As the cannabis industry becomes more mainstream with legalization happening more often in new places, the conversation about cannabis grower safety will become more common. Right now both consumers and work safety organizations are not shifting their focus toward cannabis grower safety, but that does not mean that grow operations and dispensaries should pay little attention to the safety of their employees. Worker safety and personal protective equipment (PPE) for cannabis growers is only going to become a more talked-about topic, so getting ahead of the curve right now will be the best way to make sure that your business succeeds long-term.
What PPE Looks Like In Cannabis Agriculture
There are a variety of hazards involved in cannabis growth that will likely be talked about more often as time goes on. Of those hazards, some of the most important for cannabis growers to pay attention to is watching out for the presence of mold in grow operations, as well as in the product, taking precautionary measures to avoid exposure to harmful chemicals and pesticides, and taking the right steps to avoid harmful radiation from both grow lights and the sun.
Cannabis growers should look for the right personal protective equipment to minimize the hazards involved with growing the product. Things like proper ventilation and humidity levels will help create a safe environment free from mold and chemical inhalation. Meanwhile, proper protective clothing will help minimize the risk of potentially life-threatening levels of radiation. There is little oversight that forces cannabis growers to pay attention to these things, but that is likely because the industry is so newly legal in many places.
Grow lights, while effective for creating healthy and robust cannabis plants, can expose the human body to abnormal levels of UVA/B, infrared, and visible radiation. Most protective clothing items and SPF lotions only protect the body from UV radiation, which impacts the skin only. Infrared and visible radiation, meanwhile, can penetrate deep into the skin and change the body’s DNA and cellular structure, as well as impacting bone health. Complications from light radiation can result in life-threatening diseases like melanoma skin cancer, so these risks are not to be taken lightly among professional cultivators that see exposure to these lights on a regular basis.
Getting Ahead Of The Curve
Protecting your workers from personal injury or health complications as a result of working around potentially toxic chemicals, harmful lights, and bad working conditions is the best way to assure that your business sees a smooth transition once cannabis becomes a major topic of workers safety in the future. Implement smart business practices that promote workplace safety and make use of personal protective equipment such as proper eyewear, ventilation, air quality, and products like Raywear—the only clothing company that uses fabric that can protect against all three types of radiation.
When you pay attention to strategies and technologies that can help keep your workers safe, you’ll likely encounter less stress later on if you find that you have to make a lot of adjustments to catch up with the law.
