a host of other problems such as restless sleep, but there are some

things you can do to minimize your stress:

Make time for family and friend. Their support and encouragement can reduce anxiety and stress.

Read a book instead. Stress declines by 68% after reading for just 5 minutes.

Go on a digital/smartphone detox. Heavy internet users are 5x more likely to suffer from depression.

Pet your pet because it increases levels of stress-reducing hormone oxytocin and decreases the stress hormone cortisol.

Exercise every day; even 10 minutes can make a difference. Exercise releases endorphins which boosts our immune

system.

Drink plenty of water; water is the number one nutrient! Did you know our brains are 85% water? Drinking plenty of water

every day is crucial for brain health.

Learn a new hobby like cooking; or try a new recipe, learn to tango to relieve stress!

Volunteering is a great way to relieve stress. Helping others makes us feel good and creates community bonds that helps

everyone.

If you drink alcohol; drink in moderation. Alcohol and smoking can affect our overall health.

Get plenty of sleep to help reduce stress. Make sure your bedroom is “sleep friendly” for a restful night’s sleep.

These are just a few of the ways to reduce stress and keep your immune system strong and infection free. A Google search

can reveal other ways, so explore and find something you enjoy. This is a busy time of year, but if you take a few precautions to

prevent infection (practicing proper hand washing techniques and reducing your stress), your mind will be rejuvenated, your

body will be healthy and you’ll be ready for a summer filled with safe fun!

Written By: Deb Miller; Student Health Center

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NATIONAL PRESCRIPTION TAKEBACK DAY

Mark your calendars for Saturday April 27th, from 10:00 a.m. to 2 p.m.

because National Prescription Take-Back Day has arrived once again! Individu-

als can drop off their over the counter medications and unused or expired

prescriptions at several collections sites along the Front Range.

Proper pharmaceutical disposal is very important. If medications aren’t

disposed of properly they can end up in landfills where they soak into the

ground and surface waters where they reside as residual contaminants that

have the possibility of having detrimental effects on animal life and the

environment. A good portion of improperly disposed of medications end up going down the toilet which then end up

contaminating the water supply which our current waste water treatment plants aren’t equipped to handle. By following the

drug disposal instructions that have been set in place by the Food and

Drug Administration you will not only be helping yourself but the

environment.

Visit the DEA National Take-Back Initiative for collection sites along the

Front Range and for more information on the proper disposal methods

for medications visit the Food and Drug Administration.

Local Collection Sites

UNC, University Center, 2101 10th Avenue, Greeley

Greeley Police Headquarters, 2875 W 10th Street, Greeley

Evans Police Department, Sam’s Club, 3247 23rd Avenue, Evans

SPRING STORMWATER After a long winter, it’s finally spring! With the arrival of

spring, we will all start venturing out to our yards and start

fertilizing our lawns, cleaning up yard waste that

accumulated during the winter, cleaning the grime off our

vehicles that come with the snow, and maybe picking up

some of that dog waste that we’ve been putting off because

it was too cold outside.

But beware, what you do in your yard can directly impact our

local waterbodies and negatively impact aquatic habitats. We

all know that spring is the rainy season in Colorado, and with

the rain comes the increased potential to carry what’s on

your lawn to our streams, lakes, and rivers. So as you start

your spring cleaning, keep these couple of things in mind to

protect our local waterways, and remember, only rain (and

snow) to the drain!

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It is the mission of the Environmental Health and Safety Department to support university functions by promoting a safe and healthy campus environment for students, faculty, , staff and

visitors, as well as to provide professional guidance and direction toward compliance with University, Federal, State and local rules and regulations.

Parsons Hall

501 20th Street

Campus Box 57

Greeley, CO 80639

Phone: 970-351-2446

Bear in Mind (BIM) is a publication brought to you by your

campus Environmental Health and Safety Department (EHS).

We are interested in your thoughts and submissions.

Contact the Environmental Health and Safety department at

970-351-1149. Suggestions can also be sent by campus mail

attention EHS, Campus Box 57. Bear in Mind issues are

published every quarter. Find current and archived issues

on-line at the EHS Website.

CAMPUS ARBOR DAY EVENT / TREE TOURS

UNC Tree Tours

The self-guided Tree Tours are ‘rooting’ in new additions of tree species on the University of Northern Colorado’s campus.

The updates to the Tree Tours at the University Center includes newly planted trees around the new Campus Commons facility

as well as European Larch trees, planted in the Carter Hall north lawn. There’s a total of 106 different types of trees on all of

the tree tour trails.

Trees that are selected for the trails reflect Colorado native trees, historically significant trees, state champion trees, unique

trees and trees that have significant horticultural value, such as flowering, ornamental, shade and special plantings. The

updates are needed due to a loss of trees over the past few years as well as newly planted trees around campus. All updates

are expected to be finalized by Friday, April 26, which is National Arbor Day.

It takes about an hour to walk each of the three tree trails and every trail has its own kiosk, map guide and holder with a QR

code that takes users to the interactive Tree Tour. The three Tree Tours include:

* Central Campus Trail: located at the west entrance of Gunter Hall with 38 trees;

* University Center and Campus Commons Trail: located at the main entrance of the University Center with 32 trees; and

* West Campus Trail: located in the Ross Hall courtyard with 36 trees.

Landscaping and Grounds Department reviews the trail marker posts and trail guides for updates. Learn more about the UNC

Tree Tours.

UNC Tree Inventory

Tree inventory maps were recently updated. It has been seven years since the original inventory. As of Feb 06, 2019, there

are currently 3,463 trees on campus. This inventory simply verified species and location but did not include any updates to

size or health status.

Arbor Day Celebration

To celebrate Arbor Day, there will be an event at 9:30 a.m., on April 26 (Arbor Day), west of Candelaria Hall, in L-Lot. The event

involves the planting of three new Greenspire Linden trees. Also, the Colorado Forest Service will present UNC with its seventh

Tree Campus USA recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation.

Emerald Ash Borer Awareness

Although this insect has not arrived in Weld County as

yet, it is coming, and it will be devastating to the Ash

tree population on campus and the City of Greeley.

Upon its arrival in Boulder County in 2012-13 the

University had 450 ash trees on campus. As part of the

overall strategy to combat this destructive insect, the

university has reduced the population of ash trees to

288 trees and have replanted with 139 new varieties of

trees. The ultimate goal is to reduce the ash tree

population by half, or 225 trees. These remaining trees

would be prioritized for treatments.

Written BY: Pat McDonald, Landscaping and Grounds Manager