THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

JOINT SAFETY SEMINAR
PROVES HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL

The B.C. Federation of La-
bour has expressed satisfac-
tion over the value of the re-
cent Safety Seminar conduct-
ed jointly by the Federation
and the Workmen’s Compen-
sation Board.

The two-day seminar was
co-chaired by Local 1-357
IWA ist Vice-President John
Hachey, and Len McLennan
of the WCB.

In commenting on the joint
venture, Federation Secre-
tary Ray Haynes stated:

“The attendance at this
seminar exceeded even’ the
most optimistic forecasts, as
over 250 delegates were reg-
istered and took part during
the two-day programme. A
better understanding of the
Board’s administrative pro-
cedures was gained by all
participants, while I am sure
the Board arrived at a better
understanding of the prob-
lems unions face in handling
compensation cases. The Fed-
eration is pleased to have

been co-sponsoring this sem-

inar and hope that future
seminars will be held.

“Tt should, however, be re-
membered that we were deal-
ing only with administration
of the present Workmen’s
Compensation Act. We _ be-
lieve there are many changes
necessary in the Act and we
are now finalizing a brief to
Labour Minister Peterson
and hope to have the oppor-
tunity for an early meeting
with him to discuss our pro-
posals.”

COLOUR SETS WORST:

TV FIRE HAZARDS CITED

The number of fires that
have occurred in color TV sets
while small in comparison to
the millions of sets in use,
still is significant enough to
call for greater care in their
manufacture, and precautions

in use.
There are some 7,000 to 10.-

000 such fires in TV sets each
year in comparison to the
eighty-five million TV sets in
homes, of which some twenty-
million are color sets. The
number of fires may be great-
er than the estimates. Not all
such incidents may be report-
ed as such, especially if no
serious damage resulted.

Improve Standards

At the urging of the Na-
tional Commission on Product
Safety, the TV industry has
agreed to improve its safety
standards to try to eliminate
the fire hazards. Hopefully,
the manufacturers also will
try to improve their quality
control of components bought
from outside suppliers.

The existence of this prob-
lem, and the fact that a gov-
ernment agency had to step in
to urge better standards, is
indicative of the entire prob-
lem of making sure the pro-
ducts you buy are as safe as
they can be. i

In a product like a televi-
sion set, your safety lies al-
most entirely in the hands of
the manufacturer. There are
no visible hazards you can
guard against. A fire can start
with a component of whose
existence you know little.
Fires even have been known
to start in the sets that were

turned off.

Black and White
TV fires are not new. Over
ten years ago I warned
readers of this column about
fires in black-and-white sets.
But the hazard is even greater
in color sets because of their

igher voltage.
ae of the problems seem
to result from several compon-
ents, particularly as they age.
These are: the flyback trans-
formers and other high volt-
age components, and the AC
switches and yokes. The in-

e color
nt-on feature of som
pee been re-

flow of

and heat generated by color
sets, if the wiring insulation
is not adequate or breaks
down, arcing can occur and
even higher temperatures can
be created. Some of the in-
sulating materials used in
some models have not been
fully capable of resisting the

‘high heat, especially as the

wiring ages. Some components
even have been enclosed in
cardboard which could be a
potential source of ignition.

A number of problems es-
pecially seem to have occur-
red in sets made two to six
years ago when manufactur-
ers’ production capacity was
hard-pressed to keep up with
demand.

While manufacturers have
agreed to improve their ma-
terials and procedures: on
forthcoming models, unfortun-
ately this does not solve the
problems of sets already in
homes. The Product Safety
Commission does not have the
power to require recalls. But
it has urged manufacturers
to take appropriate steps to
rectify any known hazards in-
cluding recall or replacement
of any faulty components if
necessary.

Dangerous Sets

The Commission also has
released a list of color TV set
models on which more than
twice the average number of
fires have been reported.

Japanese-made sets are not
included in this list because
of the difficulty of securing
comparable data on fires in
imported sets.

If I myself had one of the
listed color sets, I would call
the manufacturer’s local rep-
resentative or service centre
and ask for an inspection, and
also ask what can be done
about replacing any known
hazardous components.

With any TV set, it is wise
to also take the precautions
we advised years ago. Heat is
the enemy of TV sets. They
need ventilation. Don’t push
a set against a wall or into a
tight corner, nor build it into
a bookcase, nor place it on a
heavy pad. Don’t pile maga-
zines or newspapers on a set.
Not only are these combust-
ible, but they insulate the set
and cause even more heat to
build up. Also keep the set
away from draperies.

' Vacuum Set
It’s advisable to vacuum the

.set occasionally through the

ventilation holes (without re-
moving the back cover) to re-
move dust.

Too, any time you have the
set serviced, ask the service-
man to check the condition of
the insulation and the
main switch. Note also that a
transformer insulated with
wax is not as durably insul-
ated as one coated with a sili-
cone rubber.

Another safe guard is to
keep the set unplugged when
not in use. High voltage can
continue going through a set
even when switched off, or
lightning or other power surge
could cause a fire.

JUST BE
THANKFUL

The Interior logger was so
concerned about his wife’s
happiness that he hired a
private detective to see who
was responsible for it.

CO-CHAIRMEN of the Seminar sponsored jointly by the
B.C. Federation of Labour and the Workmen’s Compensa-
tion Board, January 22-23, were John Hachey, left, tst
Vice-President of Local 1-357 IWA and Len McLennan,
Workmen’s Compensation Board.

IWA MEMBERS Maurice Corbeil, Financial Secretary of

Local 1-85, and Al. Carle, Financial Secretary of Local 1-118,
are shown waiting to speak during the seminar.

Delegates visiting the WCB Rehabilitation Centre where
injured workmen receive proper therapy for their injuries.

..- & NEEDN'T!

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is as

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WHOLE FAMILIES ARE GETTING THE PARIS HABIT, THANKFULLY

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