Throwing In The Towel Hazards By: Kim MacDougall To Invisible Research suggests that laundered shop towels are putting workers at risk of heavy metal exposure. W Kim MacDougall is a research scientist at Kimberly-Clark Professional, which aspires to advance exceptional work-places where people feel safer, healthier and more productive. MacDougall has served the cleaning, hygiene and workplace safety industries for more than 25 years. She has spearheaded efforts to help organizations choose the right disposable wiper for various tasks; for instance, by creating this self-service tool: www.KCProductSelector.com. To learn more about the shop towel safety issue, go to www. TheDirtOnShopTowels.com and follow @KCProf_NA on Twitter. Workplace safety should not only be a top prior-ity, but an enduring company value. What if employees were using a product on a day-to-day basis that contains hidden hazards? Laundered shop towels, which are scattered throughout many facilities but typically fade into the background of daily work, may potentially have a long-term health impact on employees using them. Laundered shop towels are cloths, often dyed red or blue, that are rented out to a number of work environments for various wiping and workplace maintenance tasks. for more info Visit www.cmmonline.com and type in search keyword: Safety . For more information on related products, visit www.cmmonline.com , select SUPPLIER SEARCH from the main navigation bar, and enter keyword: Disposable Wipes . Workers often use shop towels to wipe off their hands, face or other body parts, unknowingly trans-ferring metal residue onto their persons. 20 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • May 2012
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